‘O what is That Sound’ is a ballad style poem. One of the central ideas of the poem is the frailty (weakness) of human beings. The speaker was frail when he continued avoiding the truth even when it was right in his/her face. The spouse was frail when he/she chose to escape leaving the speaker alone to face the wrath of the soldiers. The speaker of the poem hears a sound down in the valley from his home in the morning. He asks his spouse what that sound was. The spouse replies that it was the marching of soldiers. The rest of the poem continues in this conversational style except for the last stanza. The speaker next asks what the light that keeps flashing was. It is the flash of their weapons dear, says the spouse. Similarly, the speaker continues to question the actions of the soldiers and the spouse gives appropriate answers. The soldiers all the while keep marching towards the speaker’s house. The speaker thinks that they would stop somewhere before, but no; they pass the doctor’s house and the parson’s church and the cunning farmer’s barn, straight towards his house. The spouse says he/she was leaving the speaker now. The speaker, afraid asks him/her if the vows he/she took were all false. The spouse replies that they were all true but still, he/she must leave. And then the soldiers break the door and come into the house with burning eyes.
Source: https://beamingnotes.com
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