Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Iron Music" by Ford Madox Ford is a poem that juxtaposes the horrors of war with the idyllic memories of the Golden Valley near Tintern on the Wye. The opening lines set the scene of the poem, describing the sound of the French guns that are continuously rolling, and the heavy and slow guns of their own troops. The transport wagons move sinuously along the Ancre, which is covered in dust, and the larks sing up high. However, the speaker sees the Golden Valley down by Tintern on the Wye in his mind's eye, and remembers the time when he and his comrades took the Chepstow train just nine weeks ago.

The second stanza brings the reader back to the reality of war, where dust and corpses cover the thistles, and the pas-shells burst like snow. The shrapnel screams and whistles on the B?(c)court road below, and the High Wood bursts and bristles, where the mine-clouds foul the sky. Despite these horrors, the speaker finds solace in his memory of being up at Wyndcroft, over Tintern on the Wye.

The poem is filled with contrast, where the peaceful idyll of the Golden Valley is set against the destructive chaos of war. The "Iron Music" of the title refers to the sound of the guns and the shrapnel, which is a stark contrast to the natural music of the larks. The poem is a poignant reminder of the devastation of war and the beauty of the world that it destroys.

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