War Poetry in the 1930's: Bitterly Sarcastic as Their Attitude to War is Grimly and Convincingly Realistic
“Why do you lie with your legs ungainly huddled,
And one arm bent across your sullen, cold
Exhausted face?...
You are too young to fall asleep for ever;
And when you sleep your remind me of the dead.”
And one arm bent across your sullen, cold
Exhausted face?...
You are too young to fall asleep for ever;
And when you sleep your remind me of the dead.”
- Siegfried Sassoon (1886 - 1967) "The Dug-Out"
Be it Mahabharata or Ramayana in the East or Iliad or Odyssey of the west, the core theme of these epics is heroism and
war. Broadly speaking Milton’s Paradise
Lost or ancient Beowulf are mainly concerned with battles and heroism and thus regarded
the war poem. But our immediate concern is inter- war poetry or the war poetry
in the 1930s which is notable for the sea change of attitude. In contrast to the
romantic attitude to war as a glorious occasion for showing patriotism and
heroism, the war poets are bitterly sarcastic as their attitude to war is grimly and
convincingly realistic.
War poetry of the 1930s was often bitterly sarcastic, reflecting the grim and convincingly realistic attitude to war that was held by many poets of this period. This was due in part to the experience of the First World War, which had shown the horrors of modern warfare in all its brutality. Poets such as Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen wrote about the war in a way that was both shocking and unforgettable, using their poetry to expose the futility and waste of war.
One of the most famous examples of this kind of war poetry is Owen's "Dulce et Decorum est" :
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
The poem's opening lines vividly evoke the physical and mental suffering of the soldiers. The imagery of "bent double" and "knock-kneed" suggests the soldiers' exhaustion and vulnerability, while the sound of "coughing like hags" creates a sense of disgust and despair. The poem's final line, "And towards our distant rest began to trudge," suggests that the soldiers are only marching towards their own deaths.
While
some like Hardy or Rupert Brooke, the notable Georgians world see war as offering
an occasion for demonstrating one’s patriotism and heroic qualities, there were
others-mainly soldier poets-who experienced a deep horror and disgust at the
reality of war-a reality which was radically different from, if not opposite
of, the rosy picture of war that was presented by the poets of the past and the
politicians of the lime sect wide gulf of frustrations and sufferings can be
seen in the poetry of many war poets. Most notable of all war poems is Wilfred Owen’s.
Himself participated in war, his is the poetry of trenches, of war, of brutality
of it. He is a soldier poet without any romantic felling or illusions about
war-while Rupert glorifies war, Owen sings of the pity, the pathos and tragedy
of it. Being a stern realist, he tears off the veil that covers the ugly face
of war and exposes it is its foot and clan. The war to him is a machine for
destroying precious human lived which is a colossal waste of human lives and
opportunities. His notable poems Futility, Spring Offensive are few exquisite sump of him
poetry. The posthumous publication The Poems of Wilfred Owen (1931) is a much
more complete collection of his works and also contemns an excellent memoir by
Edmund.
The next important war poet is Siegfried Sassion.
He is one of the major war poets who survived the Great world war. He joined
the army in the World War I and it was in the trenches that he began to like Owen
attacks the glory of war and with bitter irony his is the poem for angry
protest against the Heroics of war. The
old Human (1917) and Center attack (1918) are the collection of his
war poems which record his bitterness for the warmongers.
Another example of this kind of war poetry is Sassoon's "The General":
"Good morning, good morning!" the General said
When we met him last week on our way to the line.
Now the soldiers he smiled at are lying dead,
And we're cursing his staff for incompetent swine.
The poem's sarcasm is evident in the contrast between the general's cheerful greeting and the reality of the soldiers' deaths. The poem also suggests that the general is responsible for the soldiers' deaths, through his incompetence and indifference.
The bitterly sarcastic tone of these poems reflects the poets' deep disillusionment with war. They saw war as a pointless and destructive force that only brought death and suffering. Their poetry was a powerful indictment of war and a warning against its horrors.
In addition to Sassoon and Owen, other poets who wrote bitterly sarcastic war poetry in the 1930s include Robert Graves, Edmund Blunden, and Isaac Rosenberg. Their poetry helped to shape public opinion against war and contributed to the growing movement for peace.
Key points of war poetry in the 1930s:
- War poetry of the 1930s was often bitterly sarcastic, reflecting the grim and convincingly realistic attitude to war that was held by many poets of this period.
- This was due in part to the experience of the First World War, which had shown the horrors of modern warfare in all its brutality.
- Poets such as Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen wrote about the war in a way that was both shocking and unforgettable, using their poetry to expose the futility and waste of war.
- Their poetry helped to shape public opinion against war and contributed to the growing movement for peace.
Here are some specific examples of the key points:
- The poets' use of sarcasm and irony to expose the futility and waste of war.
- Their focus on the physical and mental suffering of the soldiers.
- Their depiction of war as a pointless and destructive force.
- Their use of their poetry to raise awareness of the horrors of war and to call for peace. Ardhendu De
References:
The war poems of Wilfred Owen : Owen, Wilfred, 1893-1918 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/warpoemsofwilfre0000owen
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