British Poetry Essay

The comparison and contrast of Wilfred Owens and Rupert Brookes approaches to the subject of state of war The Soldier by Rupert Brooke and Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen were both written during field war one. fight and death are the themes of both poems but they are written from different perspectives. The ii poets take different approaches in outlineing the effect that war has on the people involved. The Soldier by Rupert Brooke idealises and glorifies war firearm Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen highlights the horror and cruelty of war.Wilfred Owen gives the reader the impression that war is dire and that last for ones country is not all the glory and honour that it seems, and that in reality, dying in a war, no matter for what cause, can be both painful and full of suffering, while Rupert Brooke, on the other hand, gives the reader the impression that dying in war for ones country, is very honourable, and glorious. In Soldier, Brooke expresses his love for Engl and and how he believes it is right to fight and die for his country.However, Brooke never knew what war was like, as he died in 1915. Therefore, his poem is very idealistic. This is expressed when he writes, there is a corner of a foreign field that is forever England. Here, he sees the English spends bodies as parts of England. If they die on foreign soil, that land will be forever part of England because their soul remains there along with their value and love for England. Brooke does not describe the horrible nature of death in war and only tells how the soldier honors England by dying while defending the nation.He evokes positive feelings toward the war and describes optimistically the soldiers thoughts once the war has finished by using words like happy dreams and laughter By contrast, Wilfred Owen uses irony to portray war not as a glorious duty but as a vicious massacre. Dulce et decorum est/ pro patri mori which mean it is sweet and honorable to die for ones country. He considers this a lie for most soldiers after they see and live the reality of the war as soldiers. War can not be called sweet but horrible. Owen opposes to the idea of fighting in a war. Wilfred Owen focuses on the tragedy of war and the conditions of the soldiers.For example, he depicts the soldiers as Bent double, like old beggars under sacks. Generally, one thinks of a soldier as a man full of strength, who looks brave with his uniform and marches confidently to war. In contrast, Owen tries to make the soldiers look like penniless men and gives a sense of their non-glorified reality. Their uniforms, their psychological and physical wellness are destroyed. That shows how the battle has severely damaged the spirits of the soldiers. As can be easily seen, Brookes poem supports fighting for ones country and patriotism, whereas Owens poem questions the reasons for fighting a war.