Show, through the study of at least four poems, how the poets of the First World War felt about the conflict.
Show, through the study of at least four poems, how the poets of the First World War felt about the conflict
When the Great War broke out in 1914 many young men from all around the world turned to poetry to express their varied emotions about the situation. It is from these poems that we can tell how soldiers felt about the war. After studying many World War One poems there is an obvious difference between the poems that emerged at the beginning of the war to those that surfaced from 1917/1918 when the war was coming to a close. This diversity in war poetry of this time can be explained by looking at the different armies that were fighting at the time.
1914 began with great elaboration with long columns of smiling, eager soldiers parading of to the war with high spirits and no doubts. These first armies were highly trained, patriotic and eager to fight for their home country. This is when poems spoke about 'dying to save your country'. Rupert Brooke's sonnet 'The Soldier' was written in 1914, at the beginning of the war. In this Brooke invokes the ideas of spiritual cleansing in 'all evil shed away', memory of the dead, and the soldier's immortal legacy to prove themselves for their home country and combines it with his personal loyalty to England. This poem is famous for its patriotism and through the personification of England we can see this.
'...England bore, shaped, made aware
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam...'
Just in these two lines Brooke uses personification to suggest that England assumes the role of a mother. Words like 'bore' and 'shaped' particularly emphasise this. Patriotism is also shown through Brookes description of the earth and dust where English soldiers lye. He describes the particular corner of a foreign field as being 'richer' as somehow this chunk of land is spiritually improved because an English corpse lies there. This highlights his belief in patriotism and willingness to die for his country.
Brooke also shows his genuine optimism about the afterlife. Through the poem he explores an imaginary place where evil is forgotten and where he can laugh again. There seems to be no sense of grief or loss and soldiers fear is not explored here. By reading this poem we can see that Brooke felt obliged to fight for what he believed in. There is no evidence to show that he agreed with the concept of war but through the poem we can see that it was of great significance for him, to die with honour, to die for his country.
When the Great War broke out in 1914 many young men from all around the world turned to poetry to express their varied emotions about the situation. It is from these poems that we can tell how soldiers felt about the war. After studying many World War One poems there is an obvious difference between the poems that emerged at the beginning of the war to those that surfaced from 1917/1918 when the war was coming to a close. This diversity in war poetry of this time can be explained by looking at the different armies that were fighting at the time.
1914 began with great elaboration with long columns of smiling, eager soldiers parading of to the war with high spirits and no doubts. These first armies were highly trained, patriotic and eager to fight for their home country. This is when poems spoke about 'dying to save your country'. Rupert Brooke's sonnet 'The Soldier' was written in 1914, at the beginning of the war. In this Brooke invokes the ideas of spiritual cleansing in 'all evil shed away', memory of the dead, and the soldier's immortal legacy to prove themselves for their home country and combines it with his personal loyalty to England. This poem is famous for its patriotism and through the personification of England we can see this.
'...England bore, shaped, made aware
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam...'
Just in these two lines Brooke uses personification to suggest that England assumes the role of a mother. Words like 'bore' and 'shaped' particularly emphasise this. Patriotism is also shown through Brookes description of the earth and dust where English soldiers lye. He describes the particular corner of a foreign field as being 'richer' as somehow this chunk of land is spiritually improved because an English corpse lies there. This highlights his belief in patriotism and willingness to die for his country.
Brooke also shows his genuine optimism about the afterlife. Through the poem he explores an imaginary place where evil is forgotten and where he can laugh again. There seems to be no sense of grief or loss and soldiers fear is not explored here. By reading this poem we can see that Brooke felt obliged to fight for what he believed in. There is no evidence to show that he agreed with the concept of war but through the poem we can see that it was of great significance for him, to die with honour, to die for his country.
