War Poems: Exploring the Subject Matter and Role

This essay explores the subject matter and role of war poems in conveying the experiences and perspectives of soldiers during war.

Running head: ENGLISH ASSIGNMENTS
English Assignments
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ENGLISH ASSIGNMENTS
War poems refers to the poems that were written by the ports at the times when wars
started in various parts and various countries in the world itself. These war poems are mainly
written by the poets to serve the purpose of either to inform the readers of the poems about
the situations of the war in the world itself, or to serve the purpose of persuading the readers
of the poem about the uselessness of the wars as the wars leads to nothing but the destruction
of lives as well as the environment of the Earth itself. Hence, it is the purpose of the war
poems to let the audience know about the subject matter of the war itself.
The purpose of this essay is to make a persuasive essay on the subject matter of
the war poems and the roles that these poems play in the lives of the human beings
themselves.
War Poems can be of many different types as mentioned by a number of the different
authors themselves. While some of these poems tells the audiences about the subject matter
of the experiences that were shared by the soldiers at the time of the war itself, other poems
tell the readers about the subject matter of the reactions of those soldiers who were able to
remain alive at the time of the war itself and managed to return home to their families itself.
One such poem is the poem called Disabled by Wilfred Owens (Kuzmanovi, 2016). In this
poem, the poet has told the readers about the experiences of the soldiers who are able to
survive the wars and come back home to their families themselves. In the poem, the poet
talks about the subject matter of how the soldier in the poem felt after the war. From the
poem, it can be understood by the readers themselves that the experience of the main
character of the poem is not certainly a very pleasant (Hibberd, 2013). The poem tells the
readers about the fact that the soldier was injured in the war, one of his leg was missing. In
this state, the soldier starts to remise about his childhood as well as his friends as well as the
various events of the war itself (Kuzmanovi, 2016) From this statement, the readers get the

2ENGLISH ASSIGNMENTS
idea that the soldier s returning home after the war and is curious about the various ways in
which he would be greeted by the people of the country once he comes back.
The poem concludes by telling the readers about the various types of reactions
receives on his return and also points to the readers about the futility of the war itself as is
mentioned that the soldier would have to spend his remaining life in a hospital, where his
remaining life would be spent. This states to the readers about the uselessness of the war
itself (Arajo, 2013).
Similarly, in the poem The Call by Jessie Pope, that the poet had urged the younger
generations of the country to join the war in order to protect England against its enemies.
From the poem itself, the readers get the ideas that the enemies of England are coming and it
is up to the youth and the younger generation of the country to protect the country from the
French. This poem presents to the readers another aspect of the war itself in the sense of the
war (Hibberd, 2013). This aspect of the war calls the readers to protect the country without
any form of hesitation if need arises. Thus, both the poems, as seen by the readers themselves
are completely different from each other in the sense of the aspect of the war which they
present to the readers themselves. All these facts presented in both the poems helps the
readers to understand the various ways that the poets interpret the war in their respective
manners itself (Arajo, 2014).
Thus, from the above discussions, it can be concluded that the war has been
interpreted in different by the poets in their respective manners. While few poems condemn
the war and the death as well as the destruction which it causes in the world, others call for
their countries to be protected by the readers as the country needs them in the time of the war
itself. Thus, it can be seen by the readers themselves that the war poems are important in the
sense that they tell the readers about the experience of the people involved in the war itself.

3ENGLISH ASSIGNMENTS
Reference List
Araujo, A.D., 2014. Jessie Pope, Wilfred Owen, and the politics of pro patria mori in World
War I poetry. Media, War & Conflict, 7(3), pp.326-341.
Hibberd, D., 2013. The winter of the world: Poems of the Great War. Hachette UK.
KUZMANOVI, D., 2016. Counterparts and Counterpoints in the Poetry of the Great War.
Re-Entering Old Spaces: Essays on Anglo-American Literature, p.65.
Nicholson, S., 2015. ‘This Unhappy Nation’: War on the Stage in 1914. In British Theatre
and the Great War, 1914–1919 (pp. 43-64). Palgrave Macmillan, London.