English War Poetry - page 1
Keywords: With Detailed Reference to Any Four Poems from the Anthology You Have Studied, Explain the Way Different Poets Convey a Range of Aspects In war
By Riko V on 16/05/2007
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 1 of 7 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
With Detailed Reference to Any Four Poems from the Anthology You Have Studied, Explain the Way Different Poets Convey a Range of Aspects In war
War has been fought since the dawn of man kind, whether to settle political disputes, to prove your love for a woman, as happened in Homer’s Iliad or, just to prove that you were the bigger man as happened with the colonial powers in the 1700’s and 1800’s. War is one of the most well documented parts of our history; it seems to have a gripping effect on the human imagination. Whether it is the great military blunders or the obedience shown by soldiers in positions of great adversity, as was the case with the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War, these military feats seem to captivate the human mind and inspire poets to write about their own opinions of war. Some poets portray war as a chivalrous honour, whereas others see it as an unnecessary waste of life. I feel that war is such a popular subject for poets due to all of the emotions that are involved.
The poem ‘Ode written in the Beginning of the Year 1746’ is written by William Collins. As it is an ode we expect the poem to be a celebration of the lives of the men who have lost their lives fighting during a war. The use of the word ‘sleep’ at the beginning of the first stanza creates a peaceful, romantic image of the death of the soldiers. This contrasts to the poems of ‘The Hyenas’ and ‘Drummer Hodge’ which tells you of how the soldiers’ bodies are tossed aside. The quotation ‘they throw in Drummer Hodge’ from the poem Drummer Hodge supports this statement. Explicit praise is given for the soldiers who have fallen and given their lives for King and country as they are ‘By all their country’s wishes blest.’ By sacrificing their lives for the good of their country, the soldiers are honoured. The fact that the term ‘blest’ is used suggests that God is pleased with their patriotism. ‘Spring’ has been personified, this gives it a heavenly even angelic quality. It ‘returns to deek their hallowed mould’ and ‘she there shall dress a sweeter sod’. By using the word ‘hallowed’ the persona creates an almost sacred image of the soldiers’ graves in the readers mind, and in the second half of this
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