Task 2: Critical Analysis of Poem

We slept with our boots on by Steve Carlson

Now, I shall attempt to complete the template based on John Lye’s “Critical Analysis of Poetry”, focusing mainly on the point of view, the situation and meaning, and language and diction and last but not least, my personal response.

Firstly, I shall talk about the point of view of the persona in this poem. The persona is probably one of the soldiers fighting in the war at that time. We can see this from several parts of the poem, like “my heart is pumping adrenalin through all of my veins”; “I run as fast as I can through the lead rain” and I kept pulling the trigger”. This clearly shows that the persona had experienced the war and is writing the poem from a soldier’s point of view. Being a soldier who has first-hand experienced with war, his views on this matter should be more reliable than those who have not. The persona is trying to voice out his helplessness desperately as a solider so as to gain sympathy. The poet describes the horrors and terrors of war through the persona’s eyes to make things sound more realistic and credible, thus enabling him to convey his intended message to his audience.

Secondly, I shall talk about the situation and meaning of the poem. This is war poetry; hence the poem is about war times, in which poets express their views, both positive and negative, towards war. In this case, the poem depicts a team of soldiers arriving at the battlefield to fight their enemies, in which the persona, one of the soldiers in the war, expresses his feelings for war; his reluctance and his helplessness. These soldiers cannot back out, as they had to “leave this bird whether they liked it or not” and their only chance of survival was to “keep pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling”. It has become similar to the wild in which only the strongest survive. This helps to create a sense of helplessness and hopelessness, in which the soldiers were being “forced to their deaths” and there was not much hope for them. By writing this poem and describing war as horrifying and hopeless, the poet is probably trying to tell his audience that war is a bad and horrible thing that should be avoided at all costs. At the same time, there is also internal conflict within the persona as he tries to justify and forget his actions but fails to keep it out of his mind.

Thirdly, I shall attempt to identify the language and diction used in the poem and their intended effect. The poet makes good use of rhythm as the last word of every two lines will rhyme. Some of the examples are “sons, guns”, “blood, mud”, “drink, think”. The poet uses this to get his idea across to his audience in a sing-song and musical manner for the audience to better understand and enjoy the poem while hinting at serious issues like the cruelty of war. Furthermore, links can also be drawn between the two words. For example, “sons and guns” suggests that every son was carrying a gun marching into the battlefield to their deaths, while “blood and mud” might suggest that the war was so bloody that so much blood was on the ground that no one could differentiate which was blood and which was mud.

Lastly, I shall write down my personal response. The poet makes good use of puns and rhyme to catch the reader’s attention and places emphasize on the words. His vivid description and informal way of writing things let us better visualize the progress of the situation; first they left the helicopter, then the shooting started, and then the soldier’s reflections. This progress of the situation helps us to understand the situation at that time and enable us to put ourselves in their shoes. The poet also makes the poem more realistic and credible by adding in informal orders used in the army and viewing things from many perspective; what “they” were doing, what “we”, the soldiers were doing, and finally, what “I”, the persona was thinking. Furthermore, unlike the media which often portrays war in a very nice and courageous thing, this poem offers an alternative view which is contrary to what people think. Now, people will think twice before coming to a conclusion that war is good and respectable. This poem is very organized and is able to convey its message clearly to its audience effectively; hence I feel this is a good war poetry that deserves to be read by everyone.

Task 1: Poem report

Ok, I haven't blogged for about a few months already...So, I shall start blogging!

Here goes:

We slept with our boots on by Steve Carlson

They unloaded the dead and maimed right before our eyes
They washed out the blood, we loaded our ruck’s and then took to the skies
Over the mountains, villages, and valleys we flew
Where we would land we had not a clue
Bullets are flying, the LZ is hot
We’re leaving this bird whether we like it or not
30 seconds they yelled, Lock N Load and grab your shit
Get ready to go and make it quick
My heart is pumping adrenalin through all of my veins
I run as fast as I can through the lead rain
The noise is tremendous, terror I can’t define
The only reason I survived that day was divine
I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more
You do what you have to do, with that I will say no more
We fought from the valleys to the mountain peaks
From house to cave, to car to creek
Dirty and tired and hungry and scared
We slept with our boots on so we were always prepared
Those majestic mountains so steep, so high they kiss the skies
The Hindu Kush has changed so many lives
Up the mountains with heavy loads we trod
Who knew hell was so close to God
Beauty and terror are a strong mixed drink
So we drank it like drunkards and tried not to think
Good men and bad men, Mothers lost son’s
Everyone loses their innocence when they carry guns
Washed in the blood, and baptized by fire
I will never forget those who were called higher
They say blood is thicker than water, well lead is thicker than blood
Brothers aren’t born they’re earned. In the poppy fields, the tears, and the mud
And when I get to heaven to Saint Peter I will tell
Another Paratrooper reporting for duty sir, I spent my time in hell


I have found very little resources about Steve Carlsen (everything's about Steve Carlson) from the internet; hence I shall write this report and detail the conflict in the poem based on my understanding of it.

When I first read the poem “We slept with our boots on”, it struck me that there was a sense of insecurity and urgency. The title itself had given me the impression that the persona, or the soldiers were on their guard even when sleeping, preparing for another surprise attack or strike. Throughout the poem, one can identify the conflict in the persona, who was forced to do what he did not want to.

In the first part of the poem, the persona’s helplessness is emphasized as “where we would land we had no clue” and “we’re leaving this bird whether we like it or not”. The fact that the persona had no idea of where they would land suggests that there is simply no destination; no specific location, no specific target, and the mindset of the soldiers at that time is “Just fight where they bring you to”. These soldiers are clueless about the plans and strategies, but were merely used as pawns to fight and “defend the country”. In the second quote, the “bird” refers to the helicopter, and when the persona said that they had no choice but to leave the helicopter, he may be implying that there was no turning back for them; they could not back out or run away in the helicopter, but had to stay in the fighting field until the enemy had been eliminated, or the soldiers themselves have died. These two quotes help readers sympathize with the persona for his helplessness in the matter.

In the second part of the poem, where most of the fighting takes place, the persona shows his reluctance to fight, yet he had no choice; there was only one rule in the ruthless and cruel battle field – kill or be killed. In a sense, this logic usually applies to animals in the wild, and hence this could draw a link between them, implying that the soldiers were merely animals fighting in the wild. Although the persona was scared, as he experienced “terror he can’t define” did not want to fire, he understood that the only way to live was to kill, and thus he “kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more”, as that was “what you have to do”. The word “have” suggests that it was a necessity to pull the trigger; to stay alive.

In the last part of the poem, where most of the shooting were over, the persona’s conflicting afterthoughts towards his inevitable murder of many people were expressed in the poem. After killing so many people, the persona must have felt very guilty and dirty, but the easiest way to forget this was to get drunk, and they “drank it like drunkards and tried not to think”. However, though indulged in alcohol, the persona is unable to forget these incidents and starts to dwell on it again, thinking that “everyone loses their innocence when they carry guns”, as the battlefield becomes an arena for mass murder for your own survival; no mercy, no cowardice. The persona then goes on to say that “lead is thicker than blood”, which implies that having a gun and the ability to shoot it well is far better than having a brother or relative, as it is ultimately the gun that can save you from trouble. On the other hand, the “brother or relative” is not born but earned from the sweat, blood and time spent together suffering. In essence, this means that in times of trouble, one would favour the gun more than his brother as the gun can help you more and a brother is merely a normal figure which can be “earned”.

Hence, this sums up the persona’s conflicting feelings towards his predicament.