In today's society, war is often perceived as glorious and mighty. Many movies leave out scenes of young soldiers throwing their lives away and thousands of people dying systematically in unheroic deaths. The poems, "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" and "Dulce et Decorum est" attempt to touch on the issues of war. In these poems, the narrators uses imagery, diction and sorrow to show the brutality and sorrow of war.…
“Facing it” by Yusef Komunyakaa and “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, are two powerful poems with the graphical life like images on the reality of war. It is apparent that the authors was a soldier who experienced some of the most gruesome images of World War I. In “Ducle et Decorum Est” Owen tells us about a personal experience in which he survived a chemical warfare attack. Although he survives, some of his fellow troops do not. As in “Facing It” Komunyakaa is also a soldier who has survived a war. Komunyakaa response to his war experience is deeply shaped by his visit to Lin’s memorial. Inspired by the monument, Komunyakaa confronts his conflicted feelings about Vietnam, its legacy, and even more broadly, the part race plays in America. Both author used imagery and symbolism as they wrote these poems. Owens describes the soldiers as being crippled, mentally and physically overcome by the weight of their experiences in the war. He compares the young men to “old beggars under sacks”, saying that war turns young men with a full life ahead of them, and optimistic views into beggars that have given up on life and believe that life is never going to get any better (lines 1 and 2). The imagery that he uses allows us to see how gruesome the war really was, and how it was not just something that was glorious and honorable. In the second stanza Owens continues to use similes to show imagery, while ecstasy usually means, an excessive amount of happiness, here it is used to describe how young me are shocked into trying to run for their lives from “Gas! (line1). As where Komunyakaa describes himself as a black person that hides in the darkness of that granite (line 1 and 2). Komuyakaa stands at the memorial realizing that is more that it appears; it is not just cold stone, but something he identifies with on a more deep and profound level. It is this deeper meaning that inspires his emotional response in lines 3-5. These Loading...Manning Page 3 lines show both his…
As a war reporter, Stephen Crane experienced war differently than others. His exposure to the Spanish-American War allowed him to peel away what many expected at war to reveal the grim reality of constant death. Wilfred Owen, who fought and died in World War I, was more straightforward with his protestation, saying that “it is sweet and right to die for your country” is a lie. Some soldiers and witnesses of war have turned their experiences into works of literary art, and use imagery, irony, and structure to protest war.…
In the middle of the poem, the author describes the constant reminders the speaker has of the war and the lingering effects it has using allusion, symbolism, and imagery.…
The themes of these two poems relate to the effects war has on soldiers, whether they are friendly or enemy. “Whether as enemies they fought, or fought with us, or neither; the sand joins them together.” This quote from “Beach burial” shows how pointless war is, and how whether they fight with or against each other, they are equal. “Homecoming” broadcasts this idea through the entire poem, using a wide range of poetic techniques as a backbone.…
The author uses ironic diction to present war as a calamitous machine that of which yields to no one. The first words that arise from the work to the reader is “Do not weep” (Crane 1st stanza), yet it does not comfort the audience. The title emphasizes that the poem is sarcastic and this makes the reader feel doubtful towards the greeting presented to them. In addition,…
Writers protest war by using imagery, irony, and structure. The writers in this DBQ to protest against war using and describing images and war. They use irony by making the title seem for war while the text really is against war. They use structure like lists and such to describe how they die because of simple thing. I think writers using imagery, irony, and structure is an effective way of protesting war.…
An example is arguably one of his most famous poems, ‘Beach Burial,’ which is a military elegy or tribute to troops who fought in the Second World War. The poem conveys the futility of war and also war’s negative effect on people. The stanza seen here is an example of the futility of war evident in many of Slessor’s poem. In using words such as ‘unknown’ and ‘drowned men’ Slessor demonstrates even though the soldiers had served their countries, they will become unknown because of the many that died. This idea of becoming forgotten is emphasised through the simile shown here. This image here is an artist’s perception of what the war would be like. We can see that being a war correspondent, Slessor was exposed to conditions like this, which consequently must of impacted his writing, and thus bought about the anti-war sense.…
Tom Lux’s “The People of the Other Village” was written shortly after the first Iraq war and gained popularity after the 9/11 attacks. The poem’s voice comes from an indifferent narrator whose unnamed village is at war with the people of an “other” unnamed village. The exact reason that started this war is unclear; however, as the war escalates, the battle tactics evolve and are depicted in an alternating line structure that mimics the back and forth nature of reciprocal violence. Ultimately, the author presents a poem that comments on human nature without committing to a judgment of that nature through subject matter, structure, and narrative voice.…
Wilfred Owen successfully creates the truthful and terrifying image of war within his poems. The loss, sacrifice, urgency and pity of war are shown within the themes of his poetry and the use of strong figurative language; sensory imagery and tone contribute to the reader. This enables the reader to appreciate Owen’s comments about the hopelessness of war and the sacrifice the men around him went through within his poems, ‘Dulce et Decorum Est.’ and ‘Futility’.…
“Do Not Weep Maiden for War Is Kind” a poem by Stephen Crane is written in a way that reveals how war is an atrocious creature through verbal irony. In “The Sonnet-Ballad” by Gwendolyn brooks, she portrays death as a flirtatious lady. Both of these authors do an extraordinary job in using imagery and irony to sketch their thoughts about death and war.…
How could war be kind? War cannot be kind. Throughout Stephen Crane’s stories, we learn he is opposed to the civil war. Stephen Crane uses sarcasm in “War is Kind” and then gives gruesome details of a soldier’s experience in “A Mystery of Heroism” to prove he is opposed to the war.…
Last week we explored the American Dream and how time and time again we saw humans hindering other humans, the social hierarchy preventing the freedom of social mobility and social inclusion, and the inability to assimilate with the materialistic values imposed, accepted, and expected to attain this success in literature. This week I would like to delve deeper in the human psyche and struggle. I often marvel at the fine line that separates humans from other animals that do whatever it takes to ensure their own survival.…
Isaac Rosenberg also writes a poem that totally contradicts the government’s image of war it is portraying to the public. The poem also contradicts Jessie Popes image of war in her poem who’s for the game. An example from Isaac Rosenberg’s poem that contradicts Jessie Pope’s jolly and light-hearted view on war is "A man's brains splattered on a stretcher-bearers face.” Especially the word splattered has a special effect on the reader. This word is especially striking because it brings to mind a horrid and vile picture of death and…
Mankind has fought wars for centuries; over many different types of things like religion, resources, and territorial growth. “The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy, can undoubtedly be considered an anti-war poem. The narration takes the reader through the remorse the soldier feels as he considers the weight of his actions. The simple, straightforward nature of the poem seemingly begs the reader to understand it.…