Central idea of the poem “Asleep in the Valley”./Justify the title of the poem ‘Asleep in the Valley’../How does the picture of the soldier describe the tragedy of war? Explain. Or, Describe the poet’s attitude towards war.

Ans:-Asleep in the Valley means sleeping in the valley. A very young soldier is lying on the ground of a valley open mouthed. He is lying with a gentle innocent smile. The poet thinks that the soldier is sleeping peacefully in the sunlight. The poet requests the insects not to disturb his sleep. He requests the nature to keep the solder worm, otherwise he may catch cold. Suddenly two red spots of the blood are noticed by the side of his body. This depicts that the soldier is already dead. His sleep is eternal and he will never wake again. Through this the poet Rimbaud evokes the futility of war. War only destroys young lives. So the title suggests the tragedy of the young soldier and the futility of war

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 Ans:-Asleep in the Valley is a war poem. The poet Arthur Rimbaud experienced the horror of war. In this poem a soldier is described as very young. He is lying asleep in a peaceful small valley. He is bathed in sunlight. The smiling face of the soldier indicates that he is innocent and pure. The sun is raining on him. Yet neither of these can awake him. At the end, we see the bullet marks on the side of his body. Symbolically Rimbaud tries to describe the tragedy of war. The soldier lies open mouthed. Death is countered by the growth and existence of bushes, flowers and plants. Thus the poem proclaims the futility of war. War only destroys young lives. So the poet’s anger about war is clear in the poem