The way the author mentions death and mourning throughout the poem obviously indicates that he has experienced immense loss in war. The author talks about the scream of shells and the call of the bugles which means that the author is a soldier who has experience the chaotic nature of battle.
The words “passing bells” and “drawing down of blinds” convey to the reader that the author believes in respecting the dead. “drawing down of blinds” was a way of showing respect and honour to someone how has recently passed away. These words could also mean that the author has experience an intense amount of loss due to war.
The line “choir of wailing shells” is a piece of personification used by the author to describe the horrific noise of the battle field. The word choir was used to show that its not just one individual shell but multiple shells wailing through the air. The word wailing is used to portray that the shells have a high pitching screaming sound. The author through the use of language techniques can create a much more detail image for the reader. If the author just wrote “choir of shells” the image painted in the readers head wouldn’t be anywhere near as vivid or powerful.
“passing bells”, ” no mockeries now”, “demented”, “monstrous anger of the guns”, “drawing down of blinds”. All these lines or words are examples of positive and negative images used by the author to contrast and show the reader that those who experience the brutality of war still get treated with respect after they die. The soldiers have to face the “monstrous anger of the guns” and most of them will die, however the dead soldiers are still treated with the respect that they deserve represented by the “drawing down of blinds”.