War poetry essay Bracken Hampson-Ragg

War poetry is said to have reflected the changing views of society throughout the First World War. There were many poets who stayed back in Britain. They wrote about war to try and get men to sign up. During this time, in 1914 and 1915, men back at home did not have to sign up to the war so the poetry was written to persuade them. The poems written during the war portrayed a lot individually, and also as a whole group.

Jessie Pope wrote poetry for the Daily Mail in order to get men to sign up. Pope asks, "who's for the game?" in her poem because men like to compete with each other and play games. She says it's the biggest that's played which attracts men. Pope makes a clear separation between the "men" and the "boys". Males would obviously prefer to be classed as men to prove they are strong. This is why the poem was successful in trying to get men to sign up. Men decide that they'd much rather have a "turn to himself in the show" than "take a seat in the stand" because that is what a real man would do. Throughout the poem Pope asks questions, "who'll grip and tackle?" "Who wants?" "Who would much rather?" These are direct questions. They are designed to make the reader think about himself. This is what men like.

Similarly, Harold Begbie asks the question in his poem 'Fall In' 'what will you lack, sonny?' This provokes thought and the young men realise that they would benefit much more through going to war. At the end of each stanza, in 'who's for the game' after asking questions about things that men enjoy, Pope contradicts herself by asking questions like "And who thinks he'd rather sit tight?" This makes men think that they would much rather be in the "show" and the "red crashing game" than waiting 'in the stand'. This is again similar to 'Fall in' where Begbie asks the question 'How will you fare?' meaning how will you succeed, how will you get on in your life when 'your neighbours talk of the fight'. He then tells the young men reading that they can sign up now and not lose anything; 'I was not with the first to go, but I went, thank God, I went.'
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Pope's and Begbie's use of plain language, simple structure and regular rhythm makes their poetry easy to read. Therefore, the men they are targeting can understand and relate to the poems.

There is great irony in the content of Jessie Pope's poem because she comes across as knowing everything about the war when actually she never saw any action. This angered Wilfred Owen, one of the most renowned poets of the First World War, because the picture that Pope painted was a reflection of her patriotic desire. Owen's view was that it did not reflect the ...

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