Drummer Hodge, How does Hardy make the poem “Drummer Hodge” so powerfully dramatic?

Drummer Hodge

How does Hardy make the poem “Drummer Hodge” so powerfully dramatic?

The poem Drummer Hodge was written by Thomas Hardy in 1899 and was included in the series of poems he wrote based on war. In this poem Hardy refers to the Second Boer War, in which many young and innocent men participated. The treatment of one person “Hodge” a very common name indirectly describes the situation of every person who out of curiosity was pulled into the cruel side of the world; the war. Hardy even though does not refer to the battle directly conveys his message to the reader with the use of colloquial language which makes the poem far more intense. Thus with the use of various literary techniques including alliterations, metaphors and use of ‘Afrikaans’ words Hardy makes the poem Drummer Hodge overwhelming for the reader.

Hardy starts off the poem in the present tense to create an immediate effect of the situation as to how Drummer Hodge’s fellow soldiers carelessly and hastily “throw” him to “rest”, this line juxtaposes itself to emphasize the contrast. The poem moves forward to cultivate an image of Drummer Hodge’s burial process. The use of a hyphen and the word “Uncoffined” suggests the careless attitude he was regarded with. Hodge becomes a representative of the thousand causalities of the war; just another unremarkable victim. Hardy moves forward to describe the environment of his burial which is “kopje-crest”, the very use of the word tells the reader about the unknown territory he has been buried in. He makes it clear when Hardy himself describes the stars of the area as “foreign”. This is further made vivid when later in the poem Hardy contrasts the “homely Northern” and “Southern” land.

Through the use of the rhyme scheme ABAB Hardy has created an effect of the beat of a drum. This is a common meter for the traditional English hymns, and seems appropriate as the poem regards burial.  Hardy uses the same pattern for the three stanzas which elevates the message he wants to convey. He starts off with the description of Drummer Hodge to continue on to the unknown landscape and topography and to lastly regard the celestial imagery, which makes the dead soldier seem more important as contrasted to the way he died and was submerged into strange “dusty loam”.

Hardy has additionally made his poem so powerfully dramatic through the imagery he has created. The concept of a drummer is a key image. Drummers were usually young as even Hardy refers to in the poem ‘Young Hodge’, this portrays Drummer Hodge as more innocent and naïve which gives his death more pathos. The reader can also identify a hint of anger in the poem. Initially the transformation is literal and physical however become metaphorical as an afterlife is suggested. The degree to which other people remember them does not make a difference in how they are transformed to become part of the land, suggesting that this is an inevitable process. The usage of natural imagery stresses the continuing cycle of life.

Moreover Hardy has made the poem extremely penetrating as he defines how easily the unfamiliar soil accepted Hodge to become a part of it as he “Grows to some Southern tree”. The fact that he is now permanently blended into the environment really drums in the lastingness of his death. Thus through his death he achieves a worthiness which he never experienced in his life.

In addition to this the Roman numerals at the beginning of each stanza provides a classical feeling to the poem, which makes the reader notion the possibility that Hardy is paying a tribute to Drummer Hodge, a person who could not achieve immortality through the war but with the help of Hardy’s words. Hardy beyond this points out how Hodge’s life was short like the rhythmic cadence of a drum, and the short lines of this poem. Thus the lack of mourning contrasts with the glorification usually the victims of war receive. The very word ‘kopje’ represents small and isolated ultimately describe Hodge’s situation.

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