Ww1 Poetry Comparison Esaay
WW1 Poetry Comparison Essay
Darlene D'Mello
“Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen and “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke are both poems borne out of World War One. Despite the vast differences between the two, Rupert Brooke and Wilfred Owen were both poets during the war and their poems were written with 3 years of each other, “the Soldier” at the start of the war and “Dulce Et Decorum Est” towards the very end. Rupert Brooke wrote “The Soldier” right after the outbreak of the war, when patriotic fervour was high. The soldier persona in the poem reflects on how the loss of his life would be a bittersweet event and that no matter where he dies, his burial place will always have the essence of England. Fighting for Great Britain was the ultimate sacrifice;there was no greater glory than dying for your country. This attitude was far and wide-spread at the start of the war. Brooke however, did not live to see much of the war, as he died of sepsis from a mosquito bite before he was involved in any real combat. Brooke was a celebrated poet and after his death, he became a symbol of the tragic loss of talented youth due to the war. Ironically, Wifred Owen was inherently opposed to the war, due to it resulting in the tragic loss of youth. Having experienced the horrors of war firsthand, Owen knew that there was nothing glorious about dying men. “Dulce Et Decorum Est” is well known for its horrific imagery and its condemnation of war and has a bitter, cynical tone about it. Despite representing similar themes, both poets are vehement in their convictions and they position their reader very differently on the issue of war.
Strong use of imagery is characteristic of both poems to position readers to accept their attitude. “The Soldier” conjures a pleasant scene of the English countryside to evoke a patriotic feeling, that fighting for England is expected of a man. Brookes speaks of the glory and honour of war and of the nobility of fighting and dying for England: “In
Darlene D'Mello
“Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen and “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke are both poems borne out of World War One. Despite the vast differences between the two, Rupert Brooke and Wilfred Owen were both poets during the war and their poems were written with 3 years of each other, “the Soldier” at the start of the war and “Dulce Et Decorum Est” towards the very end. Rupert Brooke wrote “The Soldier” right after the outbreak of the war, when patriotic fervour was high. The soldier persona in the poem reflects on how the loss of his life would be a bittersweet event and that no matter where he dies, his burial place will always have the essence of England. Fighting for Great Britain was the ultimate sacrifice;there was no greater glory than dying for your country. This attitude was far and wide-spread at the start of the war. Brooke however, did not live to see much of the war, as he died of sepsis from a mosquito bite before he was involved in any real combat. Brooke was a celebrated poet and after his death, he became a symbol of the tragic loss of talented youth due to the war. Ironically, Wifred Owen was inherently opposed to the war, due to it resulting in the tragic loss of youth. Having experienced the horrors of war firsthand, Owen knew that there was nothing glorious about dying men. “Dulce Et Decorum Est” is well known for its horrific imagery and its condemnation of war and has a bitter, cynical tone about it. Despite representing similar themes, both poets are vehement in their convictions and they position their reader very differently on the issue of war.
Strong use of imagery is characteristic of both poems to position readers to accept their attitude. “The Soldier” conjures a pleasant scene of the English countryside to evoke a patriotic feeling, that fighting for England is expected of a man. Brookes speaks of the glory and honour of war and of the nobility of fighting and dying for England: “In