The Gift in Wartime Exercise : Summary and Question Answers

The Gift In Wartime  Summary The first stanza of this poem begins with the speaker offering someone—an unnamed “you”—roses and a wedding gown. In the second stanza, this “you” replies by giving the speaker medals, silver stars, and a badge. These items appear to be less meaningful and personal than the items that the speaker offers. This pattern—where the speaker gives away much more than the “you”—continues throughout the poem. In the third stanza, the speaker offers their youth. In return, the “you” gives them the “smell of blood.” Indeed, as the poem unfolds, it appears as if the speaker’s offerings become more abstract, while the offerings of the “you” become more violent and indifferent. In the fifth stanza, the speaker gives the “you” clouds and a sacrifice. They sacrifice their pleasant “springtime” for the harshness of “cold winters.” Yet the “you” remains unmoved by these offerings. The “you” gives the speaker “lips with no smile” and “arms without tenderness.” dead. In the final …