Arms and the Boy Themes

Sure, "Arms and the Boy" doesn't describe any actual fighting, but it does give us a vivid picture of a young soldier who, apparently, is learning the ropes of warfare. He's young, doesn't know how...

The boy in "Arms and the Boy" seems innocent in a couple of different senses. He's innocent in the sense of "not guilty" (the weapons are the real bad guys in this poem), but he's also innocent in...

War is full of death, and "Arms and the Boy" has plenty of the Big D in it. The boy's bayonet-blade resembles some kind of murderous monster (it is hungry for "flesh"), his bullets want to bury the...