Introduction
The best poems are usually those that reflect real life experiences and are written by people who went through the experiences for which they write. Randall Jarrell (1914-1965) a world war 11 veteran majored in writing poetry about war and the life of soldiers. He was also a revered literary critic whose opinions of other poets were stark and at times highly controversial. His poems carry themes such as the hardships of being a soldier, the power of the state and the horrors of war (Lehman and John, 8). He specifically wrote numerous experiences about the World War 2 notably a short, five-line poem titled Death of the Ball Turret Gunner that captures a horrible death of a fighter. In his poems, Jarrell reiterates that many of the soldiers were not only young and inexperienced but and had somehow been compelled to join the army and fight for their country in a horrific war- the World War 2.
Randall Jarrell (1914- 1965) was born and raises Nashville Tennessee. He earned his bachelors and masters degrees from Vanderbilt University. He taught at Kenyon College from 1937 to 1939. He first published a poetry book titled Blood for a stranger in 1942 as he was getting into the Army. He published the second book titled Little Friend, Little Friend in 1945. This second set of poems explicitly tells of the horror stories of young soldiers. In this and other volumes, Jarrell gained a reputation for writing highly sensitive and catchy poems that sparked emotions and reactions from his intended readers (Lehman and John, 10).. Besides writing poetry Jarrell was also an essayist who gained fame as a revered literary critic who was as fully expressive and critical in his own poems as he was with his criticism of other literary works. Many in the literary world were in awe of Jarrell’s with, brilliance and pathos. He also had a heart for the oppressed and showed mercy and insight into bettering lives through his poetry and literary works. As Jarrell died through a motor accident in 1965, he had challenged the poetry world with brilliance in touching humanity through poetry.
The poem Death of the Ball Turret Gunner is a poem about soldiers and war probably the World War 2. The narrator is a soldier who was the gunner inside a ball turret of a bomber while up in the skies as evidenced by the words “six miles from earth” ( Jarrell, line 3). A ball turret refers to a rotating ball that has been mounted with machine guns and located underneath a war aircraft. A gunner is supposed to sit in the ball and fire the machine guns. It is in one such ball turret that the narrator was killed and his remains later cleaned from using a hose. The poem is narrated by the dead soldier, which adds wit and provokes emotions as he explains how he met his death. Though only five lines, the poem manages to elaborate the horrors of being a soldier in war as evidenced by the mention of “nightmare fighters” (Jarrell, line 4). In this case, the soldier is held in a ball turret, which is a metaphorical womb to show that life is fragile. Other major themes in the poem show that death is inescapable, and that the power of the state is overwhelms lives. For instance, the words “from my mother’s sleep I fell into the state” show the innocence and probable unwillingness for the deceased soldier to join the army and succumb to the state.
Though he was not a ball turret gunner, Jarrell was a WWII veteran who served with bomber crews as a control tower operator; the poem Death of the Ball Turret Gunner qualifies him as a legendary war poet. This poem and others about the war and the life of soldiers depict the army and World War II as horrible experiences. It seems that death was looming at every turn and that surviving the war was always by mere luck. Going by Jarrell’s account in the poems, the machines, and the technique used in war exposed soldiers to extreme danger while the war itself was brutal. It seems that the young men had limited options and they had to join the army and fight for their countries especially in the US context. Jarrell’s short and witty poems are a reflection of the true and actual nature of the experiences soldiers had in war- brief and unforgiving. He seemed never to write or criticize for the fun of it or to impress but to express the grim realities of life however sad they came packaged.
Randall Jarrell (1914- 1965) remains one of the most revered poets of his generation. He achieved this feat courtesy of his wit, ease of expression and bravery to express sensitive issues- war and the lives of soldiers. He remains a poet whose concentration on the war especially the World War 2 elaborates more on its grievous nature to many young and inexperienced soldiers. These soldiers seemingly sacrificed by powerful states as they sought to secure futures for their people. It is against such a backdrop that Jarrell could afford to pen a small but extremely powerful five-line “bomb” of a poem titled Death of the Ball Turret Gunner, which seems to sum up his purpose of ever engaging in poetry. Jarrell was a also a literary critic famed for his sharp, and unforgiving criticism of literary pieces and especially those of fellow poets. In all, few poets in history have matched the wit, sensitivity, and ease with which Randall Jarrell managed express issues about soldiers and war.
Works cited
Lehman, David, and John Brehm. The Oxford Book of American Poetry. Oxford [u.a.: Oxford Univ. Press, 2006. Print.
Jarrell, Randall. The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner. 2016. 28 April 2016 <https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/death-ball-turret-gunner>.
