Comparison of Three First World War Poems
The three poems that I will be studying in this essay are “Dulce Et
Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, “Comrades: An Episode” by Robert Nichols
and “Who’s For The Game?” by Jessie Pope. These poems are about the
First World War and two of them seem to have a negative attitude
criticising and downgrading the so-called spectacular experience of
the First World War. In “Dulce Et Decorum Est” Wilfred Owen seems to
mention good aspects of the War but compares them to low-class tragic
events. In “Comrades: An Episode” Robert Nichols describes the event
of a soldier being badly injured and eventually dying. It describes
what the corporals and soldiers did and how they reacted to the
situation. However, Jessie Pope’s poem “Who’s For the Game?” talks
about war as if it is a joke and the scary aspect of the war is taken
away.
In each poem a different picture emerges in one’s head. In “Dulce Et
Decorum Est” similes are used quite regularly to create dreamlike
settings and haunting images that provide a vivid picture of the
realities of warfare. To the general public soldiers were seen as
heroes but the first line of this poem ruins that image by describing
the soldiers as
“Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”.
This line creates a grim image of the soldiers portraying them to be
weak and helpless. Other similes are used to create a similar effect
in this poem. Another line, which relates to a soldier, is
“His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin”
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Which shows how fed up and emotionally tired this particular soldier
must ...
... middle of paper ...
...motionally and most likely
physically scared. The war should be known for its true meaning and
not the fake outside look of it. The poem “Who’s for the game?” is has
the opposite view to these poems. War is described as a game, just a
bit of fun and that if all these lucky men who have the opportunity to
go, in fact don’t go, they will be missing out. There is also a bit of
guilt in this poem, it is at the end. By mentioning the trouble that
their country is in, it makes men who have not joined feel bad that
they have let their country down and be led to such a bad state. When
men thought this, they automatically thought that they have to help
and mend what has gone terribly wrong. I find all three poems
extremely interesting because of all the different approaches taken to
get their point across and their ideas heard.
War is seen as a universal concept that often causes discomfort and conflict in relation to civilians. As they are a worrying universal event that has occurred for many decades now, they posed questions to society about human's nature and civilization. Questions such as is humanity sane or insane? and do humans have an obsession with destruction vs creation. These questions are posed from the two anti-war texts; Dr Strangelove by Stanley Kubrick and Slaughterhouse Five written by Kurt Vonnegut.
War in its self is a tragedy. Experiencing the tragedies of war has a life long impact on ones life. In the novel " Johnny got His Gun" by Dalton Trumbo, Joe Bonham is a victim of war and he is forever changed physicaly, mentally and spiritualy. Through Joe it is evident that the price we pay for war is much to high.
are not free in service, you do what you are told and this is the same
Tennyson’s poem has a lot of action in it but Binyon’s poem is a view
Comparing two war poems written by Wilfred Owen: Dulce et decorum Est. and Anthem for Doomed Youth. In this essay I will be comparing two war poems written by Wilfred Owen: ‘Dulce et decorum Est’ and ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’. By Comparing the two I will be able to distinguish the fact that Wilfred Owen is very anti-propaganda and that's why he feels so strongly about this. The two poems have many similarities but also a fair amount of differences, which I will be discussing in this essay.
In the movie, Apocalypse Now, based on the Vietnam War, the director portrays the reality of war, a very traumatic place, and leads viewers through the painful reality that left many warriors with everlasting nightmares and disturbing memories. As is most great war-related films, the overarching message is pointed towards viewer understanding of the Vietnam War. The director did this by exemplifying the positives and negatives of the war, so that all viewers can learn from these historical events and prevent similar wars in the future. The director uses many literary elements in Apocalypse Now such as setting, characterization, and theme to further the understanding of the message.
The next line expresses the way in which he has no grave stone, just a
Considered the leading English poet of the First World War, Owen is remembered for realistic poems depicting the horrors of war, which were inspired by his experiences at the Western Front in 1916 and 1917. Owen considered the true subject of his poems to be "the pity of war," and attempted to present the true horror and realities of battle and its effects on the human spirit. His unique voice, which is less passionate and idealistic than those of other war poets, is complemented by his unusual and experimental style of writing. He is recognized as the first English poet to successfully use pararhyme, in which the rhyme is made through altered vowel sounds. Owen’s distinct way of both writing and reading poems led to influence other poets in the 1920s and 1930s.
The writers of 'Joining the Colours' and 'The Send Off' both use poetry to express their feelings about soldiers leaving for war. Each have similar attitudes about the subject, but use different approaches to try and get their message across. Both question the popular concept of war, including ideas such as heroism and glory. Katherine Hinkson, the poet who wrote 'Joining the Colours', shows the scene from two different perspectives, that of the audience watching the soldiers and also her own point of view. Wilfred Owen simply shares his thoughts by describing the soldiers leaving from a station, although the effect is no less powerful. As Hinkson is a woman, she focuses more on a mother or wives point of view, whereas Owen gives more of the soldiers perspective.
that its namesake is a man who is supposed to be regarded as a hero.
The Reality of War in Various Poetry Works Cited Missing The First World War was unlike any previous was Britain had ever fought. The horror of both the physical conditions and the reality of battle moved soldier and officer alike to express their reactions in verse. The soldiers' shock at the contrast between their experiences and their previous conceptions of war as described by the propaganda at home made many soldiers angry and bitter, which is reflected in all of these poems.
ago. The poems moved me and sadden me, and also opened my eyes to the
To go to war is to engage in a fight with another Nation. Many view war as being an appropriate action that can only solve problems. Others believe that war is a violent action that leads to nothing but casualties. In the article, “Regarding the Torture of Others” Susan Sontag writes about the torture soldiers are inflicting on prisoners. Some torture was done so brutally that the some of the soldiers deem that acts as correct and in the process seem to try to dehumanize the victims. The bush administration considered torture as being mistreatment not evil. The Blog “Military Blog” by Zachary Scott-Singley deals with the day by day life and thoughts of a solider at war. Zachary Scott-Singley is a soldier struggling with the wrong of his actions. At one point, he believes that the killing of Iraqis is okay, but he then believes it is not. He was torn between he believes is right and not. The story “Half of a Yellow Sun” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche is a story about a young girl and her families struggles during the Nigerian civil war of the 1960’s. Her family has pride like much of the people of Biafra. That all changed when her younger brother Obi died, and the family realizes at that point the war was lost. While Sontag still maintained that war was not bad, she still believed that it was the torture of others that made war such a brutal action. On the other hand, Zachery from military blog was lost trying to find out if War was correct or not. The characters from “Half of a Yellow Sun” share a belief that war is necessary to defend their nations honor and pride but as the war progresses and it began to affect them they begin to see that the war was not as productive as they hoped it would be. Looking at pictures of war is like l...
He may have used this technique to make war seem if it had made men
War consumes the youth of young men and completely alters a person. From numerous poems, it is made clear that war exhausts the youth of young men, and has left their lives with no meaning. These poems are “Dulce Et Decorum Est” and “Mental Cases” written by Wilfred Owen. Similarly, they both employ the same techniques, such as similes and metaphors. However, a somewhat different perspective is projected through the poem “In Flanders Field” by John McCrae, which dissimilitudes yet intensifies the main message. Whether from a more emotional perspective or from a physical view, war has devastated the prime time of many young men in multitudinous ways.