The War Works Hard

Nonfiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2005

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form/Meter

“The War Works Hard” is written in free verse, in one long, unbroken stanza. “Free verse” means that the poem does not follow a set meter or rhyme scheme, allowing the speaker to describe the poem’s events in a fluid and unregimented way. The poem’s lack of rhyme and minimal use of punctuation creates a sense of dizzying momentum, as the speaker carries the reader from image to image and from idea to idea without pause. This momentum seems to reflect the relentless pacing of the war itself. Meanwhile, the lack of multiple stanzas creates an unbroken wall of text, impressing upon the reader the relentless, inescapable nature of the war itself: just as the war is everywhere and present at every time without reprieve, so too does the visual appearance of the poem’s text create a sense of overwhelming force.

Setting

The speaker in “The War Works Hard” never specifies which war she is describing, or where exactly the war is taking place. The anonymity of both the conflict and the geographical setting gives the poem an air of universality: this could be any war, in any place, at any time. In avoiding specifics, the speaker is able to single out aspects of armed conflicts that are always inevitable: death, bereavement, destruction, and political and social instability. The poem’s setting is therefore defined not by its geographical location but by the surreal atmosphere and landscape the speaker describes: the speaker’s use of vivid imagery in detailing the rubble of the buildings, the corpses and the injured piling up, and the natural landscapes pitted with mines creates a vivid setting of violence and death that is unfortunately, immediately recognizable and timeless.

Personification

The poem’s title, “The War Works Hard”, personifies the force of war in a way that will remain ever-present throughout the text of the poem itself. The speaker talks about the war as if it were a person instead of an abstract concept, and the defining feature of this personified war is its diligence: it is a tireless, enthusiastic wreaker of havoc and bringer of misery to this unnamed country. Every single line of the poem is a description of either the war itself or its impact: it is the poem’s protagonist as well as its subject matter. In attributing human qualities to the war in lines such as “How eager / and efficient!” (Lines 2-3) and “It works with unparalleled diligence!” (Line 50) the speaker humanizes the war in a sinister way: it becomes possible to picture the war as a human being, able to “wak[e] up” (Line 5) the city through triggering sirens, “dig[ging] into the earth” (Line 12), and “giv[ing] grave diggers / a pat on the back” (Lines 47-48). This personification is also a subtle reminder that the war, in some sense, is human: it is embodied by every human being who chooses to drop a bomb, fire a gun, or urge on the violence. In describing the war as an active participant in such activities, the poem’s speaker reminds the reader that war is not actually an abstraction, but a choice that humans actively make against one another.

Irony

“The War Works Hard” begins and ends on a note of irony. In the opening lines, the speaker sarcastically eulogizes war, proclaiming, “How magnificent the war is! / How eager / and efficient!” (Lines 1-3). These lines are ironic in two senses. In the first sense, the war is a state of conflict and not literally something that can have human qualities such as enthusiasm and efficiency – yet, in describing it in these terms, the speaker reminds the reader that war is perpetuated by humans that do indeed embody those destructive tendencies. In the second sense, these lines are ironic because the speaker alludes to qualities that are usually considered good: “magnificent” (Line 1), “eager” (Line 2), “efficient” (Line 3). Of course, the war is anything but truly “magnificent”, and its efficiency and enthusiasm are harmful instead of productive, creating a noticeable gap between the speaker’s tone and their choice of words. Although appearing to praise war in terms of word choice, the speaker’s tone and context belies the speaker’s anger and disapproval.

In the poem’s closing lines, the speaker ends the poem in a way similar to how it began. The speaker once again underscores how tireless the war is: “It works with unparalleled diligence!” (Line 50). This sets up the poem for its closing punchline: “Yet no one gives it / a word of praise” (Lines 51-52). Ultimately, this war is nothing to celebrate – every innocent victim affected by it can see how ugly instead of “magnificent” it really is.