Comparing Mametz Wood And Break Of Day In The Trenches

'Mametz Wood' by Owen Sheers and 'Break Of Day In The Trenches' by Issac Rosenberg, both present themes of loss and destruction that can be seen throughout. These ideas are displayed through a motif of conflict and war, specifically surrounding WWI. Rosenberg's poem describes the death-ridden life of a young soldier in the trenches whereas Sheers' poem depicts the dismal burial ground of the battle of Somme, many years later. Despite these time-setting differences, both poems are effective in expressing horrors of war.

Both Sheers and Rosenburg show a clear opposition to war, describing the devastating effects both during and after. Sheers writes of the 'wasted young', conveying his view that war is but a pointless exercise that loses lives unnecessarily. In addition, he compares the soldiers' bodies in the ground to 'a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the skin', elucidating the fact that he believes the soldiers should not have been killed in such a way and so should not be where they lie. In the last stanza, he reintroduces this
Rosenburg describes the battlefields as a 'sleeping green', referring to the hundreds of dead bodies that lay upon it. He also references the soldiers, 'sprawled in the bowels of the earth', again, showing how many lives were lost and the effects the war had on the environment we live in. Sheers describes the earth as 'standing sentinel', comparing the earth to a soldier and further showing how the war involved everybody. He also describes farmers, 'turning up' their land as they ploughed it. This promotes the philosophy of 'that which is suppressed will return', which linking to ideas of conflict presents the notion of war being inevitable and unforgettable, no matter what. This belief proves itself correct, with wars still going on to this day, such as the wars in the Middle