Weapons Training Bruce Dawe

In the poem, Weapons Training Bruce Dawe uses language forms and features to show war in an unfavourable light. Weapons Training is known as a anti-war poem. He uses dramatic monologue by an angry, racist drill seargent who expresses Bruce Dawes views on war through the use of rhetorical questions, structure, onomatopoeia, and racist and sexual language.

Firstly, in Weapons Training it is obvious onomatopoeia is used to show exaggeration and to set the mood for the reader. Some examples of onomatopoeia is ‘those eyeballs click and the gentle pitter-patter.

The uses of these words make the reader feel as if it is soft and gentle. But those words are over exaggerated onomatopoeia . this over exaggerated onomatopoeia Dawe uses gives the audience an insight on how mean, strict and controlling the drill sergeant is. Secondly, Bruce also shows unfavourable light through the text structure and the way the poem is presented. Dawe expects the readers to know some of the horrors and conflict that take place in war.

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Although he provides graphic imagery, he expects the readers to be able to relate them to their own personal experiences, enhancing the quality of this poem by creating a direct link between the readers and death due to war and the conflict. Lastly, Bruce uses language features to present war in an unfavourable light. He represents this conflict in the form of graphic imagery and racist language which adds to emotion to the reader.