The Arsenal at Springfield by Henry W. Longfellow
...gs are depicted specifically through the details such as 'the cries of agony', 'the shout of prayer' and 'the tumult of each sacked and burning village'... People have to suffer such utmost pain and loss that they can do nothing but crying and praying in hopelessness. In conclusion, war sounds in which human's cries of agony are the bitterest haunt us constantly. Being brought into the survey of these horrible war sounds, different ages and parts of the world in which wars occurred are described particularly to express the horror of war. The history of human beings is marked with the fiercest battles. Day after day so much destruction, so much death and grief war has been causing all over the place. Reading the forth and fifth stanza, the readers can't help being astonished at more and more violent battles happening all over the world and in any ages. That is the Saxon invasion of Britain in the fifth century. That is the 'roar' of the Norseman's army from Norway spreading through the Cimbric forest of Denmark in medieval time. That is also sound of the Tartar's gong resounding and shrilling over distant desserts in central Asia. That is in Italy, Florentine was threatening the enemies with the dreadful din from their battle-bells. And in North America, that is the Aztec wild war-drums breaking the calm. That is... that is... and that is... How many phrases 'that is' are considered sufficient to enumerate all the battles up to now. That question can not be answered because wars after wars occur everywhere and at any time without interruption. As a result, the horror of war seems to stretch along time and spread in space, go into every nook and cranny of life and breaks its peacefulness. By depicting the continuous dreadful wars, Longfellow seems to strongly condemn destructive, meaningless war causing pain and loss to human. Even though human are aware of those unreasonable battles, they have been still going on as a threat to human life. The post doesn’t directly shout loud slogans like 'Down with war!', 'Stop battling right now!' or 'Long live world peace'. On the contrary, he skillfully expresses his indignation at the horror of war through suggestive details which help us feel thoughtfully that war is destructive, war is horrible. Consequently, those suggestive details in the review of different ages and parts of the world help to strengthen Longfellow's point effectively. Besides the arsenal whose presence itself is danger to human's peaceful life, the poet also reviews the battles breaking out in many ages and in many areas to recall all the horrors of war in the past and on a world-wide scale. By using the shocking sounds, the poet creates a feeling of outrage at the horror of war. Hearing 'the universal clamor ' or the 'dreadful din', We are filled with the tumult of battles which seem to happen vividly before our eyes with uncountable barbarous plunder and cri...