Anonymous asked 8 years ago
Explain this line ”And smiled a smile that was, I think, the brightest that I’ve seen” from Stanza 6 of Michael Mack’s poem ‘Small Pain in My Chest’.
‘The brightest smile’ here can indicate two things, as far as I get this.
1. It reveals the soldier’s mental strength. He is hiding his pain by his smile. It was not the first time that the soldier boy smiled.
2. His smile reflexes his good nature and gratefulness towards the speaker, and helps in evoking the pity of war in us.
And to speak of the reason why the smile seemed to be the brightest, it outdid the speaker’s expectations from the boy who was in such a great pain. If we see someone to smile naturally even when we know of their pain, that really delivers a great aura.
His bright smile shows that he is grateful for the help he received from a stranger. It shows spirit of a soldier who gives away his life for a cause, with a smile on his face at the end.