Jessie Pope, Rupert Brooke and Wilfred Owen

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War Poetry

) I have chosen four poems that show an assortment of attitudes towards the First World War. I will show the difference between their views towards the war. Jessie Pope, Rupert Brooke and Wilfred Owen are the poets I have chosen to convey different attitudes and ideas towards the war. These three poets provide contrasting views that can be divided into two. Jessie Pope and Rupert Brooke are two poets who both provide enthusiastic views towards war and Wilfred Owen provides a hostile view towards war.

To begin with I will consider the pro-war poet Rupert Brooke and his poem "Peace." He never actually fought in the war as he died shortly after he had signed up. His poem "Peace" illustrates the eagerness to fight in the war. Brooke writes that they have been sleeping throughout the Victorian era and war has 'wakened us from our sleeping.' He thanks God for this as in the first line he writes 'God be thanked.' It also says how the youth had nothing to do. However now the war has started they can fight for their country. It shows this by saying 'And caught our youth.' It goes onto say that they have received extensive training for war. Thanks to the training they are ready for war. This is shown when it says "With hand made sure, clear eye, and sharpened power." It is implying that the training they have been given has made them excellent soldiers. He says 'glad from a world grown old and cold and weary.' This implies that they are happy that there is a war as the world was 'cold and weary' before the war started. 'Leave the sick hearts that honour could not move.' This says that people who did not sign up were sick hearts and not honourable men. In the second paragraph Rupert Brooke talks about finding true peace and release from normal life which is shown when he says 'we have found release there.' He is saying that for all the crimes you may have committed and that you can have true peace at war. The last line is the most important, it tells you the message bluntly, the message he has been trying to get across for the rest of the poem. 'And the worst friend and enemy is but Death.' He is saying that there are many things far worse than death and you should not be afraid but it is honourable.

Jessie Pope had a pro-war attitude. This attitude is reflected in her poem "Who's for the Game". This is a poem used to get men to join the army themselves in other words 'propaganda'. This poem was written when Jessie Pope was at home and not involved in the fighting. Her poem uses juxtaposition and relates war to a game. The whole poem is designed to encourage people to sign up for the war. Jessie Pope makes war sound like it is a must. This is shown by "Who'll give his country a hand." Jessie Pope also uses a positive line and a negative line to show that if you have not signed up it is wrong. This is shown by 'Who'll give his country a hand and who wants a seat in the stand.' This makes it sound like you must join the army, which is what propaganda is all about and this is what Jessie Pope is trying to achieve to get more people to join the war. She also compares war to sport and tries to diminish people's apprehension by saying that your injury will not be horrendous. She writes how you should "much rather come back with a crutch" than sit at home and be a coward. Jessie Pope uses many questions in her poem. This gives the poem a more personal view and the reader thinks that Jessie is talking straight to him. Using question marks is a way of making the reader sign up for the war. The last two lines of the poem are especially pro-war comments. Jessie Pope is making a final plea for men to join up. The last two lines state at what the whole poem is aiming at, what the poem is trying to say summed up in its last two lines "Your country is up to her neck in a fight and she's looking and calling for you." It is saying that if you do not fight then you are turning your back on the country and the people in it. The whole poem makes it sound like with you they can win the war however without you your country will lose. It makes it sounds like you are that fine line between victory and defeat.
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Although Rupert Brooke and Jessie Pope both had positive views of the war, they wrote their poetry for different reasons and had different attitudes towards the war. Rupert Brooke wrote his for himself and did not write it for propaganda purposes. He took the view that the war was an exciting new event, not because of the killing but because at war he believed there was peace. Nevertheless, because there had not been a major European war for a century, people had forgotten about war. Also that there were many shameful things in the Edwardian era and this ...

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