The Man He Killed
Edexcel GCSE English Literature revision on The Man He Killed. Aligned to the Edexcel GCSE English Literature 1ET0 specification. This bank has 15 practice questions on this topic.
About this topic
Sample questions (3 of 15)
-
Question 1
Who says: 'Had he and I but met / By some old ancient inn'?
- A) The narrator
- B) The dead soldier
- C) The innkeeper
- D) The narrator's father
Show answer
Answer: The narrator
The speaker is a soldier reflecting on his experience in war. The entire poem is a first-person perspective of the man who committed the killing.
-
Question 2
What literary technique does the writer use in: 'I shot him dead because— / Because he was my foe'?
- A) Metaphor
- B) Enjambment
- C) Personification
- D) Simile
Show answer
Answer: Enjambment
Enjambment occurs when a phrase carries over from one line to the next without a terminal punctuation mark. It creates a stuttering, uncertain rhythm that reflects the speaker's internal conflict.
-
Question 3
What does this line reveal about the narrator: 'He thought he'd 'list, perhaps, / Off-hand like—just as I'?
- A) He is a trained professional soldier
- B) He is regretful and thoughtful
- C) He is aggressive and cruel
- D) He is indifferent to the death
Show answer
Answer: He is regretful and thoughtful
The conversational tone and the realisation that they both joined the army for similar, mundane reasons show the narrator's thoughtful and regretful state of mind. He is not a cold-blooded killer, but a man haunted by his actions.
Want to test yourself on the remaining cards for this topic?
12 more questions on The Man He Killed — plus mistakes tracking and spaced repetition across the whole English Literature spec.