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.

What does work in persuading Americans is violence. War is violent, but because of what it has done for the advancement of American society they overlook that aspect of it. Unprovoked violence works best because unlike war, which has a point to it, unprovoked violence is pointless. The speaker for Gun Control Equals Murder understands this and uses the story of the rape and murder of two little innocent girls to pull on the heartstrings of Americans. No one can argue the fact that if those girls had had a gun they probably would still be alive today, but what would they have had to do with that gun to scare off their aggressors? Point the gun at them? Fire off a round? Shoot one of them? The speaker implies that only violence can counter violence. The hope being that the violence needed to counter will be less than what would have occurred had counter action never been taken.

This leads us to the unconditional hate shown by the speaker towards the teenage aggressors. His hatred of them is so strong that his fantasies about what he would have done had he been there are so well thought-out and planned that he even knows when he would have to reload his gun so he can finish shooting the little twerps in the knees. This is what he would have done to prevent the boys from murdering the two girls. This is his counter violence. His zeal with which he says this encourages Americans to believe that this is how we should counter violence. Some may not agree with his tactics but the sheer fierceness of them will prompt others to increase the ferocity of their counter violence, even if not to his level. The speaker has succeeded in his goal of convincing Americans on the disadvantages of gun control by appealing to their hearts and giving them reason to arm themselves so that they too, can counter violence.

To Canadians that notion is almost laughable. They believe that two wrongs do not make a right. On the other hand, Americans scoff at Canada's theory that fewer guns mean less crime. Americans think that fewer guns will, if anything, allow crime to flourish because people will not be able to defend themselves. The opinions expressed in Canadian and American poetry are different because Canadian and American ways of thinking are different. Our life makes us who we are. The same goes for countries. America and Canada are like two brothers. America, the eldest, had to fight for every bit freedom his parents granted him. Canada, the youngest, simply had to ask politely for freedom since his older brother had already cleared the way. Both brothers came from the same place, but the order in which they came has made all the difference.