The Writers' Attitudes to War in Three Poems

The Writers' Attitudes to War in Three Poems

The First World War was the most destructive ever known. Nearly a

million British men were killed and it affected every town and

village. The 18-40 male age group was dramatically diminished, which

meant nearly a whole generation was wiped out. During the war people

got increasing information about the war conditions and the patriotic

excitement disappeared. This affected the number of men enlisting.

People's attitudes to war depended on their experiences. Men who were

fighting would have a different approach, because they experienced the

poor conditions, horrific injuries and bitter weather. Many women

would have had a more positive view on the war; because of the

advantage they were in terms of employment. No one wanted any war like

World War One to happen again. It caused vast devastation and misery

and caused more slaughter than any other war. War dehumanised men that

managed to survive the war, their lives were no longer normal. Wilfred

Owen, Jessie Pope and Siegfried Sassoon all wrote emotional poetry

considering the war, but they saw different aspects of it. Wilfred

Owen enlisted in the army during the war and therefore saw disturbing

and horrifying scenes in his time away in the trenches, unlike Pope

who was not involved in trench warfare, but saw life during the war as

a beneficial time for women of Britain. Like Owen, Sassoon experienced

war, and if affected his family greatly.

Early in the war Sassoon's brother Hamo was mortally wounded at

Gallipoli. Sassoon punished himself for his brother's death by

involving himself in brave, sometimes suicidal deeds against the

Germans...

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...ie Pope because he had witnessed the

dreadfulness of death and fighting. Siegfried Sassoon also had on-hand

experience to war, as he suffered shell-shock and lost one of his

brothers. Gender also comes into the equation; Jessie Pope was not

allowed to fight, because she was a woman and therefore did not have

the chance to experience trench life. She could only do the best a

woman was able to do at the time. Unlike Owen and Sassoon, who had as

much trench life as they could handle, and they only saw the down side

to war. They did not experience the benefits. This means all three

poets views depended on what they saw and did, they did not experience

all areas of the war and no one could. On the whole Sassoon and Owen

have differing attitudes to Pope, but their experience of life and

their gender are the motives for this.