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In my opinion, The Oxford Book of War Poetry is a collection that deeply resonates with readers and allows them to empathize with the poets themselves. The topic of war is captivating to all and during wartime, Great Britain experienced division between those who discussed war and those who endured its brutal reality. Not all […]

Located at the beginning of the anthology Up the Line to Death, the section titled Happy is England Now. Brian Gardner, the editor, has organized six poems in this section to demonstrate their predominantly pro-war nature. As a result, most of the poems in this section reinforce pre-war and wartime stereotypes held by the public. […]

War, in any shape or form, affects people in many different ways. Many people choose to express their feelings and experiences of war in poems. The three poems I have chosen all have different moods, structures, and rhythms but their meanings are all the same – war is ruthless terrifying, and pointless. The poem ‘On […]

It’s highly intriguing that years after it’s publishing, The Catcher in the Rye remains such an intriguing novel to teachers, students, and the general population alike. Yet through analyzing the main themes of the book, one can deduce that although the slang and fashion might be outdated, The Catcher in the Rye is still relatable […]

Both Catch 22 and Oh! What a Lovely War are humorous commentaries that examine the illogical and calamitous nature of war. Both Oh! What a Lovely War and Catch 22 are satires that expose flaws in wartime situations and criticize authoritative figures. However, the play has more visual and aural scope to portray characters, while […]

Poetry written in the English language has a long and fascinating history. Like other creative arts, poetry began in service to communities. Its function was to aid the memory and enshrine in its rhythmic diction the history of the tribe such as the First World War. Over the centuries it became a way in which […]

‘Base Details’ is entirely speculative. The word ‘base’ in the title has two distinct meanings. It could be used as a noun, to mean ‘place’, as in a center of operation; or you could interpret the word as an adjective meaning ‘morally low or unacceptable’. Sassoon has used a play on words in the title […]

‘Who’s for the game’, ‘The Soldier’, ‘In Flanders Field’ and ‘Rendezvous’ are four poems that I feel are apt examples of typical poetry written in World War 1. Poetry throughout this period of time, share similar qualities of which I hope to explore further, one of these qualities is the recurring theme of the glorification […]

The two poems, which I have chosen, are, “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae, and “Suicide in the Trenches” by Siegfried Sassoon. The poems take opposing views to the war. “In Flanders Fields” we find McCrae taking a positive, almost religious and very sensitive view about the outcome of war. Whilst in comparison, in “Suicide […]

In 1915, Owen enlisted in the war with romantic and heroic ideals, but the reality he faced on the front line was anything but. He utilizes the natural world to symbolize the horrors of war, while also highlighting its role as a source of solace for soldiers. In ‘Spring Offensive’ and ‘Exposure’, Owen depicts the […]

In my opinion I think that the poems, ‘In Flanders Fields’, ‘Break of day in the trenches’ and ‘Dulce et decorum est’ do teach the modern reader a variety of different things, therefore to say: “the modern reader learns little from them” is an inaccurate conclusion to draw. I think the modern reader can learn […]

The experiences of men and women within the war differed drastically, due to the different roles played by each gender; women lacked knowledge of the trauma undergone by soldiers on the frontline, due to their lack of personal experience. However, there was not only contrast between men and women in their attitudes and view of […]

Q1. “Source A is propaganda and, therefore , it is of little use as evidence about the importance of women in the first world war.”Do you agree or disagree?I agree that the source is of little use as evidence about the importance of women in the first world war, this does not however mean it […]

War has given writers much material to use in books, short stories, descriptive essays, poems etc. Sometimes these merely narrate incidents and bring them up to story form. For instance Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy’s masterpiece, War and Peace, tells the story of five families during the Napoleonic Wars, “The Great Escape” by Paul Brickhill which […]

The purpose of this essay is to compare and discuss three poems from the Great War. Each poem is written by a different author: ‘In Memoriam’ by F. A. Mackintosh, ‘Death Bed’ by Siegfried Sassoon, and ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ by Wilfred Owen. Initially, I’ll examine F. A. Mackintosh’s poem ‘In Memoriam’. The title suggests […]

In the following essay I will be comparing two poems on war. Of the poems I have studied, I have chosen, “The Charge of the Light Brigade” written by Alfred Lord Tennyson in the 1800’s, and “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, written after the first World War in 1914. Both poems deal with […]

Even though the memoirs, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Sallinger, share similarities in mood, perceptions, and attitudes towards death, they differ greatly in terms of society, culture, and the ages of the characters. In the passage from Catcher in the Rye, Holden, who is 17 years old, […]

Poetry is often used to convey a strong message about humanity. With close reference to the language of two modern war poems, compare and contrast the anti-war messages each poet is trying to portray by describing pictures of conflict across the world and decide which of the two has the most impact on the reader. […]

Both The Send Off and The Drum utilize language and poetic techniques to depict the terrifying realities and consequences of war. The poems expose the misconceptions and glorification of war perpetuated by those who promote it as a noble, heroic endeavor, versus the experiences of those who actually fight and die on the battlefield and […]

The first World War lasted for four years and covered a broad area from the English Channel to the northern Swiss border. Although in 1914 it was expected to end by Christmas. During the onset of the war, Germany believed that seizing France before attacking Russia would avoid a two-front war. However, their flawed tactics […]

Handcock expresses his conviction that he served his King to the best of his abilities, as he faces his impending execution. The film, Breaker Morant, helmed by Bruce Beresford, endeavors to defend the accused, depicting them as sufferers of the British military. Beresford highlights the wrongdoings against Handcock, Morant, and Witton, pivoting the narrative towards […]

For more than 50 years, Catcher in the Rye has cultivated a cult following among teenagers and disgruntled adults who reject society. The book’s popularity is attributed not only to its writing style but also to its context during its release in 1951. The book’s underlying themes, particularly Holden’s rejection of his country and its […]