Question

small pain in my chest is anti war poem. justify it by giving illustration from poem

Answer 1

'Small Pain in My chest' by Michael Mack is an anti-war poem in a real sense. By means of a conversation between a defeated, dying soldier and the narrator, the poet highlights destruction of war and repetition of the phrase 'small pain in my chest' signify the magnitude of destruction due to war is much larger as compared to the wounds received by the soldier (as small pain). But the real pity is aroused when the soldier boy expresses his concern regarding what his mother and wife would think if they saw him in such helpless condition. The boy thought himself to be a man “full of vim and zest”. It seems silly to him that war has made him so calm and made him sit there with the small pain in his chest. He really feels the futility and uselessness of war. And so feel we. The poet Michael Mack has deliberately and cleverly made us feel bad for the innocent soldier boy. That is how he wants to convey his anti-war message through his poem Small Pain in My Chest.