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World War I and British War Poetry

This study aims to analyze and criticize British war poetry written during World War I. By the time the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, more than nine million soldiers and five million civilians had been killed. Most British war poets who participated in the Great War were killed on the western front in Europe. They included Rupert Brooke, Charles hamilton Sorley, Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, and issac Rosenberg etc. It is thought that the British war poetry reveals the poets' patriotism, incredulity, outrage, pity and anti-war attitude through World War I. As mentioned above, I tried to demonstrate the following contents in my study: the cause of World War I, horror, disgust, anger of World War I, and anti-war sentiments and pity caused by World War I. I also indicated that many war poets described the hypocrisy of war and at the same time the uselessness and futility through their anti-war conscience, in reality though they took part in the battle fields according to the calling from their country. Ironically most soldiers who were in World War I recognized their service as great at first, but later they individually criticized the lying of their government and statesmen during the Great War. Some poets and soldiers welcomed their service in the beginning of the war, but later they recognized and criticized their service more severely after participating in World War I. Nevertheless, I would strongly suggest that we should learn and follow the spirit of most British war poets and soldiers who were ready to sacrifice their lives, and sometimes gave up their desires and pleasures for their country.