War
The poems main topic is war. The narrator states his ambiguous opinion on the realities of war. War as a whole is mainly portrayed as a tool to bring freedom to a greater number of people. In this sense the poem urges individuals to follow this path, to fulfill this need for freedom. However, in stark contrast to the more personal achievements the poem talks about, negative reasons for war are not mentioned. In this sense it can be said that while the narrator is unsure about the practical side of war for the individual, the concept of war as a tool for freedom is not questioned within the poem.
Glory vs. Failure
The more personal theme of the poem is concerned with the positive and negative potential outcomes for the individual. The poem starts with a concept that might seem weird to the audience. The individual is urged to fight, no matter where, to gain their personal glory. The narrator instils the picture of the glorious Roman Empire and maybe the Spartan warriors into the mind of the audience, urging them to seek their own fighting glory. It might even end up getting the individual acknowledged by the king as a knight. However, within the same line, on the same level, the poem discusses the potential failures one has to deal with. One could die in various ways, one could end up on the wrong side of a war and get executed. Similarly to the theme of war, the ambiguity between the boons and disadvantages of war is a striking feature of this poem.
Freedom
Connected to the theme of war, namely as its outcome, freedom is presented as the greater good everyone should aim for. The poem goes as far as to suggest that people should seek out the fight for freedom, to make their mark, to further the spread of freedom. However, when reading this poem, one should always consider the historical realities in which the poem was written. What does freedom mean to an author like Lord Byron. History has shown that most wars are led for freedom, however, freedom distorted through the lens of the acting force. It has been argued that this poem is a slight criticism of this usage as freedom as the scapegoat of every war imaginable. This interpretation might be a little bit of a stretch.
