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The Second World War was a terrible landmark in the history of mankind millions of people were killed and injured. Frightening atrocities revealed a part of the human nature never seen before. The classic clash of the good allies and the evil axis occurred on a scale and a way never seen before. No wonder […]

I have put together two pieces of poetry today, both at different times. The first one is Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen, Dulce Et Decorum Est is said to be the turning point in war poetry as it was the first poem to challenge the war ideology of the time. The second poem […]

In both ‘The Ghost Road’ and ‘The Poems of Wilfred Owen’, one sees the brutal effects of the First World War through the experiences of those directly involved, the soldiers. They suffered immensely, from shell shock, paralysis and also loneliness, and homesickness. In Pat Barkers ‘The Ghost Road’, she concentrates mainly on two characters’ experiences, […]

The collection of poems I am analyzing covers a time span of over 60 years, from 1854 to 1917. All of the poems were composed during a period of conflict, giving insight into the authors’ understanding of the events and their impact. As such, they offer an authentic representation of prevailing attitudes during this historical […]

In all wars, blame is easily placed on the enemy. However, in World War I poetry, the Germans were not explicitly blamed as much as expected. Poems like “Dulce et decorum est”, “Does it matter?”, and “Base details” avoid mentioning the Germans and instead blame their families, supporters, encouragers, and even their own officers. The […]

In war, it is hard to imagine how people write something that is so poetic and beautiful, in its imagery, which comes from the horrific war that was going on all around them. The First World War produced some of the most gifted and talented authors and artists of the last century and most of […]

During the First World War it is estimated that a total of 10 million people were killed and twice that number were wounded. The war lasted from 1914 to 1918. The war was fought between Britain and her allies and Germany and her allies. Most of the fighting took place in France and Belgium. At […]

Bernard Ashley wrote the novel ‘little soldier’. It is set in modern day London. The novel tells the story of a teenage black boy from East Africa, his life torn apart in war and loss, he is rescued by the UN, but all he want is to fight the enemy. The main genre of the […]

It seemed as though it would never stop, the hunger, the crying and the bombing. Not many houses were left standing. It looked like a junk yard, Thanet that is. London was the worst, that’s what I hear, I’m not sure about that because I live in Kent just outside London, in 64 Cross Lane, […]

I do not believe that the First World War was great because several million people lost their lives fighting for four years over for a few strips of land which were no more than a mile wide. A lot of people who came back from the war were badly injured and lots had limbs missing, […]

Consider the ways in which ‘Blackadder Goes Forth’ not only teaches us about the history and conditions of World War One, but also makes us share the character’s feelings, and also so sympathise with the soldiers involved in the war. ‘Blackadder Goes Forth’ is a very funny comedy that was very popular at the time […]

The extract from ‘Strange Meeting’ reveals the British public’s scant awareness of the true horrors of World War I. In comparison to Vera’s letter to Roland in ‘Letters from a Lost Generation’, it appears that while the British public was more aware of the reality of war, there was still little understanding of the emotional […]

I would like to examine how the views of war and patriotism have changed since the 1900s. To do this I will be studying three poems: “Vitai Lampada” written in 1892 by Henry Newbolt, “Disabled” written by Wilfred Owen during World War 1 and a modern poem called “Why Patriots are a Bit Nuts in […]

The poem ‘Disabled’ by Wilfred Owen tells of one mans turmoil due to the effects of war. Owen describes a man whose life is ruined because now he is ‘legless’ due to the fact that his limbs were blown up in the battlefield. This is evident in the third line of the poem where it […]

A sonnet is a poem fourteen lines in length. Sonnets follow various rhyming patterns, such as the idea of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet, as was promoted by the sonnets written by William Shakespeare. The Iambic Pentameter, the idea of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, is a common feature of sonnets, […]

I have decided to do the two First World War poems, As The Teams Head Brass by Edward Thomas and comparing it to Disabled by Wilfred Owen. The two poems have similar attitudes to war, although they represent them in different ways. The structure of the two poems is different. Disabled has six stanzas, all […]

This is a line taken from a draft war poem by Wilfred Owen written before he realised the true horror and reality of war; entitled ‘The ballad of Peace and War’. This poem contrasted strangely with his later work, when he wrote of how the fake glamour of war leads to unbelievable suffering. As a […]

A consistent theme manifested by many of the trench poets was one of detachment which separated those at war from those at home. Although both soldiers and civilians were united in feeling at the start of the war, this patriotism soon faltered as the soldiers realised the truth of war. However, a gulf was created […]

When I read ‘Disabled’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum est’, I experience empathy towards war victims. In ‘Dulce’, the soldiers’ wretched conditions and their suffering are vividly portrayed. The second line, “Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge”, effectively captures their plight. Owen’s style in the poem is marked by compassion and hopelessness. He evokes […]

In many sources the artillery had not broken the barbed wire and when the soldiers had to go over the top they couldn’t get past the barbed wire and the German machine guns cut them to ribbons. Craig mare says this and I think that his source is unbiased as it was after the war […]

A stalemate had developed between the armies of the Central Powers and the Allies. This stalemate lasted for almost four years, taking millions of lives. But in 1918, for whatever reason, the stalemate ended after both armies made effective attacks on the other’s trenches. World War One was the testing arena for a number of […]

The term ‘Blitz’ is derived from the German word ‘Blitzkrieg’, meaning ‘lightning war’. It refers to a powerful air bombing assault and is often linked with the German air raids on London in 1940. However, many other cities also experienced blitz attacks. During the war, there was a belief that Britain would face heavy bombings […]