Theme of the Poem After Blenheim
War represents the worst state or form of human behaviour. It is a man’s inhuman act against another man. War brings nothing beyond destruction. Thousands of people are killed in the war and thousands become homeless. Men, women and chidren have to undergo physical and mental distress. The ordinary soldiers have to sacrifice their lives without any fault. War heroes are worshipped, respected and praised. After the conquest of the war, the celebration is celebrated. All this took place in the war which was fought at Blenheim in 1704. The English got a fantastic victory over the French.
In the poem, the old man Kaspar calls this victory ‘a great victory’ or ‘a famous victory’. His response towards the war seems to be conventional. Only his grandchildren cannot understand this. They think how a destructive and evil thing like the war can be the subject of glory. In their opinion, the war is not worth praising. It should badly be condemmed as the most horrible and cruel thing. The old man finds himself unable to give the satisfactory answers to the questions of his grandchildren nor does he know the consequences of the war.
Next, a great difference is found between the views of new generation and old generation. There is a very deep ditch of ideas between the old and new generation. The old men like Kaspar do not have any progressive thinking. They are always clinging to the conventional thoughts. The old men’s thoughts about the war are inspired by blind patriotism.
But the two children think about the war in a very different way. They think that war brings nothing except destruction and ruin. They regard it totally purposeless and destructive. Hence we observe that due to having conventional ideas, the old man has no appropriate reply to questions of his grandchildren. Ultimately the oldman remains failure to console his grandchildren’s curiosity.
Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers