'Who for the Game' By Jesse Pope, 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' By Wilfred Owen, and 'Disabled' by Wilfred Owen.

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GCSE Coursework English Literature - War Poetry

During the First World War many poets published their poems to encourage people to enlist in the army. Special spaces were left in newspapers for recruiting poems, for writers such as Jessie Pope. However, there were also some individuals such as Wilfred Owen who were against the idea of glorifying war.
        In this coursework I have firstly decided to analyse two poems by the war poet Wilfred Owen, taken from his writings on the First World War. Both ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ and ‘Disabled’ show the true reality, horror and vivid imagery of war. Then I will analyse a very different poem ‘Who’s for the Game?’ written by Jessie Pope, and finally contrast this with the poems by Owen.

         The First poem I am going to analyse is “Dulce et Decorum est” written by Wilfred Owen. Dulce et Decorum est Pro patri moria translated in to English means It Is Sweet And Fitting To Die For Ones Country. Owen wrote "Dulce et Decorum est” in order to inform people about the terror, torment and realism which was experienced during the war. It was written through his own eyes and based on his own experiences and views of the war. The recruiting poems make the war seem like a game and that you would be missing out on a big opportunity if you don't go, when really you would be better off safe at home!
        Verse one tells us a lot about the condition, both physically and mentally of the men and it gives us an idea of the appalling conditions! He portrays this by his continuous use of similes, metaphors and vocabulary. He uses similes such as, "Bent double, like hags", this simile shows how many of the men fall ill! Owen also uses metaphors such as, "Drunk with fatigue", to display how tired the men are, this metaphor leads us to believe that the men are so tired that they are unaware what is happening around them! He also uses onomatopoeic words like 'trudge' and 'sludge' making the reader more interested and attached to the poem. Owen says, "Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs". The soldiers are fed up. They are so tired that even when the flares go off behind them they don't have the energy or even feel like turning around to see them. They are just being led like zombies.
        The pace of the poem quickens in the second verse. The soldiers are awoken by a gas attack. This shatters the mood that Owen has told of us in the opening verse. The soldiers are now awoken by the fact that their lives are in extreme danger and they now have to be fully aware of all their surroundings. The majority of them hurry and get there gas masks on, but unfortunately one of the soldiers miss out. Owen says, “Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning" The green light Owen talks of is the sight through their gas masks. Owen uses a simile saying that the man is drowning in a green sea. The reality of this is that the man is drowning in a sea of his own toxic blood. Owen also tells us how this memory has stayed with him. The sickening sight of a man struggling. Owen seems to have a great fear of the gas attacks when he talks of them.

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         Owen talks of all of the nightmares he has had because of the war and this event in particular Owen says "In all my dreams before my helpless sight" He describes how the man was taken away and the narrator Owen walked behind and saw his face. Owen is still haunted by the nightmare.

        "We flung him in" The dead bodies are treated like meat there are so many deaths it becomes like a routine thing. He sees the horror that is standing behind the man who has been gassed to death. "My friend, you would not tell with ...

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**** 4 Stars This is an excellent GCSE essay which is well written and shows a clear understanding of the messages of all three poems. Accurate use of literary terminology, and discussion uses varied syntax effectively. In places PEE (Point, Evidence, Explain) is used very effectively but in other places more quotes are needed.