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Post WWI Poetry Essay
The poems that I will compare are Rupert Brooke – The Soldier,
Seigfried Sassoon – ‘They’, and How Sleep the Brave – William Collins.
Rupert Brooke - The Soldier
The first few words that Brooke uses are ‘If I should die,’ He uses if
as a possibility of death. He uses this because he thinks death is a
possibility not a definite answer to war. The forth word he uses
connects the Sestet and Octave together because ‘think’ is used in
both stanza. At the end of the first line he says ‘me’. This means
that he is a ‘patriotic soldier who has done his duty for his
country’. ‘That there’s some corner of a foreign field’. This means
where every he falls during the war, no matter if it is in a shell
hole or on the edge of a river he will be able to die in a piece of
England. This shows even more patriotism towards the war and his
fellow soldiers. The line ‘in that rich earth a richer dust
concealed’, means that the soldier’s ashes are held in the earth. They
have been called ‘richer dust’ because the ashes of the people are the
ashes of people who have dies for their country and their fellow
countrymen. This also means that his body fertilizes the patriotism
and honour of England’s people. ‘A dust whom England bore, shaped,
made aware’, means that the man who died was raised by England and
educated. This personifies England as a mother nurturing a small
child. The soldier’s body is said to be owned by England in the line,
‘A body of England’s’. In the poem the word ‘blest’ is used some this
may have some religious significance. The lines 5 – 8 are describing
the soldiers ‘Englishness’. It is patriotism at its most extreme.
In the second stanza, the word ‘think’ arises again, joining the
sestet and octave. ‘All evil shed away’, means that the person who has
sacrificed their body for their country cannot sin any more because
they are dead. This may also mean that they may have been forgiven for
killing the enemy to protect their country and its rights of freedom.
‘A pulse in the eternal mind’ has a spiritual or religious meaning. It
could mean that all of the people, who knew him in the war and his
family, still remember him and will do forever. ‘Gives somewhere back
the thoughts by England given’, continues the patriotism and
emphasizes his sacrifice for England. The last three lines describe
the ‘Good of England’. The last line ‘In hearts at peace, under an
Portrayal of War in the Pre 1900 Poetry Before 1900, war was always seen as a glorious thing. People truly believed in the words of the ancient writer Horace, "Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori. " This phrase can be translated, as "It is a lovely and honourable thing; to die for one's country". Pre 1900 war poetry was strongly patriotic and glossed over the grim reality of death, preferring instead to display the heroic aspects of fighting. If death was mentioned, it was only in a noble and glorious context.
are not free in service, you do what you are told and this is the same
The Vietnam War started in 1945 resulting in almost 60,000 American deaths and nearly two million Vietnamese deaths, according to Mintze. The United States became a financial backer to Vietnam and tried to assist South Vietnam from the communist North. The Viet Cong, a communist led guerilla group, began to fight South Vietnam in 1958. This led to American soldiers being sent into Cambodia to destroy communist supply bases. The Vietnam War is also known as the longest battle in American history (Mintze).
Post 1900 War Poetry By looking at several war poems written before and after 1900, I can see that many elements of the types of poetry change greatly in several ways. I will be looking at a selection of war poems written by three different poets, in chronological order, so as to see if the attitudes to war and writing styles change over time or during various stages of the war. Firstly I will be looking at a poem written by Alfred Tennyson about the charge against the Russian gunners in 1854. The poem is called "The Charge of the Light Brigade" as it is exactly what happened.
The Piano, The Tyger, War Photographer, The Lamb, In Mrs Tilscher’s Class, The Early Purges
Whenever people read poetry it takes into another planet, wonder how? Most authors of poetry have managed to take people into places they never seen before. Their use of imagery can describe both a majestic place or a nightmare on earth, and anything in between. For example, the use of metaphors can connect objects, or places to another, and as a result a metaphor can uncover new and fascinating advantages of the original thing. Another example is alliteration that provides importance, and sometimes supports in memory because it is catchy and perhaps humorous. In the magical world of poetry, all the rules of formal writing go out the window and create a piece of art, something that is entirely unique. Poetry is also very unique because it rarely uses characters; instead it uses literary devices that describe everything in depth. Overall, poetry uses many ways and methods to intrigue its readers to what more and more poetry. With hundreds of spectacular poets we have today it is made possible.
