In Robert Southey’s poem ‘After Blenheim’, the poet criticizes the common people’s idea of a great victory in war. It is because the common people don’t have the logical mind to raise questions and innocently believe the propaganda of false patriotism indoctrinated in them by the warmongers. Common people like Kaspar forget the massive loss of lives and property in war with time. As the so-called leaders call it a ‘great victory’, they call it so, without even understanding why it is great. The poet raises his question through the young mind of Peterkin —

“But what good came of it at last?”

This is the question that every common man should ask and then they will understand why war cannot be ‘great’.