# II: French Nocturne explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by C. S. Lewis.

## What happens

Set in the desolate trenches of Monchy-le-Preux, the chapter contrasts the serene, moonlit night with the brutal reality of war. The speaker observes the trenches, a ruined village, and a plane flying toward the moon, which briefly stirs dreams of escape. Yet he dismisses this as false fancy, acknowledging his own animalistic transformation into a 'wolf' that can only bark for slaughter, not sing.

## Themes in this chapter

### War and Suffering

The chapter vividly depicts the grim reality of war through the trenches, ruined village, and the speaker's dehumanization into a 'wolf' that can only bark for slaughter.

### Illusion vs. Reality

The speaker initially indulges in the dream of the plane reaching a 'white land' of dear dreams, but dismisses it as 'false mocking fancy,' contrasting the illusion of escape with the harsh truth of war.

## Character check-ins

### Dymer

The speaker of the poem, reflecting on the war-torn landscape and his own loss of humanity.

## Key lines

> False mocking fancy! Once I too could dream, / Who now can only see with vulgar eye / That he’s no nearer to the moon than I / And she’s a stone that catches the sun’s beam.

The speaker rejects the illusion of the plane reaching the moon, acknowledging that he can no longer dream and sees only the mundane reality that the moon is a lifeless rock.

_This passage underscores the theme of disillusionment and the loss of imaginative escape due to war._

> I am a wolf. Back to the world again, / And speech of fellow-brutes that once were men / Our throats can bark for slaughter: cannot sing.

The speaker identifies himself as a wolf, reduced to a beastly state, and notes that he and his fellow soldiers can only communicate through barks for killing, not through song or poetry.

_This highlights the dehumanizing effect of war, transforming men into animals focused solely on violence._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_3_se/chapters/ii-french-nocturne
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_3_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_3_se/chapters