The poem gives the impression of England being an idyllic country, timeless and everything in it is perfect, showing comradeship. England is personified as being a mother. Brooke’s message in this poem is that if he should die, the place of his death will be made richer by his body. The body will carry these English blessings, passing them onto the ground on which it lies.
Brooke writes his own epigraph and shows a moving sense of the poet’s deep love of England and it’s people. The poet feels he can influence the thoughts of those left behind, with this he will try to cement the continuation of those qualities that he thinks of as being essentially English. Brooke has transformed the poem into a sonnet, not addressed to a loved one but to his country.
In this poem the moods of the first few months of the war are summed up. Despite the subject matter there is a sort of serenity in the poem, even the words ‘If I should die’ suggests that he expects to survive.
The reality of the horror had still to be discovered.
This poem mirrors the sentiments expressed in " The Charge of the Light Brigade ". This event took place in 1854 and is still remembered as one of the most famous triumphs in British history. The truth is that Lord Cardigan suicidally led his troops " Into the valley of Death ", where they were massacred. Lord Tennyson's clever and effective use of literary devices in his poem ensure that this military fiasco was remembered as a glorious victory. Tennyson puts across a message to remember, respect and honour the soldiers for what they have given up their lives to do for their country. The poet admires the courage of the men,
" Was there a man dismay'd ? "
" Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell ".
He handles the subject of casualties in a subtle way.
" While horse and hero fell "
" Then they rode back, but not,
Not the six hundred. "
Lord Tennyson uses techniques such as repetition, emotive language, direct speech, alliteration, rhythm, rhyme and use of the rhetorical question to capture the reader's imagination. The reader is swept along in admiration of the men, building to the booming climax of the crescendo in the final stanza.
" When can their glory fade ?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred! "
Tennyson finally ends the poem on a positive point,
“Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!”
This pre 1900 style of writing, with no concession to defeat, may have inspired the early war poets to write poems from a standpoint of innocence.
As war progressed so did the views of those who originally believed war was righteous. People could not ignore the pain and suffering, they began to feel great pity. Wilfred Owen, possibly the greatest war poet, often wrote of the tragedy.
" Above all I am not concerned with Poetry.
My subject is War, and the pity of War.
The Poetry is in the pity."
Wilfred Owen wrote many poems but one which very effectively captures the sad and horrific truth is " Dulce et Decorum est ". The first stanza is a fine summary of surviving against the odds. These men are returning from the flares of the battlefield to their ‘distant rest’ , but they are no longer the young men who joined up. The metaphor ‘cursed through sludge’ suggests that only the violence of their language drives them forward; the metaphor ‘blood-shod’ echoes ‘blood-shot’, but tells us their feet are covered in blood. ‘Shod’ is the same as ‘shoed’; it is as though they re wearing blood, not boots. Above all they have become old people.
The poem almost lets us experience what the unfortunate soldiers had to endure. We feel the mental anguish encountered by men suffering in the helpless situation of a gas attack. The men are marching back to their post, dead tired and oblivious to the enemy gas shells. So it happens that they are taken by surprise, and one man, too slow in putting on his gas mask, dies horribly. The last four lines are an attack on a glib patriotic writer. In the final stanza Wilfred Owen directly challenges the reader to put themselves in the position of the soldiers. He urges them to realise the horror and forget idealistic patriotic fantasies. Owen describes some dreadful scenes to stir feelings of revulsion then concludes by pronouncing,
" My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie : Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori. "
Throughout the poem the use of comparisons, both metaphor and simile, is highly pointed: they are not used solely to increase drama, but also to reveal layers of meaning. The poet pleads with the reader to discourage future generations from believing that 'it is sweet and honourable to die for one's country '; this is something believed only by those without any real experience of war.
As a result of World War I, the distinction between social classes began to blur. The upper classes lost some of their power and privilege after having led the world into an agonising war. The work of Siegfried Sassoon reflects this disenchantment with the stereotypical, aristocratic higher ranks whose military decisions were often to blame for the massacre of thousands. Sassoon felt that the officers toyed with the lives of army battalions from the safety and comfort of the support trenches where they themselves faced no danger. The following quotation comes from his poem " Base Details", a poem about what he would be doing were he a Major,
" I'd live with scarlet Majors at the Base,
And speed glum heroes up the line to death."
" Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel "
" And when the war is done and youth stone dead,
I'd toddle safely home and die -- in bed. "
Sassoon paints a devastating picture of the incompetence and selfishness of the General Staff. The language used is colloquial with a neat rhyme scheme. This poem emphasis’ on their uncaring attitude and their attitude. It is now generally accepted that the large number of casualties could have been avoided, had it been considered important to save lives.
The title ‘Base Details’ is a pun on ‘base’ which can also mean dishonourable. The poem begins in a splendid style with a slanderous caricature of majors at the base. It begins with a burst of energy and finishes with a downbeat, casually vicious throwaway line.
Sassoon’s use of ’guzzling and gulping’ is both alliteration and onomatopoeia, it conveys a vivid impression of both grossness and greed. The last line or two adds a punch to the satire. The poet’s vocabulary about the majors is at the heart of his anger and his satire.
The War had a tremendously influencial effect on society. It took millions on a journey of realisation. People began to understand that war is very seldom beneficial; more often it is horrific.
If more had taken heed of this beforehand then perhaps less would have been slaughtered. This journey of innocence to experience was a valuable one, but it was one which we all regret it was necessary to take.
