Exploration of War Poetry
In Asquith's, 'The Volunteer', he gives you the picture that fighting
and dieing for your country is a great thing to do unlike that of
Wilfred Owens', 'Dulce et Decorum Est', where he gives you the picture
that fighting and dieing for your country is the worst thing anybody
could do.
In the first stanza of Asquith's, 'The Volunteer', Asquith is writing
about a man who was previously a clerk who had a very mundane life,
everything he did everyday was so boring and that he was fed up with
'Toiling at ledgers in a city grey.' Asquith uses metaphors in the
first stanza for example 'Life's a tournament.' Asquith also mentions
in the first stanza that this man's dream was to fight and die for his
country, it was his 'raison d'etre', it was his biggest and main
ambition.
In the second stanza, Asquith writes about how those dreams of
fighting and dieing for his country eventually came true 'And now
those waiting dreams are satisfied.' The man fought and died for his
country, the man eventually came to his peril in the Battle of
Agincourt, where we ask the question is the man happy in death, and
the man is happy in death, as his 'raison d'etre' has come true and he
has died for his country in the Battle of Agincourt.
This poem by Asquith does promote the idea of fighting for your
country as it tells us about a man who worked as a clerk and whose
dream it was to die for his country and that dream eventually came
true. It then goes on to say that this man is happy in death as he has
done the great and honourable thing of dieing for his country, which
is totally different to that of Dulce et Decorum Est where it promotes
an entirely different idea, which is that it isn't a great thing to
do, dieing for your country, however good some people make it sound.
This speech is Shakespeare's interpretation of what Henry V would have
reveals the concept that those dying at the peak of their glory or youth are
are not free in service, you do what you are told and this is the same
“Turning him over one saw that he could not have suffered long; his face had an expression of calm, as though almost glad the end had come.” Paul dies with a smile on his face. Why would Paul be happy if he has died?
the audience that life is joyous whilst death is full of turmoil and hardships. The final line states “that
Considered the leading English poet of the First World War, Owen is remembered for realistic poems depicting the horrors of war, which were inspired by his experiences at the Western Front in 1916 and 1917. Owen considered the true subject of his poems to be "the pity of war," and attempted to present the true horror and realities of battle and its effects on the human spirit. His unique voice, which is less passionate and idealistic than those of other war poets, is complemented by his unusual and experimental style of writing. He is recognized as the first English poet to successfully use pararhyme, in which the rhyme is made through altered vowel sounds. Owen’s distinct way of both writing and reading poems led to influence other poets in the 1920s and 1930s.
stanza to explain that a dream deferred can end with the entire population in a war.
...ves after him. There is a measure of immortality in achievement, the only immortality man can seek.” (Jacobsen, 196)
Although he has suffered, his death is the appropriate end at the right time. In
...se around them, even in death. This gives the impression that the author feels that death is what you make of it, so though many view it as depressing and empty, you can be fulfilled in death if you wish.
He begins by looking at the very common views of death that are held by most people in the world, and tells us that he will talk of death as the "unequivocal and permanent end to our existence" and look directly at the nature of death itself (1). The first view that
World War I impacted poetry profoundly. Poets who served in the war were using poetry to share their horrific stories about the hardships they faced. These poets became known as “war poets.” They wrote about the traumatic, life changing experiences that haunted them once the war was over. Intense poems started emerging that portrayed the mental and physical struggles soldiers faced. Two examples of the impact that World War I had on poetry is seen in the poems “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen and “Repression of War Experience” by Siegfried Sassoon.
...s that we shouldnâˆ(tm)t dwell on the fact that we are going to die, but instead, ∜..fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry, feast and rejoice. Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for this too is the lot of man.âˆ
"When the purpose of life is fulfilled, death seems a part of life, not a peril to it". Both the protagonists deal with death in different ways.
expresses that he knows he would rebel again if given the chance to be back in Heaven,
Dylan Thomas believes that life should be lived to its fullest extent right until ones very last breath, and you should not be given up gently. One should try to exit this world still strong and passionate. This poem is Dylan Thomas’s appeal to his father to fight death and hang on to life for as long as possible.