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War literature essays
Irony in how to tell a true war story
War literature essays
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War holds the approximate greatness of a black hole, and is alike one in many ways. From times immemorial writers have used imagery, language appealing to one or more of the 5 senses, irony, things that go against what is expected, and structure, the way the story is written, to protest war. This form of protest has most likely existed since any point in which the existence of both war and written language intersected, and were a part of human life. Through the use of imagery, irony and structure, writers protest war. Vivid imagery is one way with which writers protest war. Crane uses imagery to glorify, and shortly thereafter demean and undercut war, through the use of imagery, by placing positive and negative images of war close to eachother. “Blazing flag of the regiment,” and “the great battle God,” are placed before “A field where a thousand corpses lie.” (A) These lines’ purposes are to put images into the reader’s head, of how great war may appear, and then displaying that there are too many casualties involved with it. In Dulce Et Decorum Est, a man is described dyin...
US Clergyman Henry Emerson once said, “The tragedy of war is that it uses man's best to do man's worst." And I agree with him. What is it about the human race and war anyway? Well, Carl von Clausewitz also said that, "To secure peace is to prepare for war." I also agree with that. War is an ironic subject at times. And war can also be a way of life for some people. Walt Whitman and Stephen Crane’s poems have no similarities and they both have different ways in writing about war.
...ainting symbolize the need for patriotism and unity in a country during war on and off the battlefront. These two prominent texts support each other’s points of fighting for human’s unalienable rights and liberties through writing and visualization. The connection between the to conclude that war may not be just but it is the act of physical force or even any action that can bring together a country and achieve the liberties they deserve. This is a message that can apply to any human today, when someone infringes on another’s liberties then they need to stand up and fight back in order to stop the other from doing it again.
Both Stephen Crane's "Do Not Weep, Maiden, For War Is Kind" and Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est" use vivid images, diction rich with connotation, similes, and metaphors to portray the irony between the idealized glory of war and the lurid reality of war. However, by looking at the different ways these elements are used in each poem, it is clear that the speakers in the two poems are soldiers who come from opposite ends of the spectrum of military ranks. One speaker is an officer and the other is a foot soldier. Each of the speakers/soldiers is dealing with the repercussions from his own realities of the horror of war based on his duty during the battle.
In this essay you will notice the differences and similarities between ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ and ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’. ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ was written in nineteenth century by Alfred Lord Tennyson. In contrast, ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ was written in the twentieth century by Wilfred Owen. The main similarity we have observed is that they both capture war time experiences. However, the poets’ present these events using their own style, and the effect is two completely different observations of war.
Notably, imagery in “Buttons” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” illustrate to the reader the authentic side of battle that soldiers experience first hand. The majority of “Buttons” is spent showing the reader the light and airy version of war that those not in battle practice. The Narrator uses words such as “ laughing” and “sunny” (Sandburg 5) to describe the atmosphere of the newspaper office. However, the narrator then goes on to state the horrific truth of war with phrases such as “twist on their bodies…gasping of wounds…death in their throats” (Sandburg 10-13). The depiction of a massacre like scene is used to reveal to reader the authentic side of war, parallel to the use of imagery in “Dulce et Decorum Est”. The narrator of “Dulce et Decorum Est” expresses the horrendous and disturbing version of war with phrases such as “Froth corrupted lungs…obscene as cancer…white eyes writhing in his face” (Owen 19-23) to portray the real side of war. The narrator shows how awful and unsettling combat actual is through vivid illustrations to convey to the reader that war is not honorable, nor revering. Both “Buttons” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” ...
The archetypical symbol of war is used symbolically as a sense of conflict or tension. It may express disbelief, or trouble. In a sense it is used to draw the reader in close. War is never looked at as a positive thing. When we think of war, we think of violence, death, destruction, heartache, cold and bitterness. This is usually what is intended by the author. Usually peace is follows. Like any work there is a rise a climax and a fall in the plot. War or conflict is usually the strongest in the climax and then the peace comes during the falling point.
The Poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” attempts to make war seem as repulsive as possible. The author’s goal is to discourage people from joining the war or any future conflicts by shattering the romantic image people have of the fighting. The setting of this poem helps
Both Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” as well as “next to of course god america i” written by E.E. Cummings preform critic on war propaganda used during the first world war. Besides this the influence war propaganda has on the soldiers as individuals as well as on war in more general terms, is being portrayed in a sophisticated and progressive manner. By depicting war with the use of strong literary features such as imagery or sarcasm both texts demonstrate the harshness of war as well as attempt to convey that war propaganda is, as Owen states “an old lie”, and that it certainly is not honourable to die for one’s country. Therefore, the aim of both writers can be said to be to frontally attack any form of war promotion or support offensively
He uses examples, such as a mother losing her son saying, "Mother whose heart hung humble as a button, on the bright splendid shroud of your son". By using these situations, Crane shows the reader that it does not matter who you or your loved ones are, in war there is only death, and honor and glory will not prevent it. Crane uses sarcasm in parts of the poem such as, " The unexplained glory flies above them, great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom..." to convey to the reader how terrible war is and then is truthful afterwards saying, "A field where a thousand corpses lie", to push his central idea of war being cruel and terrible. In life, war is not a romanticized place where there is nothing but honor and glory, it is a brutal place where people fight and die in cruel and bloody ways. Crane being a realist author, wanted people to know and depict war as it really was: horrific and terrifying.
Authors and poets primarily use literary devices to provide a greater understanding for their own work, yet some writers use them effectively while others fail in doing so. In “Grenadier” the poet, A.E Housman effectively uses symbolism, meter, rhyme and imagery to emphasize the cheap price of human life during a war, within the perspective of a dying draft soldier.
encapsulates the futility and horror of war through the use of vivid war images like
Kenneth Burke’s War, Response, and Contradiction focusses on the link between art, contradictions, and society. In this article, the different interpretations of stimuli from the members of the same society reveals the contradictory nature of humans. Two main examples are the anticipated reactions to the ways war is represented and the comparison of a lamp and literature. Individuals within society will interpret war differently when exposed to human and inhuman images of war, revealing the contradictory nature of humans. Comparing a lamp to literature assists in showing contradictory nature of humans as the audience realizes that individuals within the same society have different interpretations of the same stimulus.
The reality of war is commonly misunderstood by most people. O'Brien and Owen try to shed some light on what they believe to be the reality of war. Both authors are very blunt when it comes to talking about war, as well as sarcastic in tone and nature. The imagery of the war scenes are gruesome, violent, graphic and very detailed. In Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen describes a scene where one of his fellow soldiers have been killed, "...watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin. If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs" (Owen). The diction that Owen ha...
Owen’s poem uses symbolism to bring home the harsh reality of war the speaker has experienced and forces the reader to think about the reality presented in romanticized poetry that treats war gently. He utilizes language that imparts the speakers experiences, as well as what he, his companions, and the dying man feels. People really die and suffer and live through nightmares during a war; Owen forcefully demonstrates this in “Dulce et Decorum Est”. He examines the horrific quality of World War I and transports the reader into the intense imagery of the emotion and experience of the speaker.
	The pounding of shells, the mines, the death traps, the massive, blind destruction, the acrid stench of rotting flesh, the communal graves, the charred bodies, and the fear. These are the images of war. War has changed over the centuries from battles of legions of ironclad soldiers enveloped in glimmering armor fighting for what they believe to senseless acts of guerrilla warfare against those too coward to be draft-dodgers. Those who were there, who experienced the terror first hand were deeply effected and changed forever. In their retinas, images of blood and gore are burned for the rest of their life.