World War I Poems Analysis

Essay by Claire6262High School, 11th gradeA-, November 2014

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Discuss How World War 1 Poets Express Their Views About The War.

The three poems that I've chosen to discuss are written by three different poets that all have different views on the War. The first is called, 'Who's for the Game?' Written by Jessie Pope in 1916, it's a positive propaganda poem for the First World War. The purpose of her poem was to get young men to join the army. The second poem is written by Wilfred Owen, 1917, called; 'Dulce Et Decorum Est'. His poem is illustrating his negative opinions on the War, where he mentions how he thinks young men were harshly tricked into enlisting into the Army. Finally, I've chosen Siegfried Sassoon's poem; 'The General'. Sassoon was a war hero who once thought the war was about defending his country, but then realised it was about attacking the Germans.

Pope wrote a persuasive poem where she compared the war to a game.

This is illustrated in the short, punchy title 'Who's For The Game?' It tells the reader that she had a powerful attitude towards the war. By using a metaphor she's describes the war to a big game or event that everyone must attend. This method is called propaganda. Pope uses metaphors from beginning to end; "up to her neck in a fight" and "she's looking and calling for you". The effect on using these metaphors is to plant an image that sticks in the reader's mind, telling them to enlist into the Army, but by using images that they could relate to easier. Using a metaphor is giving the people the better picture, not completely telling them the whole story on what really goes on in the War.

However, Owen's poem; 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' uses vivid imagery that's...