Compare and contrast the poem The Drum by John Scott and the extract
from Henry V which focuses on the eve of battle
‘The Drum’ by John Scott, and the extract from ‘Henry V’ both focus on
the eve of battle, but differ greatly regarding their attitudes.
John Scott was an 18th century Quaker, who was very strongly opposed
to violence and war. Shakespeare is writing as Henry V, and extremely
religious monarch, giving a speech to his army. In the two extracts,
there are very contrasting views of honour.
From the first few words of the poem, “I hate”, there is no ambiguity
about Scott’s stance – it is clear that he is strongly opposed to the
devastation of war. His hate is for the ‘drum’s discordant sound’, a
symbol of war. This contrasts greatly to the Henry V extract, where he
venerates the things involved with wars, such as honour and bravery.
The most considerable different between the poem and the extract is
the differing ways that war is depicted. ‘The Drum’ clearly reveals
to the reader, that war is an act of patriotism and pride, where the
‘thoughtless yout...
The powerful poem ‘Weapons Training’ showcases a sergeant, through malicious words, guiding his troops. However it is through ‘Homecoming’, where Dawe exposes the brutal hopelessness brought forth by the futility of war. Therefore it can be seen that war has an emotional toll on both families and the soldiers. Both poems have a recurring message that all war does is bring loss, death and mourning, showcasing Dawes strong opinions about a futile
The poet Wilfred Owen was one of many poets who were against war. He reflected this idea of anti-war in his poems, one of his poems called “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, mirrors most aspects of war all put together in this short still deep poem. An example of that would be when the speaker stated,” What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?”(1) The speaker asks is there any sound that marks our soldier’s death other than the sounds of church bell’s which are mostly rung to represent somebody’s absence? Clearly, the speaker sets anger as the tone of the poem through this question to show that soldier’s death is unremarkable.. The speaker compares the soldiers to a “cattle” which illustrates that soldiers are treated more like animals with no feelings and also shows how they are killed indiscriminately in war. Finally the line ironically contains an iambic pentameter which is a natural rhythm for such dark, grim, dull subject. The two novels, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, and All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, both present a similar idea of how soldiers are killed out there in the front comprehensively and the dehumanization of war towards its soldiers. The first novel is set during the Civil War, and it focuses on the psychological aspects of one soldier named Henry Fleming and how his naive thoughts about war constantly change through the course of the novel. The second novel presents the life of a soldier named Paul Baumer and his friends who were faced with the terribleness of war and how severely it affected their lives. The Red badge of Courage and All Quiet on The Western Front are similar in the way of how the main characters develop through the novel to change from naïve and innocent men ...
...nd die, sometimes unknowing what they were fighting for or how it started. They travel on horses, by foot, they go into battle, risk their lives, die by the thousands. Later on, all that is left are ruins and corpses. Mostly, people are angrier than before. There was no purpose, it was meaningless, no goals were accomplished, and we ask ourselves if it was necessary to do it. The outcome usually is worse. In the poem his repetitive line "War is Kind" is using irony to explain the same idea. "Do not weep, babe, for war is kind. Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches, raged at his breast, gulped, and died…"(p.494). Romanticists would go beyond and find some beauty, some heroic act, a dim light in the distance, while Crane realizes the truth and tells us to open our eyes, to see the tears, and the destruction, and the blood, there is no point in war.
Walt Whitman's Drum-Taps - The Personal Record of Whitman’s Wartime Experiences. Walt Whitman is one of America’s most popular and most influential poets. The first edition of Whitman’s well-known Leaves of Grass first appeared in July, the poet’s thirty-sixth year. A subsequent edition of Leaves of Grass (of which there were many) incorporated a collection of Whitman’s poems that had been offered to readers in 1865. The sequence added for the 1867 edition was Drum-Taps, which poetically recounts the author’s experiences of the American Civil War.
To turn Henry V into a play glorifying war or a play condemning war would be to presume Shakespeare's intentions too much. He does both of these and more in his recount of the historical battle of Agincourt. Although Shakespeare devotes the play to the events leading to war, he simultaneously gives us insight into the political and private life of a king. It is this unity of two distinct areas that has turned the play into a critical no man's land, "acrimoniously contested and periodically disfigured by opposing barrages of intellectual artillery" (Taylor 1). One may believe that Henry is the epitome of kingly glory, a disgrace of royalty, or think that Shakespeare himself disliked Henry and attempted to express his moral distaste subtly to his audience. No matter in which camp one rests, Henry V holds relevance for the modern stage. Despite containing contradictions, Henry is also a symbol as he is one person. This unity of person brings about the victory in the battle of Agincourt.
