Memorial Day (Houseman)

[reedrover]

Comments

[tamnonlinear]

A few years back I learned that Houseman wrote that poem in response to the Kaiser dismissing the English troops as 'A contemptible little army of mercenaries', an insult about the fact that British troops were paid rather than conscripted (discussion here.)

Houseman is one of my favorite poets. There are a few of his poems I can recite. He does a great deal with his words.

[reedrover]

That's a good point, and one I should probably add to my posts about this poem.

I appreciate Houseman for his vast imagery and simple style. I memorized this poem back in high school from reading The Runner, and still love it.