'King, honour, human dignity, etcetera'
draws the contrast between the idealism of patriotism and the reality of fighting and killing
' the patriotic tear that brimmed his eyes sweating like molten iron'
His sense of duty has now turned into hot sweat of fear and pain
' cold clockwork of stars and nations'
The soldiers are a part of a cold and uncaring machine of war
'His foot hung like statuary in midstride.'
He is frozen with fear/ bewilderment, the full stop jolts him back to reality
'A yellow hare that rolled like a flame and crawled into a threshing circle'
The impact of war on nature. The hare is distressed just like the soldiers.But the yellow could also represent the yellow bellies of being a coward
' in raw seamed hot khaki his sweat heavy'
Alliteration of the R and H sounds gives sense of hard work and heavy breathing
' was he the hand pointing to that second? He was running'
Rhetorical question marks the change of pace
'King, honour, human dignity, etcetera'
draws the contrast between the idealism of patriotism and the reality of fighting and killing
' the patriotic tear that brimmed his eyes sweating like molten iron'
His sense of duty has now turned into hot sweat of fear and pain
' cold clockwork of stars and nations'
The soldiers are a part of a cold and uncaring machine of war
'His foot hung like statuary in midstride.'
He is frozen with fear/ bewilderment, the full stop jolts him back to reality
'A yellow hare that rolled like a flame and crawled into a threshing circle'
The impact of war on nature. The hare is distressed just like the soldiers.But the yellow could also represent the yellow bellies of being a coward
' in raw seamed hot khaki his sweat heavy'
Alliteration of the R and H sounds gives sense of hard work and heavy breathing
' was he the hand pointing to that second? He was running'
Rhetorical question marks the change of pace