Bridge Course : War poetry

 Hello readers! This blog is assigned to us by Vaidehi Haryani ma’am. It deals with the topic of war poetry.  War is important part of  20th century literature. Soldier and civilian are express her view about war, experience and emotion  in literature. Many soldier and civilian wrote many poem in war periods.  In this blog we are discuss some question about war poetry.

                                                 WAR POETRY

What is you understanding of War poetry ?

War poetry that deals with the subject of war.  War poetry is not necessarily 'anti -war'. It is, however, about the very large questions of  life: identity, innocence, guilt, loyalty, courage, compassion, humanity, duty, desire, death. The genre which is directly influenced by war.  Majorly the war poetries are Anti- war, that oppose war. The term was coined by Randall Jarrell in his essay “The Literature of War” (1961). Jarrell defines war poetry as “a poem that has as its theme war and that is written during or about a war”.

A war poet is a poet who participates in a war and writes about their experiences, or a non- combatant who writes poems about war.  The term is applied especially to those who served during the First World War. War was glorified as a noble thing; it was the question of honour.  That was the usual way in which poetry was written. The name war poetry might be misleading somewhat, because it is actually the anti-war poetry, the poetry presented attack against the whole ideology of nobleness of war.  The overall massage through such poetry is that the war is brutal, vicious, meaningless, stupid; there was nothing honourable, glorious, or decorous about the war.  

For war poets the war in unnatural,  meaningless, foolish, brutal, enterprise in which there can be no winners, it is not a noble, heroic enterprise.

Characteristics of war poetry

War poetry is not only anti-war but it also deals with immediate answers to humanity, innocence, courage, loyalty, guilt, identity, duty, desire , health. War poetry has become an expression of historical and political conscience. It also deals with what we are and what we want to be.

Note down the differences of all the War poems.

 This are importance War poem we are discuss in this blog. 

Dulce et Decorum Est - Wilfred owen

The Soldier - Rupert Brooke 

The Fear - Wilfrid Wilson Gibson

The Hero - Siegfried Sassoon

The Target - Ivor Gurney

Every War poetry are differences because every poet thought are different, every poet vision to look War was different, poet emotion are different.  War poetry is not necessarily anti -war, but is questions of life: identity, innocence, guilt, loyalty, courage, compassion, humanity, duty, desire, death.

Wilfred Owen - Dulce et Decorum Est 

The central tension of this poem is between the reality of the war and the government's portrayal of war as sweet, right and fitting to die for your country.  The message that the poet conveys is the reality of the war that is horrific and inhuman.

Rupert Brooke - The Soldier

The Soldier explores the bond between a patriotic British soldier and his homeland. through this soldier's passionate discussion of his relationship to England, the poem implies that people are formed by their home environment and culture, and that their country is something worth defending with their life.

Wilfrid Wilson Gibson - The Fear 

In this poem Wilferd Wilson Gibson describe war. This is short poem by him. This poem only two stanza and eight line, but in deep meaning of poem you can easily understand the background of war. He describe her emotions, expression about war. 

Siegfried sassoon - The Hero 

The Hero, by Siegfried is one of the disputed war poems this British officer and poet wrote in the period 1915-1918. When The Hero appeared in print, in 1917, many people were shocked. Fellow - officers condemned him.

Ivor Gurney - The Target

This is a monologue from the point of view of a soldier. He details how he has killed another man and his thoughts on it. the poem shows us the effect of the war on the ordinary man, as well as questioning the idea of religion and God's role in this war.

Compare any two poems with reference to the subject, style, of writing and patriotism.

                             Dulce et Decorum est 

Subject

The main themes in  "Dulce et Decorum Est" are the limits of patriotism and the realities of war.

The limits of patriotism:

Ideals of war spread by patriotism and propaganda, Owen argues, serve only to perpetuate the suffering of those who fight.

The realities of war: Owen's descriptions of war are horrific, and he does not shy away from depicting its inhumane deaths and ultimate futility in full relief.

Style

The style of " Dulce et Decorum est" is similar to the french ballade poetic form. By referencing this formal poetic form and then breaking the conventions of pattern and rhyming, Owen accentuates the disruptive and chaotic events being told. 

Patriotism 

In this poem, dying for your country seems a lot less worthwhile than the trumped - up truisms of  old patriotic battle cries imply. Strategically drawing his readers through the ghastly reality of life in a battle zone,Owen turns patriotic fervor into a kind of deadly  life force.

The Target

Subject 

The Target poem was 1st person narrator - an ordinary soldier explaining why he killed a German and how he now feels about it. Looks at s common war poetry theme - that death would be preferable to carrying on in the war. A sense of God having abandoned them. 

Style

A very simple rhyme scheme we are being spoken to by an ordinary man the language in some ways reflects this as well. Look at the uses of enjambments and caesuras. why does the poet use these? what effect do they create? it is like an ordinary person is speaking to us, like in "Lamentations" an ordinary soldier would not be tied by line lengths if he was explaining something to us.

Thank you