The poem begins with the connection word ‘And’ for emphasis and as an interruption to the soldiers. It is for the drill sergeant to interrupt the soldiers dazing and get them to listen to him. This poem is also called a dramatic epilogue. A dramatic epilogue is a one person piece of drama. ‘Weapon’s Training’ could actually be used as a drama piece as it is very dramatic. ‘I want to hear those eyeballs click.. ’ Click is the example of onomatopoeia.
Is emphasis and it is creating a sense of fear among the soldiers. What the drill sergeant is actually saying with this is turn your heads quickly right so I can hear your eyeballs move in their sockets. He is being very serious and does not want anyone to take him for granted. ‘you’ in the forth line is referring to a soldier who isn’t exactly paying attention or looks somewhat out of line. He is pointing someone out as an act of intimidation. Homophobia is negative feelings and attitudes towards homosexuality.
It is represented in line four with the rhetorical question ‘are you queer? ’ it is representing a sense of hostility towards the homosexuals by asking that question. He uses sarcasm with the quote ‘ if you had one more brain it’d be lonely’. It is suggesting the soldier doesn’t actually have a brain to start with. The sergeant is referring to the one with not much of a brain when he says ‘with the unsightly frat between your elephant ears’ The person with the elephant ears is one of the soldiers in the back row.
The recruit would feel ashamed and intimidated about publicising that he has elephant ears in front of the rest of the soldiers. ‘Open that drain’ is the metaphor used in the line 8. it is effective because it is comparing his mind to a drain. Dawe uses very little punctuation to make a conversation. It is also so it is an overload of information all at once with very little pauses or anything. It is a free verse poem which
