On the surface Canadians and Americans appear to be the same. We drive the same cars. We wear the same clothes. Dig a little deeper, however; and it is clear that there are stark differences between the values Americans profess and the virtues Canadians possess. To understand the root of these differences we have to look back and examine the very foundations that these two nations were built upon. America won its independence after a bloody revolution. Canada gained its autonomy through peaceful political negotiations. Surely the ideals of a nation created by guns and gall differ from that of a country conceived by cooperation and compromise. Since it was guns that gained America's freedom they believe that to preserve freedom we must maintain the right to bear arms. Canada's history does not yield its citizens this fearful mindset. This difference of opinion is evident in each nation's poetry.
The Anxious Dead by Canadian John McCrae delivers its message for increased gun control in a subtle yet effective way. Gun Control Equals Murder by American Bob Wallace is more upfront with its stance against gun control.
The moods of the two poems are also different. The Anxious Dead is a gloriously hopeful and optimistic poem that calls, almost pleadingly, for the end to war and gun violence. It does so in a tasteful manner. The poem still honours veterans' sacrifices and contributions to freedom and keeps “the faith for which they died”, but it also shows the imbecility that even after all this death and destruction “we still make war”. Canada's freedom was not won on the battlefield. It was won in the meeting room. Canadians view war and guns as unnecessary solutions to a conflict that could be solved without bloodshed, of course their poetry will reflect this attitude.
Gun Control Equals Murder is exactly the opposite. Instead of having an optimistic view of the future it has a pessimistic view of the past. The poem is based on the speaker's tale of two girls raped and murdered by a group of teenage boys. The speaker seems to be saying “if only”. “If only the girls had had a gun. If only I had been there to protect them”. The speaker thinks that “if those girls had even had a two shot derringer on them they would be alive today”. Just like the opinions these poems promote, the moods made are in stark contrast. The Canadians' hope that mankind will realize the error of his ways and put an end to guns is a mirror opposite of the Americans' regret at what happened because guns were not there. America's freedom was won on the battlefield. They view war and guns as solutions to a conflict because that has been what has worked for them. If it ain't broke why fix it?
Likewise, both poems get their meaning across in very different ways. The Anxious Dead uses four stanzas of “abab” rhymes to advocate gun control. It starts off with a recurring form of anaphora, “O guns”, which is repeated throughout the poem. Metonymy is used once in the poem, replacing “O guns” with “O flashing muzzles”. The speaker also uses archaic language when he says, “Bid them patient, and some day, anon,/They shall feel the earth enrapt in silence deep.” The use of this device gives the poem a timeless quality. It says, war was happening then and it is happening now. Anastrophe is employed in the line, “then let you mighty chorus witness be”, to maintain the rhyme. Allusion to Caesar is also used. The speaker's use of literary devices is meant to make the poem flow faster and sound sweeter. The speaker figures that the better it flows and the sweeter it sounds the more inspiring it will be.
Literary embellishments in Gun Control Equals Murder are less about style and more about atmosphere. The speaker creates a feeling of casual conversation with the reader by using similes such as, “I felt like I was two inches tall” or “I felt like I could have crawled into a mouse hole”. The speaker also uses satire to add some levity to what is otherwise a very grave subject. Overall, the speaker delivers his message in a benign, caring, and informal package, much like a friend giving advice to another friend. Both poems succeed in promoting their point, be it in a sweet symphony of words or a heartfelt suggestion from a friend.
The Anxious Dead uses the theme of war to promote its point on tightening up gun control because war is something that all Canadians fear and detest. If the speaker can show how brave soldiers with guns want only to exchange them for peace, then he can convince the fearful civilian to exchange his pistol for the greater good of man. The speaker does not blame soldiers for the death and destruction war has brought on to mankind. He, instead, encourages us to abolish war and guns as testament to all those who lost their lives because of it. “They [dead soldiers] shall feel earth enrapt in silence deep; shall greet, in wonderment, the quiet dawn, and in content may turn them to their sleep”. The speaker is saying that we must wake up from the dark and fearful night of war and embrace the glorious dawn of reconciliation. This and only this will bring our fallen soldiers final peace. Canadians are weary of war and guns, Americans not so much. While themes of war are appropriate for convincing Canadians of the merits of gun control, such themes will not work south of the border to convince Americans of the disadvantages of it.
