Poetry · Chapter
Man and Dog explained
An old man, a former navvy and soldier, walks ten miles toward Alton with his small, useless dog, reflecting on his past labors and his three sons fighting in the war.
What happens
An old man, a former navvy and soldier, walks ten miles toward Alton with his small, useless dog, reflecting on his past labors and his three sons fighting in the war. The speaker bids him goodnight, and the man and dog disappear into the twilight wood.
Themes in this chapter
War and Mortality
The old man's sons are at war, and he speaks of soldiers in the trenches, contrasting his own peaceful walk with the violence of the front.
Solitude and Reflection
The old man walks alone with his dog, reflecting on his life's work and the fate of his sons, embodying a solitary journey through memory.
Place and Belonging
The journey from Chilgrove to Alton, and the old man's past labor across English shires, grounds the poem in a specific landscape and sense of displacement.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The speaker who encounters the old man on the road and bids him goodnight.
- Old Man
A lame, elderly man walking to Alton, reminiscing about his past work as a navvy and soldier, and whose three sons are fighting in the war.
- The Huckster
Not directly present, but the old man's mention of a 'money-box' and flint-picking alludes to a huckster-like existence.
Key passages
“The old man stared up at the mistletoe / That hung too high in the poplar's crest for plunder / Of any climber, though not for kissing under”
The old man looked at the mistletoe high in the poplar tree, too high to pick but still usable for Christmas kissing.
Highlights the old man's observation of a natural detail and the contrast between practical use and tradition.
“His sons, three sons, were fighting, but the hoe / And reap-hook he liked, or anything to do with trees.”
His three sons were at war, but he preferred working with tools like the hoe and reap-hook, or any task involving trees.
Reveals the old man's personal preference for peaceful labor over war, and his connection to the land.
“She's not much use, but still she's company, / Though I'm not. She goes everywhere with me.”
The dog isn't very helpful, but she keeps him company, even though he doesn't think he's good company himself. She follows him everywhere.
Emphasizes the old man's loneliness and the simple companionship of his dog.