Perhaps- by Vera Brittain and Spring in War-Time by Edith Nesbit

Authors Avatar

Dr. Evans’ teaching class        GCSE English        05/02/2008

What do these poems reveal to us about the

responses of women to the death of their men

during World War I, and, what effect does the poetic

styles chosen by these poems contribute to their

overall effect?

The contents of these two poems describe the grieving emotions that each of the poets possess for their loved ones who died in battle during World War I. They reflect the sense of loss and loneliness following the death of a loved-one. The meanings of the poems demonstrate that even though nature goes on and things are reborn even though the beloved deceased have passed away, they celebrate the continuity of life after death.

Perhaps- was dedicated to Vera Brittain’s fiancé, Lieutenant Roland Aubrey Leighton (1895-1915), who served in World War I as a nurse. This poem begins each stanza by establishing the flamboyant idea of the restoration of life:

        And I shall see that still the skies are blue”         (l.2)

This explains that life is re-established to the world and it still goes on without her because she never recovers. Vera Brittain approaches this poem with an excellent attitude because she does not seem to condemn the government, the generals or the patriotism. She gives the impression that she is on the apex that she is over the loss of her fiancé but remains in desolate and grief.

Join now!

        “Again, because my heart for loss of You was broken, long ago.”         (l.19)

The effect this last line has on the poem presents an inconsolable mood where the hope and love is undermined and has created an abyss in her life and left her in a melancholy mood.

The technique exploited by Brittain is by using the iambic rhythm and the ABAB rhyming scheme that indicated a four line stanza in which the first and third lines rhyme, as do the second and fourth; this creates a vivid effect upon the poem. Additionally, Brittain exemplifies the frequency of ...

This is a preview of the whole essay