The First World War.

Another consequence the war had was its total demoralisation, which instigated a people to see no reason for their existence in a horrific life that could only be comparable to the darkest of nightmares. People now saw war not as the grandeur battles of ancient times that governments told they were to be. War to the people was a never ending leech sucking away the remaining life and joy some had in their lives, even after the signing of the armistice. War, to the people who had suffered it's worst, was a killing mechanism, that had taken away a generation of men and left widows and children without husbands, fathers and brothers to support them. War left many begging for bread from the governments, the very organisations that had sent the millions to the front and never returned them home again. War was an obstacle throughout its duration but now had become a complete barrier for people to continue living normal lives. The definition of war had completely changed for millions and this in turn lead to a universal disapproval of it.

It is clear, through what has been said, that one could say that the First World War brought about nothing but pain and destruction. Yet like no other event in history, World War I inspired poets and authors to produce works that are often regarded as the greatest of the 20th Century. Men like Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Erich Remarque and Isaac Rosenberg have all produced works that captured the true essence of military conflict and described to a world and those of its future, the horrors and destruction that it brought about. The utter rejection of not only war but the ideal that it was great to die for one's country was the common thread amongst wartime authors and poets. Poets depicted the horrors of trench warfare and presented it free from the romantic adventure that previous war poems incorporated. Literature was also an integral medium during the First World War, although it was not as celebrated as poetry. The novel 'All Quiet on the Western Front' is one that provides a representation of the wartime generation.

It is unique as it is written from the perspective of a German, yet one thing remains, it too rejects war. It shows the world that although there is a boundary between fighting men, that fundamentally they are all members of one common society.

The First World War will go down as one that brought about much destruction. It took away things that are irreplaceable and triggered off two of the most destructive events in world modern history. It motivated a class of authors and poets to produce perhaps the greatest written works of the 20th century and educated millions across the world of war and its effects. Yet above all things it revolutionised a generation's way of thinking towards warfare and life in general. It caused millions to see their lives as destroyed as all that they had once held sacred was taken away from them. In one of his great poems, Wilfred Owen fittingly stated 'Dulce et decorum est, Pro Patria mori' meaning 'It is sweet and fitting, To die for one's country.' It is this statement that sent millions to their deaths.