The poem, In Flanders Field by John McCrae, explains the emotions of the soldiers who fought in World War 1. McCrae demonstrates this with the words he uses to set the changing tone of this poem. The poem switches from pride to depressing and then to a warning which shows how quickly emotions can change in the course of war. In addition to the tone of the poem the theme is also thought provoking.
In the first paragraph the narrator speaks with pride for not only the people who died in battle but also for the people at home who cheered the soldiers on. Poppies are used as symbols for the deceased soldiers and to make people remember that they died for our freedom, " In Flanders Field the poppies blow/Between the crosses row on row"ÃÂ(11.1-2). John McCrae then compares civilians with larks, showing their pride for their men in battle and that even though their cheers aren't heard by the soldiers, "The larks, still bravely singing, fly/Scarce heard amid the guns below"ÃÂ(ll.4-5).
English: John McCrae Français : John McCrae
Facsimile of handwritten version of McCrae's "In F...
"In Flanders Fields" memorial on the war site John...In the second paragraph, the tone then switches into a depressing mode, that discusses the dead people from war. The narrator is humanizing the lost soldiers. He is trying to make the reader know and feel what it was like for all the civilians who lost a brother, dad, or son in war. John McCrae tells how the warriors had a good life and now they are dead, "We are the dead short days ago/We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow"ÃÂ(ll.6-7).
Then, in the third and last stanza, the speaker switches into a manipulating warning and threatening tone. He tells the reader to take their place and to keep faith in case of a future war. The speaker is trying to tell the reader about how...