Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' compared to Jessie Popes 'Whos For The Game'

Essay by smithy123Junior High, 8th gradeB+, December 2006

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'Who's for the Game' and 'Dulce et Decorum Est' create very different impressions of war.

What contrasting purposes did the poets have as they wrote, and how are those purposes reflected in the language they used?

Jessie Pope wrote 'Who's for the Game' to encourage young men into joining the British army. She wrote it as she believed one hundred percent in the war and the government propaganda. She was very patriotic and wanted to use her writing skills to help the country. Jessie Pope wrote the poem the way she did she because she did not want to discourage men from going into battle. But she was very arrogant as she sat in her house in England having no idea of what was happening in France. The title suggests that the war is a kind of sport, something that will be fun and enjoyable.

The first verse carries on the theme of it being a game 'The red crashing game of a fight?' She chooses 'red crashing game' as this conjures the image of boxing. The word 'fight' sounds a lot better than war or battle as it does not sound fatal. 'Who'll grip and tackle the job unafraid?' It carries on the idea of it being a game like a game of rugby. The next line 'And who thinks he'd rather sit tight?' Makes men feel pressurised into going into war, and makes them feel cowardly if they lie low. 'Who'll give his country a hand?' This line personifies Great Britain as someone who needs help, It makes men feel as if they have to do there duty for the country and makes patriotic propaganda. 'Who wants a turn to himself in the show?' This makes men have the impression that they...