An Analysis of Brooks' First Fight.Then Fiddle Essay

Most people make mistakes, they may accidentally do it. When people do this it is more likely that they didn’t think before they actually did it. In the story, “The Fight,” by Adam Bagdasarian, the protagonist, a popular boy that got in a fight, named Adam learns to think before he acts. Which could hurt not only him, but other people too.

Literature and poetry are a reflection of society. The words are reflected in numerous feelings that we can almost touch and can be deeply felt in its reach. Most poets expressed their perception and emotion through their writings. Unfortunately the art and poetry describes one of the worst things that human can do to one another. The legalized murder called "war." Hence, this type of self-reflection called "poetry" has help create new fundamental ideas and values towards our society. In this essay, I will discuss the issue of the "War Poetry" during the "Great War" along with comparing and contrasting two talented renowned poets; Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) and Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967).

The morality of war is not a newly surfaced controversy. Gwendolyn Brooks addresses the complexity of this issue as early as 1949 in her sonnet, “First Fight. Then Fiddle”. Composed shortly after World War Two, the poem concerns the American race caught amidst it’s brutal racist treatment from the prevailing white society and the yearnings for artistic exploration and experimentation. “First Fight. Then Fiddle” progresses from the beauty of art to the violent dehumanizing characteristics of war through content, form, and language. Brooks utilizes these poetic techniques to develop a more accepting view of war and brutality for the purpose of protecting the pursuance of arts.

War is a scandalous topic where peoples’ views differ as to what war is. Some people see it as pure evil and wicked while others think that it is brave and noble of what soldiers do. Looking at poems which had been written by people affected by war help show the messages which are portrayed. The two sets of poems which show different views of war as well as some similarities are “the Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson, “To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars” by Richard Lovelace and “Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, “The Song of the Mud” by Mary Borden. Both these poets use linguistic devices to convince the reader of their view of what the war is. Tennyson and Lovelace show how war is worthy

An artist's job is to interpret, and express the aspects of life in a creative fashion. War has played a big part in shaping our human history, and many artists have portrayed their feelings about art through paintings, and even monuments. Whether it be to show; the joy of victory, the sorrow of defeat, or to educate the public on the gory realities of war. Art about war can also show us a great amount of history of the kinds of weapons that were used at the time. It is necessary for artists to interpret, and criticize all aspects of life; even ones as tragic as war, It can make the public more aware of what goes on in times of war.

Quite often kid’s of this generation seem to try to act “cool” or “tough”, to up their reputation when with their friends. It seems quite common nowadays. In the story “The Fight” written by Adam Bagdasarian the main character (the boy) the same happens when he is trying to act tough by instigating a fight with a fellow peer in his school. However, throughout the story the boy seems to really be weak on the inside. He is mentally weak because he fakes being tough, is over dramatic, and is scared to fight.

Since the emergence of written history, many fables regarding war have encompassed a significant portion of prosodic literature. Two of the foremost war poets of the 19th and 20th century—Emily Dickinson and Rupert Brooke—have both written about profound implications of war on society and also upon the human spirit albeit in two very different styles. The book, Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, theorizes through Allie, that Emily Dickinson was indubitably the superior war poet. Furthermore, when we analyze their works as well, we realize the invariable fact that Dickinson’s work delves into war with a much more holistic approach as well. She not only honours the soldiers for their valiant efforts, but also deftly weaves notions of liberty and civilian duty in regards to war as well as compared to Rupert Brooke who carried a romanticized imagery of martyrs within his poetry. In summation, Emily Dickinson is a superior war poet for her incisive analysis of death, and human nature in correspondence to war as compared to the patriotic salvos of Rupert Brooke’s poetry.

The poems I have chosen to compare in this essay are Wilfred Owen's “Dulce Et Decorum Est” and Jessie Pope's “Who's For The Game?”. The two poems I have chosen to compare are both about the first world war. Yet the two poems have very different opinions on the Great War. My first poem, Dulce et decorum, is against the war and the injustice of it all. It is narrated by one of the soldiers who is fighting in the Great War and having to face the horrors of war. On the contrary my second poem, Who's for the game, is a recruitment poem.

Although both poems somewhat encourage the existence of war, Henry’s speech somewhat fails to glorify war, as the brutally savage animalistic traits which Henry encourages, somewhat contradict the honourable and noble status that is associated with the glorification of soldiers. On the other hand, ‘The Charge of the

The point of the poem was to deliver the horrors of war to the public

“In his poetry, Wilfred Owen depicts the horror and futility of war and the impact war has on individuals.”

Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et decorum est” emphasizes the disparity between the romanticized version of war and the harsher realities. He creates contrast between the popularized images of war and its glory with the brutality of war by discussing his experiences and addressing his audience with the harsh realities of war: “My friend, you would not tell with such high zest/ To children ardent for some desperate glory,/ The old lie: Dulce et decorum est” (25-27).

War in art. It was not an easy job and yet to this day has not gotten easier. There are two different sides when it comes to war art. On one side, the artists are going out onto the battlefield during the horrifying war so that they can portray the events going on during the war. Going out onto a battlefield, in the middle of a war, camping out in trenches to illustrate the events going on during the war. On the other hand, it is a chance to view different point of views going on during the war and was a good way to portray the events going on during the war and the aftermath of the war as well.

The poems protest against war,

Bloodshed and the tyranny of battle has inspired art since the beginning of recorded history. In essence though, the main purpose of war is to protect or enhance the liberties of the people and their families fighting. Due to the complex and utter horrific experiences that happen during battle, naturally people want to dedicate a long standing piece of work to honor those who have endured those traumatic experiences for the greater good. Two examples of art being centered around war are the “Star Spangled Banner,” by Francis Scott Key, and a sculpture entitled “The Fountain of Eternal Life,” by Marshall Fredericks. When these two works are broken down into their key elements it is apparent that there are key similarities between the images these works create, and the reasons they were created; in addition to their connection to civil liberties. One must consider the differences between the works as well, such as the mediums in which they were created, the theme of the works, and what they were dedicated to. To be concise, both Key and Fredericks created two extremely different works of art that have overlapping ideals, and have a strong connection to civil liberties.