The poem

Many war poems such as “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae depict the typical war themes of death, despair, and sadness. In Alan Bennett’s book “The History Boys”, the students recite the poem “MCMXIV” by war poet Phillip Larkin who describes the more joyous part of the war, the celebrations held in the days before the men left for war. In this commentary, we will analyze the question the students made to their teacher Mr. Irwin asking whether the poem “MCMXIV” as a piece of art describes the truth about history.

As a war poet, Philip Larkin titled his poem “MCMXIV” which are Roman numerals for the year 1914, which is also the year that World War I started, and when the first of thousands of soldiers died. Many gravesites are marked with Roman numerals, so Larkin chose to use the Roman numerals to title his poem rather than a 1914 because the letters MCMXIV create an emotional value and paint a vivid, dark picture in the reader’s head. So Larkin is saying that words aren’t there just to explain things in an easy to understand manner but that the words are art in their own right and have meaning that creates a more beautiful picture than any painting.

The poem uses vivid word choice to create imagery that says one thing but also describes another. For example, the words, “Those long uneven lines, Standing as patiently, As if they were stretched outside, The Oval or Villa Park.” describe a scene of men waiting in long lines to enlist in the army. The reader can picture the men, filled with eagerness and anticipation, slowly shuffling forward just like they would do if they were waiting patiently to get into a fairground or movie theatre. It is easy to imagine that for many of the men that they expected the war to be like a walk ...

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...ields, Shadowing Doomsday lines, Under wheat’s restless silence;”. With these words, Larkin shows that the countryside has no regard for the battle that will ensue and as time passes, the scars and damage caused by the war will be covered up and hidden from sight.

In Alan Bennett’s book, “The History Boys”, the students recite the poem “MCMXIV” to try and convince the Mr. Irwin that art always wins over truth. While Larkin’s poem seems to describe vivid and colourful scenes of men eagerly waiting to go to war and celebrating the adventure they are about to take part in, the words that the Larkin chose have a deeper emotional value and paint a vivid, dark picture in the reader’s head of the carnage and destruction that war causes. So while the poem is a beautiful piece of art on its own, its words also tell the truth that war is destructive and many men will die.