Peter Davidson's The Last Word
I believe the Poem, The Last Word, by Peter Davidson is about the slaughtering of an innocent animal by a novice butcher. The reluctance of the action expressed in the poem makes it obvious that the killer is inexperienced with killing animals because they still have a hard time committing the action. And we are going off of the idea that no man is innocent, the one executed would have to be some kind of animal. The animal in the story most likely grew up in captivity and had its spirit broken a long time ago. Proof of this would be in lines 2 to 3, saying, "You shed no tear--not near me--but held your neck/Bare for the blow..." A creature that won't fight back in the slightest and is ready for death undoubtedly had its will to live
stripped from it from the years it spent in captivity. It could have even been a hen used for eggs ready to be executed because it is no longer useful. It is even stated in the poem that the executioner (the butcher in this case), had forgotten what was given to them by the animal and had taken what they had to offer into their body. Basically, it means that they took the old hen for granted and now after using them they would get rid of them like they were nothing. However, it's evident that the butcher doesn't see the hen as something he can easily throw away. Once again, the reluctance shows that they still care about the animal. "... I had been too frightened/ Ever to deliver, even in words. And now,/In spite of me, plummeting it came.", written in lines 3 to 5. This tells us about how the beloved creature, taken for granted, now was to regretfully killed by someone who either raised it or by someone sympathetic to the sad life of the animal. The butcher in the poem expresses throughout the whole text how reluctant they were to kill the animal. Now, this is important because an experienced butcher would have no problem at all taking the cleaver or, "axe", and hacking the poor thing to pieces. At one point the narrator talks about how they will remember the bones in the animal's neck snapping and the axe nicking through their skin, hitting the block their head was resting on. Making it almost seem like it was the first experience or job as a butcher.
stripped from it from the years it spent in captivity. It could have even been a hen used for eggs ready to be executed because it is no longer useful. It is even stated in the poem that the executioner (the butcher in this case), had forgotten what was given to them by the animal and had taken what they had to offer into their body. Basically, it means that they took the old hen for granted and now after using them they would get rid of them like they were nothing. However, it's evident that the butcher doesn't see the hen as something he can easily throw away. Once again, the reluctance shows that they still care about the animal. "... I had been too frightened/ Ever to deliver, even in words. And now,/In spite of me, plummeting it came.", written in lines 3 to 5. This tells us about how the beloved creature, taken for granted, now was to regretfully killed by someone who either raised it or by someone sympathetic to the sad life of the animal. The butcher in the poem expresses throughout the whole text how reluctant they were to kill the animal. Now, this is important because an experienced butcher would have no problem at all taking the cleaver or, "axe", and hacking the poor thing to pieces. At one point the narrator talks about how they will remember the bones in the animal's neck snapping and the axe nicking through their skin, hitting the block their head was resting on. Making it almost seem like it was the first experience or job as a butcher.