First World War Poetry Essay - 2753 Words

First World War Poetry .......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. The First World War, or The Great War, was fought over the period August 1914 to November 1918. Although this was fought in many locations, and on a number of continents, the Western Front was the scene of some of the most important and bloodiest battles of the War. The Western Front was a series of trenches running through Belgium and France that formed the front line between the Allied and German forces. Many of the WW1 poets saw action on the Western Front. The War was dehumanising and it brought home how quickly and easily mankind could be reduced to a state†¦show more content†¦He was already a promising young poet when Britain entered the war the day after his 27th birthday. Unfortunately, the publication of his ‘war sonnets’ coincided with his pre-war death, on Easter Sunday, 1915. Brooke died in the Aegean Sea, from blood poisoning, on his way to battle at Gallipoli and was buried on the Island of Skyros. The Soldier If I should die, think only this of me: That theres some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England. There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam, A body of Englands, breathing English air, Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home. And think, this heart, all evil shed away, A pulse in the eternal mind, no less Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given; Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness, In hearts at peace, under an English heaven. The Soldier addresses the notion of duty to ones country that was a large part of what many young men felt at the beginning of World War 1. It speaks of dying for ones country and of the virtues of Englishness. He evokes the ideals of English heritage and loyalty to it. When Brooks says In that rich earth a richer dust concealed he infers the soil will be the richer for the body of an Englishman having done his duty by his country. However, because it was written before theShow MoreRelated How Poetry of the First World War Changed Essay3266 Words   |  14 PagesHow Poetry of the First World War Changed The First World War broke out on the 4th of august 1914. It was the first major war near bye Europe for hundreds of years. It sparked fantasies of becoming a war hero in young boys and mens minds and because the government had assured everyone that the war would be over by Christmas, those young boys and men decided to join up in an attempt not to miss the excitement of war. Little did they know that they were being led to an untimely death atRead MoreHow Poetry Can And Can Not Say Many Things957 Words   |  4 PagesPoetry can and cannot say many things in many ways. 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