War poetry displays an accurate representation of the sensations felt during the horrid times of battle. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, D.B. asks Allie, “who was the best war poet, Rupert Brooke or Emily Dickinson” (140). The question proposed can be answered with many different opinions, as the individual's knowledge and understanding of each poet will impact their decision. In contrast to Rupert Brooke, Emily Dickinson is clearly the superior war poet as she portrays soldiers and the idea of death in an insightful manner, which causes the reader to go beyond their comprehension of the words to recognize the full potential of the poem.
Soldiers are an essential aspect of war poetry, as they play the role of the protagonist through the theme of the poem, generally. Therefore, Dickinson displays soldiers as heroic figures, which should be celebrated and honored, as they sacrifice their lives for the freedom of others. For instance, “This Spartan put away/ What little of Him,” writes Dickinson, “we— possessed/ In Pawn for Liberty” (line 6- 8, “444”); Spartans died heroically in their doomed stand against a huge invasion by the Persian army. Evidently, citizens possess soldiers more as a commodity to be spent for the liberty of civilian safety; Dickinson cleverly highlights this idea within her poem by alluding to the Spartans. Therefore, Dickinson’s ability to represent the soldiers is effective, as her, “inner violence confronted outer violence…
Often, personal experiences are what influence a poet’s writing. Since the 1600s and up until World War One, poets have been heavily impacted by the glorification of war, as well as the catastrophic losses the world has suffered from. Poets such as Richard Lovelace and Lord Tennyson glorified the sacrifices soldiers made for their countries and honored them. While poets like Mary Borden and Wilfred Owen expressed their outrage towards war because they have witnessed the brutality and wickedness of it. In the two poetry collections, diction is the main factor in establishing the tone and theme of each poem.
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).
War is powerful. It has the power to tear into the strongest and bravest American men and women. Tear into them and incite fear beneath the strongest bravados of courage and strength. Author, Brian Turner, captures and shares a moment of near life and death as a solider in a poem both civilians and fellow soldiers can relate to. He shares intimate thoughts, feelings, and self-truths to give deeper insight into war and the emotions behind the combat gear. In his work, “Here, Bullet,” Turner holds little back, sharing his altered perspectives and emotions as a solider.
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
The poet Wilfred Owen was one of many poets who were against war. He reflected this idea of anti-war in his poems, one of his poems called “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, mirrors most aspects of war all put together in this short still deep poem. An example of that would be when the speaker stated,” What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?”(1) The speaker asks is there any sound that marks our soldier’s death other than the sounds of church bell’s which are mostly rung to represent somebody’s absence? Clearly, the speaker sets anger as the tone of the poem through this question to show that soldier’s death is unremarkable.. The speaker compares the soldiers to a “cattle” which illustrates that soldiers are treated more like animals with no feelings and also shows how they are killed indiscriminately in war. Finally the line ironically contains an iambic pentameter which is a natural rhythm for such dark, grim, dull subject. The two novels, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, and All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, both present a similar idea of how soldiers are killed out there in the front comprehensively and the dehumanization of war towards its soldiers. The first novel is set during the Civil War, and it focuses on the psychological aspects of one soldier named Henry Fleming and how his naive thoughts about war constantly change through the course of the novel. The second novel presents the life of a soldier named Paul Baumer and his
influenced the themes of her poems. Following his departure for the West Coast, Dickinson had
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.
Yet again, the “poems all over the fingers and the pocket... In green ink,” had a purpose within Holden’s social dynamic. In this memory, D.B. gets Allie to pick the “best war poet, Rupert Brooke or Emily Dickinson.” He does this to prove that his experience in the army didn’t make him a better writer. Obviously, Allie supported him when his answer was confidently “Emily Dickinson.”
The poet then presents a scene of patriotic relevance as he describes a scene of a regiment marching into battle with their “flag” and “Eagle with crest of red and gold” (17-18). When people think of flags, they think of patriotism and representing their country. Eagles also symbolize freedom but as readers can witness in the work, the poet makes it seem as if these men were created not to enjoy the gift of life for one moment by him saying “These men were born to drill and die” (19). This comes across to the reader as almost inhumane. Then by illustrating an image of a field of thousands of dead corpses makes any reader wonder why people even go to war. The whole fourth stanza paints a picture of living human being going into a battle with most, if not any, making it out alive. Like stated before, the speaker in the poem builds a case for those people that opposed to war even though the title of the poem might
Steve Jobs advised students that, “Your time is limited, so don 't waste it living someone else 's life. Don 't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people 's thinking. Don 't let the noise of other 's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition...” (“You’ve Got to Find What You Love”). Job explains to the Graduates of the Stanford Class of 2005, that in order to be successful one must assert their unique personality, one must stand up for what they believe in, and one must create their own perspective of the world. In life, a choice has to be made, to take a stand for what you think is right, or sit passively and listen as peers debate, Job recommending the former. Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman agree that living life in a passive manner is not acceptable. The standard of asserting oneself is seen through Walt Whitman’s poem, “To a Pupil,” in Paul Schutze’s photograph Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as in biographical information about Dickinson and Whitman; however, Dickinson claims in her poem, “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” that on occasions, it is okay to stay out of the spotlight.
Throughout history there have been many influential writers that have impacted generations. There have been writers from Shakespeare in England to Sun Tzu in China. They have impacted the many generations that followed. America has had many influential writers of its own. Emily Dickinson and Mark Twain are just a few of the many examples of writers that have originated in America. Mark Twain wrote "Extracts from Adam's Diary" a playful short story of how man met woman. Emily Dickinson's Success is Counted Sweetest is a poem on how when one succeeds it brings joy into the effort that was put forth. One may learn a great deal from reading works of literature.
Many different manifestations of conflict have been explored by various poets studied this year. A diverse range of literary techniques have been utilised to explore, war, social, mental and gender conflict. Beach Burial by Kenneth Slessor along with Exposure and Insensibility by Wilfred Owen all explore war conflict, while also exploring the dehumanisation of soldiers and emphasising that nowhere is safe during war. Exposure portrays the men to be “[cringing]in holes” with “forgotten dreams”, dis-empowering the soldiers and making them less than men, generating pathos for them. Additionally, Owen utilises inclusive language like “we turn back on our dying” to further demonstrate empathy for the soldiers’ suffering, whilst implicating the
Accordingly, war has always deplored a person in to the events that took place while in battle. Consequently Turner's poem touched the hearts of war veterans since they too felt this at some point if they do not still. Soldiers were merely slaves to the war in Iraq. Wherefore as the labors in the past were slaves
Both Whitman and Dickinson were legendary in the branch of poetry, making their marks by writing plenty of poems, concentrating on important themes such as the developing America/independence, and creating beautiful works of art by exceeding the norms of Iambic Pentameter in conventional poetry. These poets exercised great influence among the coming generations of poets, while also exemplifying their traditional uses of poetic devices. But an important aspect that distinguished the uniqueness of both poets was the tone that was exemplified in their works. As a result, Dickinson and Whitman’s poems incorporated a plethora of symbolic messages that supported their tone and mood of not only their writing, but also what influenced them in
I'm Nobody! Who are you? by Emily Dickinson reminds me of the song, "You belong with me" by Taylor Swift. These two works speak of the author being behind the scenes in life. The writers are unnoticed by society and watch life from the back of the room. Content to watch life play out for others, without the inconvenience of social rules and etiquette. Swift proudly sings "She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers" (Swift). Dickinson and Swift, in reality, are nothing alike, Swift is a brash famous woman, while Dickenson was a recluse. This work is excitedly unemotional while imparting wisdom. Dickinson's poem playfully speaks of human's social fears through voice, conventional symbols, and stanza.