What idea(s) does this poem suggest to you about overcoming challenges involving with hopelessness and ambitions?
phrase could be compared with that of the dark tunnel that has a bright light at the end, that light
Wilfred Owen’s war poem, “Dulce Et Decorum Est” portrays and condemns the horrific nature of war. Through the use of imagery and metaphor, Owen relates the idea that the hypocritical nature of politicians and civilians causes the alienation of soldiers from the political and societal realm of humanity. Owen implores politicians and civilians to consider the damaging aspects of war as its true depiction as opposed to their commonly-held and much-heralded view that war is patriotic.
David Baker’s poem, “After”, is a relatable poem, especially for anyone that has sailed on the boat of anxiety. In the poem, Baker describes a life on a miserable island, that leads to a lost end of loneliness. It is comparable to the continuous back and forth motion of waves as they have the feeling of being alone. This poem portrays a theme of loneliness using imagery. Showing how being lonely leads to feeling lost, with a hunger of becoming sociable.
Compare and contrast the poems The Tyger and The Donkey and discuss which poet gives us the clearest depiction of humanity. William Blake is a wealthy, upper-class writer who separates himself from the rest of the wealthy community. Blake has a hate for the techniques used by many of the wealthy, company owners who gain and capitalise through cheap and expendable labour, supplied by the ever-growing poverty in the country. Blake makes a point to try and reveal this industrial savagery through his work. "The Tyger" is presented as a metaphorical approach to the struggle between the rich and the poor; good and evil.
Romanticism is a major concept used in the 18th-19th centuries in revolt against Enlightened thinkers of prior centuries. The writer, Wordsword, is a poet that uses romantic ideas in his writings. Wordsword wrote the poem, “Daffodils”, using the characteristics of romanticism to develop the theme of nature’s connection to humanity. Wordsword uses appropriate setting, imagery, speaker, literary techniques, and other writing tools. These tools help his readers grasp the beauty and personality of daffodils.
What idea(s) does this poem suggest to you about overcoming challenges involving with hopelessness and ambitions?
Fighting and dying in war can sometimes be seen as an honor, but during actual battles, there is a horrific, scary side of war. Both “The Charge of the Light Brigade” written by Alfred Lord Tennyson and “Dulce et Decorum Est” written by Wilfred Owen reflect on warfare, yet the authors’ conclusions about death during war are different. Tone, imagery, and point of view in the poems are dissimilar to display the contrasting conclusions. In the first poem, Tennyson develops a tone of reverence from a third person point of view in order to convey the idea that one should honor the heroism of soldiers, while in the second poem, Owen employs graphic imagery from first person point of view in order to covey the idea that dying in battle is not honorable or heroic.
The simple definition of war is a state of armed competition, conflict, or hostility between different nations or groups; however war differs drastically in the eyes of naive children or experienced soldiers. Whether one is a young boy or a soldier, war is never as easy to understand as the definition. comprehend. There will inevitably be an event or circumstance where one is befuddled by the horror of war. For a young boy, it may occur when war first breaks out in his country, such as in “Song of Becoming.” Yet, in “Dulce et Decorum Est” it took a man dying in front of a soldier's face for the soldier to realize how awful war truly is. Both “Song of Becoming” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” are poems about people experiencing the monstrosity of war for the first time. One is told from the perspective of young boys who were stripped of their joyful innocence and forced to experience war first hand. The other is from the perspective of a soldier, reflecting on the death of one of his fellow soldiers and realizing that there is nothing he can do to save him. While “Song of Becoming” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” both focus on the theme of the loss of innocence, “Song of Becoming” illustrates how war affects the lives of young boys, whereas “Dulce et Decorum Est” depicts the affect on an experienced soldier.
In the poems “Dulce et Decorum Est” written by Wilfred Owen and “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” written by Randall Jarrell, which both touch on the issues of war. In these two poems the Speaker uses imagery, diction, and sorrow to show how brutal the war was. They both convey the horror and futility of dying for a state. “Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” (Randall Jarrell 1945) and “Dulce et Decorum Est” (Wilfred Owen 1920) examine the impact war has on the soldiers who fight them.