Does the Poetry of the First World War reflect the changing attitudes to War?

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Does the Poetry of the First World War reflect the changing attitudes to War?

Poems in the early part of the First World War were 'pro war' which means that they were saying that the war was good fun with women and uniforms. The main aims of the poems were to get men to join the army and fight the Germans. After two years of the war in July 1916 the battle of the Somme took place, 60,000 English soldiers died each day. Anti war poems started to be written about how bad war really was, but these poems were hardly ever published in newspapers or magazines, as they still wanted men to join up to fight.

The two 'pro war' poems that I have chosen are 'Fall In' by Harold Begbie and 'Who's for the Game' by Jessie Pope. The Recruiting poems of 1914 were required because, unlike most European countries, we did not have conscription and therefore did not have a large army. They saw the war was going to be long and hard and recruiting poems and posters made people volunteer for the army until conscription was introduced in 1916.

'Fall In' by Harold Begbie does exactly what it is meant to do. It makes people feel ashamed about not going and fighting for your country. The title 'Fall In' is like a command, which they use in the army saying you must fall in, group together and fight. It also has another meaning say you are going to fall in to the army. You do not have a choice but you will fall in.

Begbie says:

"What will you lack, sonny, what will you lack. When the girls line up on the street, shouting their love to the lads come back"

These are the first three lines and are saying that when the other men who joined up for the army come back, you will be left on your own with all the girls wanting the army men.

"And grin till your cheeks are red?"

Here the man Begbie is talking about his embarrassment about not being in the war and his face is going red.

"When your children yet to be clamour to learn of the part you played"

Begbie is saying that if you have children who are yet to be born and they want to know about what you did in the war, what will you do when you cannot answer them?

You will miss out on your children looking up to you; this is what Begbie is saying.

"When you sit by the fire in an old man's chair and your neighbours talk of the fight"

Again Begbie is telling you when your friends will talk about the war for years to come they will not respect you when you answer that you did not go. Begbie is saying that you will miss the respect from friends.

"Your head shamed and bent? Or say - I was not the first to go. But I went, thank God, I went"

Begbie is saying this to make people who have not gone to war yet feel that it does not matter that you have not gone yet, but there is still time to join to get all the things I just said you will miss.

In the last stanza Begbie is saying if you do not join up and the war was lost it will be your fault that we lost.

Begbie is trying to make the shirkers feel ashamed for not volunteering by telling them of the things they will miss out on. Things like, the women when you return from war, by your children looking up to you and the respect of your friends and neighbours when they talk about the war in years to come. Then towards the end of the poem he says that you can join up now, you were not the first to go but you went.

The second 'pro war' poem I will look at is 'Who's for the Game?' by Jessie Pope. The great soldier poet, Wilfred Owen, particularly detested her. In this poem she tries to make war sound like a game.

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The poem is based on the game rugby.

Pope says:

"Who's for the game, the biggest that's played…?"

She is saying who wants to join the army, come on, its just a game come and play.

"Who would much rather come back with a crutch, Than lie low and be out of the fun?"

Pope is saying that it is better if you go to war and get injured than just having to lie low, rather than people talking about you not going to war and missing out on all the fun of war.

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