World War II Poetry: A Sense of Guilt.

This essay hasn't yet been marked by one of our teachers

You can view 6 essays on War Poetry that have been Marked by Teachers

The first 200 words of this essay...

Brett Switzer

Mr. McGowan

A.P. Language & Comp

October 2, 2003

World War II Poetry: A Sense of Guilt

Throughout history, wars have been an issue commonly discussed through poetry because of all the emotions inherent to war. While some poems glorify the harsh conceptions of war and idealize soldiers, the vast majority of poems point out the endless struggles associated with war. Randall Jarrell's Eighth Air Force and Marianne Moore's In Distrust of Merits were both written in response to World War II, and both poets seek to find answers about certain aspects of war through their poetry. While these poems seem very similar on the surface, they actually differ drastically in scope and voice, two key facets that affect the answers to their questions and the overall meanings of the poems.

On the surface, Marianne Moore's In Distrust of Merits and Randall Jarrell's Eighth Air Force can be deceivingly similar. They both begin with questions about the nature of soldiers and war, Moore by questioning the reason men go to war, "Strengthened to live, strengthened to die for medals and positioned victories?" Jarrell also begins his poem with a question,