The Understanding on War Poetry

They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country. But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason.

ERNEST HEMMINGWAY

What is 'War Poetry'? 
War Poetry could be described as being: 
a) Poems which concentrate on the subject of war; or 
b) Poems which are written during a war that seems to have a noticeable influence on the poet. 
c) Many of the soldiers who participated in World War I were highly educated and wrote extensively (prose and poetry) about their experiences.

Characteristics of War Poetry:
(Based on the overview of the research title "The Theme of Futility in War Poetry" by Ahmad Abu Baker)

• The war poetry is introduced by the poets who have experienced the terror of War World I and World War World II. War poetry is considered as contemporary poetry which is authentic, original, revolutionary and free from the classical rules. 
• Dennis Brown attributes the subject of experimentation in modern poetry to the "disorientation" induce by the shock of the Great War, among other reasons (Brown 1989:11). 
• Most of the common themes, like the casualties of war and the inevitable deaths, can be found in the most well-known poets like Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon.
•  Many of them suffered from psychological problems during and after the war due to shell shock and/or the horrible scenes of mutilated bodies and human parts scattered on the battlefield. 
• War poetry captures the physical and emotional features of modern war: the pain, weariness, madness, and degradation of human beings under intolerable strain. 
• War poetry captures the physical and emotional lineaments of modern war: the pain, weariness, madness, and degradation of human beings under intolerable strain.

Change in attitude to war:

• At the beginning of the war, spirits were high and people felt very patriotic
• Soldiers as young as 17 years enlisted in huge number
• As the war continued without result for months, attitudes began to change.
• The massive injuries and high death tolls (ran into the hundreds of thousands) caused fear and despair.
• Many suffered from shell shock
• Some soldiers deliberately got injured so they would be sent back home
• Penalties for desertion or refusal to fight were very high
• Many were sent back after being treated for their wounds or psychological problems.

Gender Issues Raised by the War

• The war had been portrayed as a very manly activity, but the hours of waiting in the trenches for something to happen, brought on a passivity that seemed feminine
• The dehumanizing effects of the war lead to all kinds of psychological disorders that caused behavior that was seen as feminine. ( The emotion of fear: nervousness, crying, fearfulness)
• Many women were left behind to take on the men’s jobs in the factories. When the men returned, they often were the ones to stay at home (either injured, disabled or debilitated in some way) while the women worked. This dealt a blow to the masculinity of the soldiers while the women gained economic independence and with it a measure of self confidence.

Themes of the war: Children at War

• All armies in the Great War used kid soldiers. 
• In the beginning of the war the enthusiasm to join the battle was so great that young boys (and even girls) could hardly be stopped to enlist.
• Recruiting Officers in all countries closed their eyes when eager children clearly under the required age 
• 18 years old showed up to join their armies and lied about their age.
• At the end of the war children were even more welcome in the ranks, as the war continued to require human bodies with an astonishing need.
• Hardly trained the kids were sent to the trenches in Belgium, France, Russia and Turkey, where they mingled with the older soldiers and died with them.

Taken from:  http://www.greatwar.nl/ (Children of the great war)

Examples of Poem in World War 1:

The Soldier
By: Rupert Brooke

If should die, think only this of me:

That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the Eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given,
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends' and gentleness;
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

--Rupert Brooke

Analysis of the Poem:

The poem is about the sense of patriotism of an English soldier who fought against Germans during WW1. He imagined of how noble a soldier is willing to sacrifice their own life for the country. He assumed it would be well-rewarded with medals and medication for the soldiers if they won the battle.This can be quoted from stanza one, "If I should die...forever England" (lines 1-3). He is implying that if he dies in the battle, his body will forever be in that foreign field and since his dead body is there, it is like that part of the field belongs to England."There shall be...dust concealed" (lines 3-4). He rather died on the ground he fought for his country. It carried the soul of a great man who died for his country."A dust...suns of home" (lines 5-8). His death will be forever remembered by England. His soul will be immortalized, because he battled for England."And think...no less" (lines 9-10). His death is justified, because he died for England."Gives somewhere...happy as her day" (lines 11-12). His death allows him to only remember the good things about England. It also allows for someone else to come and take his place. He is narrating his dreams and thoughts about England for the next generation who will be a soldier like him; so that he can fight with as much heart and honor as he did."And laughter...under an English heaven" (lines 13-14). These last lines display the happiness that England has brought to him. As he has fought for English and he will eventually live with peace and smile with the good memories he had at heart.

Brooke, Rupert. "The Soldier." The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Twentieth Century and After. Vol. F. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: Norton, 2006. 1955-6.

References

1. Ernest Hemingway's quotation: http://www.usefultrivia.com/quotations/war_quotations.html
2. http://www.nobleworld.biz/images/Abu_Baker2.pdf
3. War Is Kind: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16409#sthash.UzxGX49E.dpuf
4. http://engres.ied.edu.hk/literature/E-lecture(Mat)/Week10(WarPoetry)/War%20Poetry%202.pdf
5. Analysis of Rupert Brooke's The Soldier: http://voices.yahoo.com/analysis-rupert-brookes-poem-soldier-4218489.html?cat=42

War Is Kind [excerpt]

  By Stephen Crane 

"Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.

Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky

And the affrighted steed ran on alone,



Do not weep.

War is kind.