False Perceptions In World War I Poetry

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False Perceptions Overpowered the Harsh Realities of the Great War The presence of clashing opinions and beliefs results in unknown reality to be overpowered by false perceptions. These misconceptions result in costly effects but shape the aggression and instinct of humanity. Society often reflects on this difference of expectation and reality through many forms of literature. World War I was full of conflicting and evolving opinions within it’s poetry from the people in the battle and those back at home. The events of the war, life in the trenches, and views from the home front are reflected upon in World War I poetry. The Call written by Jessie Pope incorporates repetition of thought-provoking questions to convince men to join the war. Dulce …show more content…

(Pope 1-8)
By incorporating these questions, Jessie Pope illustrates her strong yet personal opinion regarding the responsibility for men to join the war. Many soldiers and veterans of the war, however, often disagreed with the phrases she uses throughout The Call such as “Who’s for the trench” and “Who’ll earn the Empire’s thanks”. Her positive and aggressive attitude towards the war shows the views of the people who have never experienced the hardships of the war. Throughout The Call, written by Jessie Pope, the opinions of the optimistic, encouraging, and belligerent side of society is conveyed.
Within World War I poetry the incorporation of imagery allows the reader to picture the horrors and harsh reality of the war. Imagery within literature enables readers to visualize the setting and plot and enable readers to connect the overall message to those mental pictures. Within Wilfred Owen’s Dulce Et Decorum Est, the story of a soldier on the battlefield is illustrated through powerful word choice and phrases producing vivid imagery. The soldier’s, or narrator’s, army is being severely attacked by the opposing force. During his description of this brutal attack, he wrote:
But someone still was yelling out and …show more content…

Irony within literature delivers an opposite message as what is expected. In Siegfried Sassoon’s poem, The Glory of Women, the terrible experience of a soldier due to the women’s positive attitude, is explained throughout the poem. Sassoon continues to prove the perceptions to be unconditionally catastrophic and wrong by incorporating what women are doing and thinking while men are dying in battle. Sassoon wrote “O German mother dreaming by the fire,/ While you are knitting socks to send your son/ His face is trodden deeper in the mud” (Sassoon 12-14). This is ironic to the perception of women due to the women “dreaming by the fire” despite the soldiers “being deeper in the mud” resembling more and more deaths as time progresses. The personal experience of the narrator is explained through this sarcastic yet powerful diction as it forces the reader to contemplate the truth behind a soldier’s experienced during war and what effect it has in the long run. Ironic terms and phrases within The Glory of Women, shows the women’s perceptions of war to be inaccurate and unforgivable due to the physical, mental, and economical loss it has

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