World War I: A Literary Analysis

Poems written about World War One during the time of Wilfred Owen’s life would generally romanticize the war, leaving their readers with a sense of patriotism to their country and admiration for the soldiers it described. Owen’s poetry differs drastically from that of other war poets of his time, as his aim was to communicate the inhumanity of war by telling the truth of the brutal and agonizing experience in the trenches, instead of glorifying war in attempts to gather more recruits. His poems Anthem for Doomed Youth, The Sentry, The Last Laugh and Dulce et Decorum Est all contain the same angry outcry against war, and make their point by using complex and innovative forms of poetry, showing the desulte state of the soldiers, and bringing the atrocities of war alive for the audience.

The Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Social Insurance and Allied Services, known commonly as the Beveridge Report was an influential document in the founding of the Welfare State in the United Kingdom. It changed the state function by expanding National Insurance and with the creation of the National Health Service.

Vimy Ridge is considered a defining moment for Canada, this was when the country first proved that it was truly capable of greatness. The ridge was situated in Southern-France; it was a 47 kilometre long well-fortified mountain-top. The hill was significant, due to the fact that the Central Powers could identify the Ally soldiers from kilometres away and therefore easily prepare for battle. Vimy Ridge is significant to our understanding of Canada because this was the event where Canada showed that they were worthy of independence from Britain. The Canadians proved to be an effective and formidable group that deserved sovereignty and respect.

The poems “Disabled” by Wilfred Owen and “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” by Randall Jarrell have several things in common with each other. For one, both poems discuss some of the horrific aspects that war brings about in peoples’ lives and the feelings it will cause for those involved. They also illustrate the views of war by people in the two time periods, with many people actually believing it to be a glorifying prospect, which is revealed within the stanzas as being falsity. Each poem presents the way people were viewed during and after they served their time in the war, and how they were treated as human beings. All of these things come together to paint a picture of an era in time much different from the world we live in today, at

It was September 1918. The leaves were falling, it was getting darker earlier, and there was a nice breeze in the air. We were used to all kind of weather since we lived in Chicago. The Great War was underway, and many people thought this was a bad thing, but it was doing good things for my family of four.

History significantly affects the present consistently through its residents, its region, and the entirety of the nation. World War 1 was the time period of 1914-1918 of global war and unrest drastically impacting America when the nation decided to engage. Before the involvement in the war America contained the position of neutrality. Previous to the entrance to the war America supplied both warring countries with weapons, medical supplies, and gunpowder/equipment as a benefit to us because the economic growth rose. The industries and manufactures boomed as multiple nations were asking for goods. Benefiting from this growth soon America had entered the war. Due to factors such as yellow journalism, the German policy of “

It is evident from looking at World War One (WW1) literature from the beginning, end and after the war that WW1 literature isn’t resolutely anti-war. However, the impression modern readers get from the most memorable pieces of WW1 literature is that of anti-war messages and graphic descriptions of the conditions the soldiers were in.

World War One began on July 28, 1914 and ended with the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918. The war cost a total of one hundred eighty-six billion dollars. The total casualties of the war were thirty-seven million, with another eleven million civilian casualties. The British Empire alone lost over three million people in the war. (English) World War One effected the whole world- the heartache and bloodshed changed politics, economics, and public opinion. This war changed people's lives, but it also changes their way of thinking and their way of writing. After World War One British literature was changed from simple stories to a more realistic and meaningful approach to life.

The poetry written in World War I was mostly dark and told of the terrible conditions of the war. The poetry shows how the soldiers suffered and struggled through unimaginable conditions. The conditions of the weather and battle were often brutal and uninhabitable; yet the soldiers endured these conditions. Nature was often a slow and painful killer. War is a constant in an ever changing world. It is easy to see that fighting is an almost futile attempt to conquer and prevail. The poetry from the war can express the pain of war in a beautiful manner. Through writing the authors can share the pain of what they experienced at war. The difficulty of war is viewed differently through the eyes of these two narrators, and while one views nature as the true enemy, the other sees the loss of people back home as the hardship.

In the poem ‘Disabled’, poet Wilfred Owen portrays the horrors of war and the brutal aftermath by using powerful imagery, dramatic contrasts of pace and time, overwhelming irony and by creating a strong sense of sympathy for the soldier of this poem. The contrasts between health and illness, life and death feature greatly in the poem; this gives the reader a ‘before and after’ picture of the soldier’s (subject’s) life.

In the year 1914, Europe began to tear itself apart, man fighting man, neighbor fighting neighbor. In Britain, there were posters everywhere, proclaiming the glory and importance of the fight. Very few stood against this notion, but their voices and words were strong. One of these few was a young man, who had recently returned from the line of duty. This man’s name was Wilfred Owen, and he is now known as one of the most talented British poets to emerge as a response to the so called Great War. Born on the 18th of March in 1893, Owen served on the front lines of World War I and brought back mental scars that would not heal. He served in France and saw horrors that he later spoke of in his poems, which he wrote from August of 1917 to September of 1918. Shortly before the end of the war, which he fought so hard to bring, he was killed in action at the age of twenty five. He left behind him a legacy and a warning for the world to read (“Wilfred Owen.”, Poetry). Wilfred Owen’s service during World War I greatly influenced the imagery and the subject matter of his poems, both of which show the horrors of war.

Whenever the war is being advertised, he/she does not hear about blood “gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs” (22) of young men defending their country in battle. Owen chooses to use a bitter, humiliating, and surreal illustration to persuade his readers into the degradation of warfare. Likewise, Owen uses different technique with his poem “Disabled” but continues to educate his readers on the actuality of war. The main character in “Disabled” is depressed post war, and even makes comments about how “he threw away his knees” (10) and “his back will never brace” (16). The veteran does not feel honor or glory for his bravery act, instead he feels shame and dependent upon others.

The Great War ushered in a new era of military conflict. One that would see technology change how the militaries of the world waged war. Industrialization ushered in an era of rapid and continuous technological advance. These advances rapidly proliferated throughout the armies of the world. As Clausewitz noted, “One side invents improvements and first puts them to use, and the other side promptly copies them.” The immediacy of war motivated nations to innovate as rapidly as they could to keep pace with their adversaries. Their survival depended on it. The First World War (WWI) would see the beginnings of mechanization, strategic airpower, naval aviation, and submarine warfare. The tentative peace that arrived with the conclusion of the war removed much of the incentive for military innovation. During the interwar period, nations struggled in different ways to innovate and modernize their militaries. The most significant obstacle to innovation was the marriage of the lack of popular support for militarism, the strategic environment itself, and the organizational politics of military bureaucracies.

Kimberley Johnson creates an article about the angel, Raphael, which was to send a message to Adam and Eve, warning about the temptation of Satan during the war between God and Satan. Raphael failed to have the human race receive the message for Raphael stopped one of Satan’s demons and the war between God and Satan continues which is refers to the War of Heaven. Johnson implies that, “The sweeping war epic Raphael tells in Book 6 stands in direct opposition to Michael’s counsel not to imagine the battle between good and evil as a duel, and it also contradicts the narrative priorities that Milton himself lays out at the beginning of Book 9” (Johnson 213). This passage in Johnson’s article explains that Milton intentions of creating the