The War Prayer by Mark Twain is a short story about a town that was extatic for a war to start, but their excitement quickly shifted to fear as their prayers manifested into reality. The town didn’t realize the caliber of what they were praying for. The tone in this piece takes a sharp turn from happiness to fear. The tone is demonstrated through alliteration, diction, and deep irony.
In the beginning of the literary work, it opens with imagery to set the scene of what the town looked like, it was full of chaos and animation. A town entranced by the idea of victory, but blissfully ignorant of what goes along with it. Alliteration is a key tactic used to convey the tone of the piece, an example of this is “the drums were beating, the bands …show more content…
The townspeople all seemed to pray about the same thing, the war. Their seemingly innocent prayer asked god to “watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work; bless them, shield them in the day of battle and the hour of peril, bear them in his mighty hand, make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody onset; help them to crush the foe, grant to them and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory…” In this quote, it’s understood the townspeople wanted their soldiers to be safe and be victorious, but they were blissfully ignorant to the full extent of war. They didn’t fully understand that in order to be victorious, the other side would experience many deaths along with pain. At the church, a stranger arrived to say “I come from the throne- bearing a message from Almighty God!” Using “throne” represents one of the most traditional views of God. “Smothe” is also used in the following sentence, this word stands out because it’s a word typically used in the Bible. This messenger comes to town to tell the townspeople that he’ll answer their prayers, but they should understand exactly what they’re praying for. The diction in the closing paragraphs is key in the tone changing from excitement to a darker more serious one.
In conclusion, this literary work uses alliteration
In the beginning of the literary work, it opens with imagery to set the scene of what the town looked like, it was full of chaos and animation. A town entranced by the idea of victory, but blissfully ignorant of what goes along with it. Alliteration is a key tactic used to convey the tone of the piece, an example of this is “the drums were beating, the bands …show more content…
The townspeople all seemed to pray about the same thing, the war. Their seemingly innocent prayer asked god to “watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work; bless them, shield them in the day of battle and the hour of peril, bear them in his mighty hand, make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody onset; help them to crush the foe, grant to them and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory…” In this quote, it’s understood the townspeople wanted their soldiers to be safe and be victorious, but they were blissfully ignorant to the full extent of war. They didn’t fully understand that in order to be victorious, the other side would experience many deaths along with pain. At the church, a stranger arrived to say “I come from the throne- bearing a message from Almighty God!” Using “throne” represents one of the most traditional views of God. “Smothe” is also used in the following sentence, this word stands out because it’s a word typically used in the Bible. This messenger comes to town to tell the townspeople that he’ll answer their prayers, but they should understand exactly what they’re praying for. The diction in the closing paragraphs is key in the tone changing from excitement to a darker more serious one.
In conclusion, this literary work uses alliteration