Themes and Elements of British World War 1 Poets

July 28th, 1914 was a very grim day that changed history throughout the entire world. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria sparked the start of the first World War in Europe (Gorman 21). During World War 1, British soldiers began to express their wartime experiences through poetry as a way of recollection and to voice their own opinions about the war. Often writing poems to remain sane, the common themes and elements of the British soldier-poets often included the horrors of trench warfare, and the deplorable conditions of war; that the British soldiers encountered on an everyday basis. Two of the most influential poets of the great war were Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. They both displayed many common themes and elements during the peak of their writing. These common themes and elements as well as some differences in their writings shall be discussed.

Siegfried Sassoon grew up in a wealthy Jewish family where he often wrote poetry as a young child. As a young adult Sassoon’s only desire in life was to become a poet. Motivated by patriotism Sassoon joined the British Army, just as the threat of World War 1 was realised. As a soldier-poet he would eventually become one of the most well known and influential poets of the first World War.
His poems were generally angry and compassionate towards the war, which often brought him public and critical acclaim. Sassoon served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers, a division that saw lots of action in France in late 1915. The devastation he witnessed while fighting in the Somme Offensive had much to do with his angry and dark poems of the callous war. The further along he went into the war he questioned why he was serving, and opposed the war. He often condemned satirized generals, politicians, and churchmen for their incompetence and blind support of the war (Hoffpauir 96). Stating in his famous letter “Finished with the War: A Soldier's Declaration” he wrote this statement to his commanding officer. He defied order by stating: “I am making this statement as an act of wilful defiance of military authority, because I believe that the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it. I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers. I believe that this war, upon which I entered as a war of defence and liberation, has now become a war of aggression and conquest. I believe that the purposes for which I and my fellow soldiers entered upon this war should have been so clearly stated as to have made it impossible to change them, and that, had this been done, the objects which actuated us would now be attainable by negotiation. I have seen and endured the sufferings of the troops, and I can no longer be a party to prolong these sufferings for ends which I believe to be evil and unjust. I am not protesting against the conduct of the war, but against the political errors and insecurities for which the fighting men are being sacrificed. On behalf of those who are suffering now I make this protest against the deception which is being practiced on them; also I believe that I may help to destroy the callous complacency with which the majority of those at home regard the continuance of agonies which they do not share, and which they have not sufficient imagination to realize.” (Ruud) Clearly, Sassoon is furious with the way the war is evolving. Witnessing countless deaths, and devastation he is outraged on why the war should continue. Because of Sassoon's defiance of the war, he was threatened with military court martial and military execution. However, the case was thrown out because it was thought that Sassoon was unfit for duty, suffering from shell shock.

In 1917 due to the high stresses of war, Sassoon was hospitalized with shell shock, a common psychiatric condition during wartime operations. Shell shock is the reaction to the intensity of shell bombardment and fighting that produces a sense of helplessness. While being treated in the hospital Sassoon created some of his most of his well known works.

The realities of the war haunted Sassoon in his poems. Sassoon’s trademark details in his work often described in gruesome technicalities, the horrors of war. The use of rotting corpses, mangled limbs, filth, suicide and the deplorable conditions in the trenches created poetry that was not for the faint of heart. Often using first hand experiences on the Western Front he describes the hell that he and his fellow soldiers had witnessed in his poetry. The constant bombardment of artillery shells in the trenches, the smell of rotten flesh, and death everywhere certainly had a profound effect on his mental state. In his poem “I Stood with the Dead” he states: “I stood with the dead, so foresken and still when dawn was grey I stood with the dead. And my slow heart said, ‘you must kill, you must kill: soldier, soldier, morning is red.” (Sassoon) This excerpt from the poem can be interpreted in a few ways. In my observation Sassoon is explaining what he sees everyday. Death surrounded Sassoon at all times. The trenches overflow with the blood and filth of his fellow brothers of war. He cannot escape the evilness that besieges him and haunts him to the core.

While Siegfried Sassoon was laid up recovering in the Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, he met a fellow soldier-poet by the name of Wilfred Owen. Owen, who was also receiving treatment from the devastating effects of the war engaged in a friendship with Sassoon. Sassoon began to take Owen, a junior officer, under his wing by introducing him to his style of poetry. The mentoring had an immense effect on Owen. Where he would also write some of his greatest poetry while being confined inside the hospital walls.

