# This Is No Case of Petty Right or Wrong explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Edward Thomas.

## What happens

The speaker rejects simplistic patriotic or political judgments about war, expressing a complex love for England that transcends jingoism and acknowledges the nation's deep, almost sacred, connection to its people and history.

## Themes in this chapter

### War and Mortality

The poem directly engages with the moral complexities of war, rejecting simplistic binaries of right and wrong.

### Place and Belonging

England is portrayed as a living entity, the source of identity and love, binding the speaker to the land and its people.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who articulates a nuanced patriotism, rejecting petty partisanship and affirming a deep, almost religious love for England.

## Key lines

> This is no case of petty right or wrong That politicians or philosophers Can judge.

This conflict cannot be reduced to simple moral categories that politicians or thinkers can decide.

_The speaker dismisses conventional moral and intellectual frameworks for understanding war._

> I hate not Germans, nor grow hot With love of Englishmen, to please newspapers.

I do not hate Germans, nor do I feign love for Englishmen just to satisfy the press.

_The speaker rejects jingoistic nationalism and media-driven sentiment._

> She is all we know and live by, and we trust She is good and must endure, loving her so: And as we love ourselves we hate her foe.

England is everything we know and depend on; we trust in her goodness and permanence because we love her, and that love makes us hate her enemies as we would our own.

_The speaker defines patriotism as an organic, self-identifying love for the nation, which naturally extends to opposing its enemies._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/this-is-no-case-of-petty-right-or-wrong
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_5_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters