Hello friends today we are discuss this question, the question is -“His smile… without guile.” – Mention the figure of speech used here. What does th want to mean here?
The poet here makes use of a simile, where he compares the smile on the soldier’s lips with that of an infant’s.
Rimbaud here emphasises upon the innocence reflected on the face of the soldier who lies seemingly in peace in the warm, green, sun-soaked thick bushes of the valley. The poet wishes to draw the attention of the readers over the soldier’s untimely death, depicting the horrific and unjust nature of war. The young soldier perhaps has not been aware of the hypocrisy of the world like an infant, before he is mercilessly put to death by the bullets shot at him. As the young soldier seems to rest in the lap of Nature, the poet requests Nature to play the role of an affectionate mother and keep him warm, sheltering him from the cold.