Soldiers Give Their Lives to Their Country

The overall message in this poem is a drill sergeant educating young soldiers and preparing them for the harsh reality of war. He is not playing ‘Mr. nice guy’, he is being tough and strict to give the soldiers no easy way out.

Being a soldier is one of the most effective and honorable carriers a country could have. Citizens have always appreciated soldiers due to their importance in saving and protecting them. However, soldiers’ path consists of many struggles that might threaten their life. Wrong move can cause solders to lose their life and that shows how serious being a soldier is. Brian Turner in his poem “What Every Soldier Should Know” talked about soldiers’ life and gave some instructions regarding soldiers’ security. The poem also described the environment surrounding soldiers in wars and how the battlefield was. The poet concerned about American soldiers since the writer is American. The poem also concerned about the American soldiers’ experience in an Arab country. The poem was written in 2005 while the war of Iraq was in 2003, which explains the Arabic phrases within the poem. The poem main point was to show that soldiers’ life in Iraq was dangerous and full of non-expectable surprises that could threaten soldiers’ life. The poem was powerful in conveying how American soldiers felt during the war of Iraq because of the many strategies that the poet used such as his choice of words, his usage of Arabic phrases and the way of describing citizens of Iraq.

Wilfred Owens poem “Dulce et Decorum est” and Bruce Dawe’s poem “Homecoming” are poems from different wars, however both highlight the indignity of war. Owen’s poem is broken up into three sections, where he expresses the torture soldiers suffer

The idea of loss is explored diversely in the poems ‘Conscript’ by FA Horn and ‘The Photograph’ by Peter Kocan. Where ‘Conscript’ conveys the loss of a soldier on the battlefields of World War II and his physical demise, ‘The Photograph’ conveys the loss of a World War I Australian soldier and the grief his family endures with the passing of time. Although the two poems are set in different wars, the poets similarly reinforce the devastation, as well as the emotional and physical impact associated with war.

All military veterans make sacrifices, and fight courageously for our freedom. They protect our beloved county from disastrous peril. Veterans are one of the only reasons that we are safe, allowed to do what we want, and have free agency. They deserve to be honored and respected as amazing people who put aside everything for the country’s needs.

For Brooke, war was a different experience. It was not that he did not recognize death and trauma, but it was that he perceived it in a different light. Brooke thought of dying for one’s country as honorable, admirable, and something of what a hero would do. Similar to a lot of what we see in modern pro-war propaganda, these descriptions are attributed with anyone who is willing to take on the “good fight for freedom”. It is possible that Brooke’s poems are filled with the patriotic beliefs that they are, purely due to pro-war propaganda, as the influence it has on people is remarkable and

Australians are known for their bravery and mateship. Defending our country at war is a significant part of the Australian identity. Donald Bruce Dawe who was a soldier during the Vietnam War has written about the horrors that these soldiers faced in his poem “Homecoming”. Jeff Cook’s “Grandpa what did you do in the war?” also highlights the struggles associated with being involved in war. This piece was written for the soldiers who returned home and the ones that lost their lives fighting for Australia.

One of the great Presidents of the United States and a condemner of war, Abraham Lincoln, once said, “Military glory--that attractive rainbow, that rises in showers of blood--that serpent's eye, that charms to destroy.” Similarly, E.E. Cummings denounces war in his poems, after first hand experiences of battle in World War I. Although American society glamorizes war and the honor of sending a loved one to war, Cummings argues through his depictions of actual life on the battlefield, that this glamorization is not patriotic. People who push their children and friends into battle are not aware of and have no desire to be aware of the traumatizing experiences that the soldiers, whom they so proudly support, are facing. As exemplified through a unique writing style and the false rhetoric used by “patriots” who support war, Cummings suggests that the influence from a soldier’s home-front that pushes him to war is ironically anti-patriotic.

