War Poets and the Old Lie of War.

War is a state of widespread conflict between states, organisations, or relatively large groups of people, which is characterised by the use of violent, physical force between combatants or upon civilians. Other terms for war, which often serve as euphemisms, include armed conflict, and hostilities. War is contrasted with peace, which is usually defined as the absence of war. World War I or the War to End All Wars was a world conflict occurring from 1914 to 1918. "The Great War", as they commonly call it, blighted the souls of nearly nine million worldwide. When the fog of nationalism lifts, and the self proclaimed victors grow weary of touting their glory, we see the true nature of war. The carefully orchestrated coalitions were so multifaceted in nature that when a relatively negligible Archduke was murdered it threw the entire world into an irreversible schism.

The Old Lie: "It is sweet and glorious to die for one's county."

Before the First World War, people started realizing that campaigns and techniques of mass persuasion were working their way into the United States and Canada. World War I was not the first instance of the use of propaganda, but it was the period in time where propaganda was relied on heavily for the manipulation of the masses. The theme of all this propaganda promoted The Old Lie for all it was worth. But as founded by all soldiers World War I was not what the media anticipated it would be. It was much longer than expected and was the first modern, "industrial" world war. As Dyer stated, "Each day they [the soldiers] faced the risk of being killed, and each day they endured the misery of living in a ditch" (p. 81). Rats, frogs, slugs and lice were the source of infection and...