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;
Thomas Henry Smith (poet) Thomas Henry Smith (poet) Thomas Henry Smith (22 November 1824 – 23 September 1907) of Auckland was an English-born New Zealand Native Land Court Judge and poet. He is best known for the Māori language translation of "God Defend New Zealand", one of the two national anthems of New Zealand, which he wrote at the request of Governor George Edward Grey. Smith was born at Stroud, Gloucestershire, England. After his formal education he worked at a Land Surveying and Architecture office in Romford, Essex. In 1842, he went to New Zealand after being offered a cadetship by the New Zealand