Good morning, Mr Colyer and fellow classmates. Today I am going to discuss and analyse how societal attitudes to war have changed over time. First, we must explore the idea of a hero. What is a hero? It is a concept that has evolved over time to conform to the ideas and thoughts of the authors that have existed and written over the centuries. The concept has constantly changed and shaped it to fit their views, and left us with an amalgamation of ideas and thoughts and viewpoints on what heroism actually is. The differences in views are clearly shown in the two contrasting poems that were made in time periods only a few hundred years apart. King Henry V’s ‘Once more unto the breach’ speech in famous playwright Shakespeare’s play ‘Henry V’, portrays war as noble and illustrious, while Wilfred Owen, a soldier and poet in World War One, describes the war in ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ as senseless and inhumane, writing 318 years later.

The poem “Soldier” is Brooke’s views on the possible occurrence of his own death in the field and what he feels that foreign country would gain from his death. When viewing his own death Brooke only looks at the thoughts and ways England has provided him with in the course of his life. Towards the end of the poem as if looking at the end of his life he mentions that he feels no anger or feelings of evil or hate toward the enemy or anything else but instead recollects all the wonderful things about his country.

During World War I, a collection of poems were written by soldiers serving in the war. The poems include If I Should Die by Rupert Brooke, In Flanders Fields by John MacRae, Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen, and On Passing the New Menin Gate by Siegfried Sassoon. The poetry differs in opinion on the war and dying for one’s country from soldier to soldier, with If I Should Die and In Flanders Fields romanticizing heroic death and glory, and Dulce Et Decorum Est and On Passing the New Menin Gate showcasing the gritty truth of war and the feelings of the soldiers who experience it.

War is not heroic. War is sickness, struggle, and death. This is the message that poet and World War I soldier Wilfred Owen wanted to instill in his people back home. Those back home talked of glory and national pride and rooted for their soldiers, however, they were unaware of the horrors these soldiers witnessed and experienced. The soldiers and their people back home were not only separated by distance but by mental barriers, which Owen showcases in his poetry. Owen’s use of personification in “Anthem for Doomed Youth” degrades the soldiers to objects to show how the war dehumanized them to intentionally create a disconnect between the audience and the soldiers.

When faced with the countless problems of war including death, disease, sorrow, and loss, soldiers develop and intense bond between one another as they seek support in one another. A brotherhood is formed among these soldiers who rely on one another for protection and companionship amid a time in their lives where they are faced with the constant threat of death and violence everyday of their lives. But what happens to them after the war? In After the War, poet brings awareness to how the war-torn soldier attempts to reestablish their self in a society they have been isolated from for so many years through use of free verse and repetitive phrases, which further reinforces the theme throughout the poem.

The Soldier by Brooke has a positive mood to the poem. During the era of World War 1 many people believed that war was romanticized. They also believed that war was glorified. This poem is an example of the first world war being both romanticized and glorified. Brooke said “If I should die, think only this of me: That there’s some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England.

“The Soldier” is a poem about a generic, yet ideal soldier, which is indicated by Rupert Brooke’s use of the word “The” instead of “A” when describing the soldier in the title. The usage of “I” and “me” in the poem suggests a first person point of view, which makes the poem more personal and realistic to the reader. This poem is a sonnet because the first stanza contains eight lines and the second stanza contains six. Throughout “The Soldier,” the repetition of “English” and “England” shows how important his homeland is to the soldier and his high level of patriotism. In line five, England is personified, and although England is not a living thing, the soldier sees his country as his creator and as a sort of mother figure. Brooke’s use of alliteration throughout the poem helps it flow; the use of caesura breaks up the lines. Perfect external rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter are used throughout the poem, which both give the poem flow and rhythm. The “dust” in lines four and five is a metaphor for the soldier’s life; England created him and he will become “dust concealed” when he dies and is buried. The first stanza of “The Soldier” uses various lines of imagery: “some corner of a foreign field… In that rich earth a richer dust concealed… flowers… Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.” These forms of imagery emphasize the soldier’s death and how his death will cleanse him of any wrongdoings he had done in his time on earth. The “rivers” and “suns” are personified as