Looking back at World War I from a modern day perspective depicts a time of hardship and despair, but from the European viewpoint at the time WWI was a time filled with hope. The early twentieth century was a time that promoted national development in Europe and this desire motivated many countries to attempt expansion. This caused tensions to rise between conflicting nations, which then formed two competing forces to arise. Each alliance went into World War I with the expectation of a quick resolution to the problems at hand, but soon realized that the war would prove to be long and detrimental to most of Europe. Preceding World War I, the desire for national greatness in Europe sparked a rise in nationalism and the desire for expansion,
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Much like that first poem, this one depicts a relatively peaceful scene, “In Flanders fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row, / That mark our place; and in the sky / The larks, still bravely singing fly / Scarce heard amid the guns blows.” (Flanders field). This poet sets the poem in the middle of a field of poppy where the wind blows and the birds are still singing which makes the reader initially feel peaceful. He then makes the mood darker by mentioning how the gunshots overpower the birds singing, this is a symbol for the feeling of regret that is starting to grow within Europe. He then goes on to write, “We are the Dead, Short days ago / We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, / Loved and were loved, and now we lie / In Flanders field.” (Flanders field). Unlike “The Soldier”, McCrae portrays what the soldier is missing out on after he dies instead of the cause he is dying for. It seems like this poet has a more realistic picture of what it is like for these soldiers so there is more of a regretful tone, saying now that the soldiers who die miss out on all these great things life has to offer. The final few lines of this poem say, “If ye break faith with us who die / We shall not sleep, though poppies grow / in Flanders field.” (Flanders field). This ending is obviously supporting …show more content…
Before even reading this poem it is obvious from the title that this has a very somber tone to it. Just like the previous works we looked at this poem is also about the death of soldiers, it starts by saying, “What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?” (doomed youth). This opening is very consistent with the title because it depicts a lack of hope for these young soldiers who go off to battle. To this poet comparing them to cattle shows that they have no real purpose in going to war except to die, not to die for their country, but to die because their situation made it inevitable. Later in the poem, the author says, “The Shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells,” (doomed youth) which is a horrible depiction of the sounds heard on the battlefield. Using the adjective demented to describe the choir is a way to show how horrible it truly was because it is common to think of a demented person as someone who is beyond saving. The poet is showing that now that they have entered this horrible war there is no way of winning it, the only solution it to end it with the hope that the damage in not irreversible. Toward the end of this work, the poet writes, “What candles may be held to speed them all? / not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.”
Much like that first poem, this one depicts a relatively peaceful scene, “In Flanders fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row, / That mark our place; and in the sky / The larks, still bravely singing fly / Scarce heard amid the guns blows.” (Flanders field). This poet sets the poem in the middle of a field of poppy where the wind blows and the birds are still singing which makes the reader initially feel peaceful. He then makes the mood darker by mentioning how the gunshots overpower the birds singing, this is a symbol for the feeling of regret that is starting to grow within Europe. He then goes on to write, “We are the Dead, Short days ago / We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, / Loved and were loved, and now we lie / In Flanders field.” (Flanders field). Unlike “The Soldier”, McCrae portrays what the soldier is missing out on after he dies instead of the cause he is dying for. It seems like this poet has a more realistic picture of what it is like for these soldiers so there is more of a regretful tone, saying now that the soldiers who die miss out on all these great things life has to offer. The final few lines of this poem say, “If ye break faith with us who die / We shall not sleep, though poppies grow / in Flanders field.” (Flanders field). This ending is obviously supporting …show more content…
Before even reading this poem it is obvious from the title that this has a very somber tone to it. Just like the previous works we looked at this poem is also about the death of soldiers, it starts by saying, “What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?” (doomed youth). This opening is very consistent with the title because it depicts a lack of hope for these young soldiers who go off to battle. To this poet comparing them to cattle shows that they have no real purpose in going to war except to die, not to die for their country, but to die because their situation made it inevitable. Later in the poem, the author says, “The Shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells,” (doomed youth) which is a horrible depiction of the sounds heard on the battlefield. Using the adjective demented to describe the choir is a way to show how horrible it truly was because it is common to think of a demented person as someone who is beyond saving. The poet is showing that now that they have entered this horrible war there is no way of winning it, the only solution it to end it with the hope that the damage in not irreversible. Toward the end of this work, the poet writes, “What candles may be held to speed them all? / not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.”