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Recommended: Essay on war poetry
Silent as the Dead
War, what is it good for? Well, I believe we all came to the same conclusion about 40 years ago. Milla Harrison explores the works of Wilfred Owen and James Fairfax who figured out the futility of war even before that!
Ask yourself a question; where would we be today without the thousands of brave soldiers who gave their lives to make yours better? The answer, I believe, is quite clear. There have been many songs, poems, and even movies that have discussed the issue of the unjust recognition for those who died at war, but two of the most outstanding ones are the poetically brilliant Asleep, by Wilfred Owen, and The Forest of the Dead, by James Fairfax. Both Owen and Fairfax have seen their fair share of war, serving their
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In addition, the line from Owen's poem states 'Who knows? Who hopes? Who troubles? Let it pass' enforces the uncertainty of where the soldiers final resting place is, and how the matter is overlooked with little care or concern. It also creates a sense of finality through the use if repetition, as though this matter is not often thought or cared about. Clearly, both of these poems are in strong protest against the injustice of how soldiers killed in war are remembered and celebrated, for they have positioned the reader to feel guilty and sorry for those who laid the supreme sacrifice to protect their homeland. This is achieved through the clever use of many poetic techniques such as word choice and emotive language. Now, you're probably wondering why I'm telling you this stuff when it was written honks ago, but it may surprise you that these issues are still highly relevant in he world today. War still takes the lives of hundreds of innocent soldiers, their final resting place uncertain. These heroes, while being remembered moderately are not nearly praised or treated with their rightful amount of respect for what they have done for their countries. Also, just imagine the countless families grieving over the death of loved ones, yet not knowing where their final resting place is. How would you feel in this situation? It is clearly a matter that must be dealt
Both poems are set in the past, and both fathers are manual labourers, which the poets admired as a child. Both poems indicate intense change in their fathers lives, that affected the poet in a drastic way. Role reversal between father and son is evident, and a change of emotion is present. These are some of the re-occurring themes in both poems. Both poems in effect deal with the loss of a loved one; whether it be physically or mentally.
Kim Addonizio’s “First Poem for You” portrays a speaker who contemplates the state of their romantic relationship though reflections of their partner’s tattoos. Addressing their partner, the speaker ambivalence towards the merits of the relationship, the speaker unhappily remains with their partner. Through the usage of contrasting visual and kinesthetic imagery, the speaker revels the reasons of their inability to embrace the relationship and showcases the extent of their paralysis. Exploring this theme, the poem discusses how inner conflicts can be powerful paralyzers.
Wilfred Owen expresses his feelings about war in “Anthem for a Doomed Youth”, which revolves around the events that took place in World War I. Throughout the sonnet, the speaker talks bitterly about modern warfare, noting the harsh sounds of war and questioning the treatment of the soldiers that perish. In the octave, the speaker wonders what can be done to honor the soldiers that died, but realizes negatively that the soldiers only receive death instead of ceremonies. In the sestet, the speaker expands upon this idea of a proper ceremony for the deceased soldiers, saying that the families must be the ones to properly honor their dead. Owen’s use of the Petrarchan sonnet with a Shakespearean rhyme scheme, helps him express his frustration about war and its subsequent treatment of the dead.
The poet Wilfred Owen was one of many poets who were against war. He reflected this idea of anti-war in his poems, one of his poems called “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, mirrors most aspects of war all put together in this short still deep poem. An example of that would be when the speaker stated,” What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?”(1) The speaker asks is there any sound that marks our soldier’s death other than the sounds of church bell’s which are mostly rung to represent somebody’s absence? Clearly, the speaker sets anger as the tone of the poem through this question to show that soldier’s death is unremarkable.. The speaker compares the soldiers to a “cattle” which illustrates that soldiers are treated more like animals with no feelings and also shows how they are killed indiscriminately in war. Finally the line ironically contains an iambic pentameter which is a natural rhythm for such dark, grim, dull subject. The two novels, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, and All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, both present a similar idea of how soldiers are killed out there in the front comprehensively and the dehumanization of war towards its soldiers. The first novel is set during the Civil War, and it focuses on the psychological aspects of one soldier named Henry Fleming and how his naive thoughts about war constantly change through the course of the novel. The second novel presents the life of a soldier named Paul Baumer and his friends who were faced with the terribleness of war and how severely it affected their lives. The Red badge of Courage and All Quiet on The Western Front are similar in the way of how the main characters develop through the novel to change from naïve and innocent men ...
