How does Birdsong compare to ww1 poetry

World War One tore Britain apart. By 1918 it was, according to the rest of the country, mechanized slaughter. Originally, because no one had witnessed such a thing before, war was a grand event to look forward to and morale was high. Men, women and children were so patriotic that they pushed their family to go to war although it did not take much persuasion as soldiers thought sacrificing their lives was an honour to their Queen and country. Morale quickly changed when lots of mothers, wives and families were told their loved ones would never return from France. Soldiers in battle were often told to turn their awful experiences into writing to keep themselves sane, which is why we have hundreds of deep, emotional and real accounts of life and death on the battlefield. Many soldiers morale changed dramatically and you can see it in their work, John Silkin believes in the “Four
Stages of Consciousness”. Starting with the patriotic soldier Rupert Brooke, moving to
Siegfried Sassoon’s anger. Silkin then believes Wilfred Owen represents compassion and pity. The final stage of “Consciousness” is Isaac Rosenburg with imagination and reflection.
Many of the poems written at this time were written while in Craig Lockhart psychiatric unit for Officers only. Sebastian Faulks wrote Birdsong in 1993 and even though he was not alive during the war he has included the feelings and accuracy of recreating and reflecting on the world of World War One, very similar to someone like Wilfred Owen who died in battle.
Before Faulks wrote Birdsong he was obsessed with the War, collecting memorabilia such as poems. Birdsong will be compared to the Six Poets of the Great War, an anthology of poets including Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. Clearly, the main difference between a poem and a novel is the size. They are two different writing styles. A poem has to make every word they include count, whereas a novel can use its space to manipulate a reader’s feelings. A