What aspects of the First World War experience have been most vivid in the poetry you have read?

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Toby Edge

‘What aspects of the First World War experience have been most

 vivid in the poetry you have read?’

          In each of the poems that I have read at least one aspect of war has been explored. Different poems explore different themes which relate specifically to what the writer feels and which relay the writer’s thoughts and ideas onto paper. Wilfred Owen, for example, explores many different ideas through his poems, from boredom in ‘exposure’ to terror in ‘dulce et decorum est’, and the aftermath of war in ‘disabled’. He explores a wide range of views on war and reveals much of the truth of war using very bold and vivid language and imagery. Other themes explored through the poems are the effects of war on and off the battlefield, the view of war from home and recruitment focusing on times prior to war. Of all of these aspects I will be focusing mainly on three: the aftermath of war, recruitment, and views of war from the battlefield.

          The aftermath of war is explored fully in ‘ disabled: a victim of war’. The poem describes the misfortunes of a victim of war who has lost each of his limbs. The simple story is extremely vivid and gives a clear, graphic view of one man’s horrible tale, describing how all the pleasures of life once had have been washed away. He is now treated like a baby, unable to do anything himself, completely reliant on others, living in shame and living alone. These features are vividly described as the poem adopts a dark, cold tone describing the grim reality of the lasting effects of war. Wilfred Owen uses dark language, ‘waiting for dark and shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,’ describing how he waits for night in order that he can’t be seen and can dream; night creates an escape from his monotonous life. Flashbacks are used in the poem to reveal how his life has changed due to war; these flashbacks produce images of his life how it was before his fatal accident. He recalls how he used to play football with his friends and how he enjoyed a blood smear down his leg when it was all fun and games, but in war, its serious, ‘and leap of purple spurted from his thigh.’ This gives a strong image of blood and a realistic picture of war. ‘Disabled’ describes how the victim of war becomes a social outcast and how he is looked upon by girls as a ‘queer disease,’ how the ‘women’s eyes passed from him to the strong men that were whole.’

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He is granted no respect from others except those who know of his past and of how he lied about his age so that he wouldn’t be left out of the fun. He was shown a false illusion of war and joined up under all the glamour of war and the pier pressure from his friends. His naivety and ignorance contributed to his downfall and I think that creates a very vivid picture.

          This picture of naïve young men, all dressed up in their uniforms, waving to the cheering crouds is stressed further in the ...

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