In March in the ranks, hard priest and the road unknown readers can infer the speaker is shocked by the scene he encounters when his troops stop at the church, which lines from the poem support his inference
Entering, but for a minute, I see a site beyond all the pictures and poems ever made
Till, after midnight glimmer upon us, the lights of dim building
A large old church at the crossing road an impromptu hospital
We come to an open space in the woods, and by the lighted building
The lines that support the inference that the speaker is shocked by the scene he encounters at the church are:
- "Entering, but for a minute, I see a site beyond all the pictures and poems ever made" - This line suggests that what the speaker sees surpasses any previous visual representation of a scene, implying that it is shocking or remarkable.
- "Till, after midnight glimmer upon us, the lights of dim building" - The use of the word "glimmer" and "dim" to describe the lights of the building suggests that the scene is eerie or unexpected.
- "A large old church at the crossing road an impromptu hospital" - The juxtaposition of a church and a hospital conveys a sense of surprise or dissonance, as these are two different types of buildings with different purposes.
- "We come to an open space in the woods, and by the lighted building" - The mention of an "open space in the woods" suggests that the location of the church is unexpected, which further enhances the sense of shock or surprise.