Arms and the Boy The title alludes to the opening words of Virgil's Latin epic poem the "Aeneid": "Arma virumque cano" ("Of arms and the man I sing"). The poem is written in heroic couplets, in which successive pairs of lines have related ending sounds. In this instance, the final words do not rhyme; for example, "blade" and "blood" in the quotation. This is a scheme called half rhyme. Text of the Poem at Poetry Foundation Arms and the Boy "Arms and the Boy" is a poem by Wilfred Owen. Like Owen's other famous poems, it deals with the atrocities of World War I;
William Mercer (poet) an inordinate self-conceit' (DNB). But his conceit did at least ensure that enough information survived to reconstruct the outline of his life." Mercer has been mistakenly credited by some with writing "The Moderate Cavalier, or, The Soldier's Description of Ireland" which was published in 1675, but the William Mercer who wrote it had served as a Royalist in the English Civil War. William Mercer (poet) William Mercer (born circa 1605, died in or after 1675), was a Scottish poet and army officer. At fifteen he ran away from school to become a soldier and fought in the 30 Years War.