Plague infests us all and the smell of the dead stings my nose when I take in a breath.
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.
A. Philip Randolph was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement and once said “Freedom is never given; It is won.” Our American soldiers fight every day so we can stay free and have the privileges we have today. We do not just get to be free. There are people fighting for our freedom. However, the poem and the song both talk about fighting for freedom but they have a separate motive. Both the poem named “Will V-Day Be Me-Day Too?” by Langston Hughes and the song “American Soldier” by Toby Keith both have the same theme by freedom is worth fighting for and everyone wants freedom, but in the poem the soldier is fighting for freedom and in the song the soldier already has freedom.
Remembrance Day ceremonies are observed all over the world in many countries, however, Canada has a very specific set of rules and displays that pertain to the commemoration of this remembrance. The national symbols, procedures and mannerisms surrounding Remembrance Day ceremonies are a part of the values that society has placed upon these ceremonies and the act of remembrance itself. To determine the aspects and ideals of war that are remembered and are still a part of social memory, a set of interviews was conducted from people of different generations. The symbols, public monuments and decorum surrounding the public participation in Remembrance Day ceremonies has to be witnessed and then discussed with many different people to gain real
With the Great War beginning over a hundred years ago in 1914 there are no survivors left to reflect or corroborate any first hand accounts of the war that ushered in deadly new practices like trench and chemical warfare. Paul Fussels book The Great War and Modern Memory explores not only the firsthand accounts but also literature to the subject published during that time. There are no shortage of war memories detailed in Fussels book, and many of them look into experiences had by soldiers during the war that are unique only to them. In a book that sets out to chronicle the memory of all of World War I why are these specific memories included? Obviously they are curated by Mr. Fussel, whose primary intention seems to be to give a well rounded
The Thirty Years War was a series of conflicts, not-knowingly involving most European countries from 1618 to 1648. The war, which was fought mainly in Germany, was started when Bohemian Protestants furiously attacked the Holy Roman Emperor in terms to impose a restriction on their religious and civil liberties. By understanding the Thirty Years War, you will notice the notable religious, political and social changes. The changes paved the religious and political maps of Europe. Not only did this war affect the religious and political demographic, it caused populations to perish and lose large amounts of their goods. What was known as a religious battle, turned out to be a political feud in competition of which state has the greater power affecting men, women, soldiers and civilians. “[The bohemians] had no idea that their violent deed would set off a chain reaction of armed conflict that would last thirty years and later be called Europe’s “first world war” of the modern era.” When the war ended, the lands were defiled and over 5 million people were killed.
Strong, brave, and powerful are usually the words that come to mind when you think of a traditional war hero. In Tim O’Brien’s novel he uses war heroes that aren’t what people usually imagine when they think of a war hero. They are straight out of high school, and most of the soldiers in his novel are cowards. They are scared of going into the war and even when they have a chance to save one of their friends they just let them die. Not using traditional war heroes allowed Tim O’Brien to show that not all heroes are heroic and courageous, and that they were just normal people going into a war they didn’t understand.
The quote “all’s fair in love and war” means nothing is out of bounds when it comes to love and war; everything is fair game. Nicholas Sparks, Norman Rockwell, and Robert Frost do an excellent job depicting this quote in their work. Nicholas Sparks is famous for his romantic novels; many of which involve a man in the military falling in love with a woman and doing whatever it takes to be with one another. Norman Rockwell’s paintings are simple but also show the love and war. Though Robert Frost’s poem are not particularly about love and war; he does have many poems about love between two people as well as poems about war and what it takes to survive. All three people are extremely talented and I enjoy all of their work.
War consumes the youth of young men and completely alters a person. From numerous poems, it is made clear that war exhausts the youth of young men, and has left their lives with no meaning. These poems are “Dulce Et Decorum Est” and “Mental Cases” written by Wilfred Owen. Similarly, they both employ the same techniques, such as similes and metaphors. However, a somewhat different perspective is projected through the poem “In Flanders Field” by John McCrae, which dissimilitudes yet intensifies the main message. Whether from a more emotional perspective or from a physical view, war has devastated the prime time of many young men in multitudinous ways.