The three incredible works of literature by Owen, OBrien, and Sassoon give a true sense of what fighting for ones country was really like. The battles, soldiers, and wars that most of the public see is glorified tremendously through movies and books mainly. These writers wanted a change and they went about this by giving the true and honest facts of what happened. War should be thought of as a tough obstacle that no one should ever have to go through, a sad occurrence, or a horrible burden, but not as a glorious victory. In order to reach that victory, the road is anything but sweet.
...hor of the poem ¡§For the Fallen¡¨, Laurence Binyon, has also expressed the feeling of loss and alienation that comes along with war as he writes about those who fought in the Gallipoli campaign. Not only the alienation of soldiers, but the families who have suffered from their deaths:
Throughout the history of war poetry, no aspect of war can be said to feature more prominently than the representation of death and dying. While such representations are constant in their inclusion in war texts, the nature of the representation varies greatly, be it as a noble act for ones country, or as the defining negative of war. Poems such as Brooke’s ‘The Soldier’ and Seaman’s ‘Pro Patria’ are strong examples of the former; while others such as ‘Dolce et decorum est’ by Owen and ‘The Rear Guard’ by Sassoon best exemplify the latter. The question remains however as to why these representations of death and dying differ so, and whether there is a relevant relationship between the type of depiction and the time period or conflict, as well as the author’s proximity to death’s harsh reality.
The death camp was a terrible place where people where killed. Hitler is who created the death camp for Jews. The death camp was used for extermination on Jews. This occurred on 1939 – 1945. The death camps were in the country of Europe. Hitler did all this because he didn’t like Jews and the religions. The book Night is a autobiography written by Elie Wiesel. The poem called First they came for the communist written by Martin Neimoller is a autobiography.
Both poems agree that patriotic propaganda is a method used to alter a nation’s values and ideas. Although both poems differ in the portrayal of the patriotic message they both criticize the effects of propaganda. For those who believe that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country, any man who has experienced war first hand would admit that patriotic propaganda is a lie.
In ‘Anthem of Doomed Youth’ Owen shows another version of the suffering- the mourning of the dead soldiers. When Owen asks “What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?”, his rhetorical question compares the soldiers to cattle as they die and suffer undignified. Owen uses this extended metaphor to confront us with the truth, that there are too many fatalities in war. As such, the soldier’s deaths are compared to livestock, to emphasise their poor treatment and question our perspective about soldiers dying with honour. With an overwhelming death toll of over 9 million during WWI, Owen depicts how the soldier’s die with the repetition of “Only the...” to emphasise the sounds of war that kills soldiers in the alliteration ‘rifles’ rapid rattle.’ Owen also illustrates the conditions that the soldiers died in and how they were not given a proper funeral in the cumulation ‘no prayers nor bells,/ nor any voice of mourning.’ Owen painfully reminds us that we have become complacent with the deaths of soldiers, seeing them as a necessary sacrifice during human conflict. Thus, Owen shows us what we have overlooked about war, that is, that it brings endless death and long-lasting grief to the surviving soldiers and the people around
White poets generally do not discuss race in their poems because they do not feel comfortable with the subject as they do not have firsthand experience. In an effort to not insult anyone or appear disingenuous, they avoid the topic all together. Unfortunately, this only perpetuates the issue and makes white poets appear as if they do not recognize African Americans and only care about the white perspective. However, black poets openly discuss racism in their works. They face the discrimination head on in their poems to raise awareness and express their feelings. Both Natahsa Tretheway and Major Jackson were part of a group of black poets called the Dark Room Collective that shared their poems and feelings on the black experience. If
...f the poem is that each soldier will not be remembered because they are one in so many that did not have no funeral or a body; they would have no grave stone and will just be forgotten.
Both poems inspire their reader to look at their own life. In addition, they treat the reader to a full serving of historic literature that not only entertains, but also teaches valuable lesson in the form of morals and principles.
Today I’m focusing on Wilfred Owen who is also recognized as the greatest English poet of the First World War. Owen volunteered to fight on 21 October 1915. Like many young men, propaganda had gotten the best of him, but he would soon experience first handedly the true horrors of war. Owen wrote of the disillusionment he, like others, felt at the time. He wrote out of his intense personal experience as a soldier and wrote with unrivalled power about the physical, moral and psychological trauma of the First World War. Nothing could have prepared Owens for the shock of war: for life in the trenches, sickness, death.
The imagery and diction in Rupert Brooke’s poem, “The Soldier,” romanticizes the aspects of war. Throughout the poem, he uses positive imagery when describing his remains and memory that lie in the battlefield. For example, by including that his remains are “blest by suns of home” (8), Brooke displays a pleasant image.