in that heavier air"

3) Paradox : "the music of home – the sad pipes – summoning,

in the dwindling light of the plains"

 


Impact of each device: 

1)The repetition of "wrong" creates a sense of physically being rejected away from home , this causes emotional effects such as depression . The soldiers cannot get rid of their anxiety and depression due to which they have been suffering from homesickness etc. 
2) This repeated sound catches the idea of nostalgia on how much mercenaries have become inflicted , it makes the readers understands that they seem to hold  a heavy weight which they are carrying . Sense of depression and anxiety missing their home  . They feel they are responsible for depression for choosing to come all this way for money and war 
3) Paradox is being used here because Duffy focuses on these small moments , those which remain in your memory after they have passed . There is also a sense of a depressing reality this also indicates how harsh the real life is out there

Repetition: "Leaving the mountains, leaving the high fine air to go down, down" The double repetition of the words down and leaving represents the distance between the soldiers and their homes. Particularly the word "down" has an ominous effect, signifying the fear of the unknown among the soldiers. The use of repetition also focuses the reader's attention on both their physical and mental descent, highlighting the decline of their mental conditions and therefore bringing out the global issue as it is the cause of their descent.

Imagery: Imagery used particularly within stanza two clearly describes the soldier's feelings of nostalgia, providing a multi-sensory insight into their psyche and has the effect of acting as a mechanism to impose the feelings of nostalgia among the reader. Therefore, the reader can empathize with the soldier's dire situation and forces them to think about the lack of help given to them, bringing out the global issue.

Alliteration: Alliteration of the letter 'H' in stanza two has the effect of setting a rather pre-determined desperate tone within the poem. It has the effect of bringing the soldiers feelings of "ache" to full force for the reader, and therefore emphasizes their desperation faced due to the inadequate mental health services provided by the governments.

The poem nostalgia discusses how Soldiers/”Mercenaries” suppress their emotions,missing their loved ones and feeling an urge to return home but unable to do so as they are forced to work in conditions even for an extended period of time.

The poem uses oxymoron to emphasise on how Nostalgia affects the “mercenaries” both mentally and physically during war/conflict,for instance,”Hearing tell of it,there were those who stayed put, fearful of a sweet pain in the heart; of how it hurt, in that heavier air, to hear the music of home”,specifically,the conjunction “sweet pain” highlights oxymoron,as both of them are two contradictory words that are juxtaposed in order to give out irony making the reader understand how even the thought of family,or any of the loved ones could make them feel euphoric and compassion which could also could lead to nostalgia,desperate and maybe even regret to not being able to spend time with their dearest.

The poem uses paradox,to bring out empathy and even sympathy within the readers,in the last stanza,”It was Spring when one returned,...and everything changed”,as “one” ,the soldier, finds home