Wilfred Owen would adopt a “Sassoon Style” type theme to his poems, due to the influences taught to him by Sassoon. Owen was credited with writing some of the most gruesome and realistic poetry about the horrors of trench and gas warfare, as well as the physical landscapes that surrounded him. The terrible effects of chlorine gas and trench warfare wrecked havoc on the human body and was often depicted in Owen’s poems. In his well known poems“Dulce et Decorum est” he writes:
“GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And floundering like a man in fire or lime.-- Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.” (Parfitt) In this stanza, Wilfred Owen writes about a chlorine gas attack that has occurred in the trenches. His unit scrambles to dawn their gas masks on in order to survive the chemical gases that would eventually cause a painful death. One member of his unit fails to put the gas mask on his face in time. He quickly succomes to the plume of smoke, and drowns in a green sea of the poisonous chlorine gas.

In another case of realist graphic content, Wilfred Owen created his most memorable and most critically acclaimed poem “Anthem for Doomed Youth” he writes: “What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons. No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells; Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; And bugles calling for them from sad shires. 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 good-byes. The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall; Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds. “ (Graalman 235) This poem is specifically about the death of a soldier and the notification of that death to his family. This is the reality of war. The soldiers of World War 1 would definitely identify with this poem; no one else (i.e. civilians) could understand everything that they went through during the war. They are fighting a war without knowing the real reasons behind it. They were often poorly equipped. They are the doomed youth of their day.

One element that made Owen different from Sassoon-and in turn made him one of most innovative poets of World War 1 was the use of pararhyme in his poetry. Pararhyme is a type of poetic convention that can be used to create dissonance in a poem. Although he was not the creator of pararhyme he often used it to bend the poetic tradition; and often used it masterfully. A prime example of his use of pararhyme is in the poem “Strange Meeting” Owen writes: “And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall; By his dead smile I knew we stood in Hell.” (Graalman) In this poem he would alter the vowel sounds “hall” and “Hell,” in order to create pararhyme.

Because of his style of works Owen would soon be regarded by historians as the leading poet of World War 1. Sassoon had taught him well, and the talents showcased from Owen had surpassed him in fame. Owen would become extremely grateful of Sassoon In the little time they shared together in the hospital.

Another element that differs from Sassoon and Owen is that Owen was heavily influenced by religion and his mother. Owen’s mother wanted him to grow up as an anglican priest, he refused and joined the war effort. He would often send letters to his mother with graphic depictions of his battles during the war. With all the death and destruction around him he questioned if there was a god. Owen's experiences in war led him further to challenge his religious beliefs.

Sadly, Wilfred Owen did not get to see many of his poems published. He was killed in action leading his troops over the Sambre Canal in Ors, France on November 4th, 1918, at the young age of twenty-five. His death was a tragedy because it had happened a week before the end of the war. His mother received word of his death on Armistice Day, November 11th, 1918, the end of World War 1. The bells were still ringing in celebration when his mother received the telegram that informed her of her sons death. Siegfried Sassoon later found out that he had been killed in action a couple months later. He was devastated as expected, and vowed to keep Wilfred Owen’s name relevant by helping publish most of his works posthumously.

The use of poetry in World War 1 gave the common citizen of that era a better understanding of what happens in war. Gruesome accounts of bravery and sacrifice had to be told by soldiers to preserve the history, and legacy of the war and to honor the lives of those who perished. The nature of war is hellish. With nightmarish surroundings brings out deep thoughts which is exactly what Sassoon and Owen had created through their poetry. Their shared themes helped create some of the darkest poems in the modern era.

World War 1 was a disastrous war that altered the course of history. Over nine million souls perished in the war including one of the most famous poets of that era, Wilfred Owen. His legacy of self sacrifice and his service to the literary world by the use of poetry will forever be published in a book. If it wasn't for a chance encounter between Wilfred Owen, and Siegfried Sassoon in the Craiglockhart War Hospital, the course of World War 1poetic history may have been altered forever. Sassoon and Owen made each other better writers and even better men. Because of the harsh nature of war the common themes of World War 1 were shared by these two brilliant poets.

Works Cited

Gorman, Robert F. "World War I." Great Events from History: The Twentieth Century, 1901-1940. Ed. Robert F. Gorman. 6 vols. Salem Press, 2007. Salem History Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

Hoffpauir, Richard, 1942-. "Poets Of The First World War." Art Of Restraint (1991): 87-138. Essay and General Literature Index (H.W. Wilson). Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

Ruud, Jay. "Siegfried Sassoon." Critical Survey of Poetry: British, Irish, & Commonwealth Poets. Ed. Rosemary M. Canfield Reisman, 4th ed. Salem Press, 2011. Salem Literature Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

Sassoon, Siegfried. "I Stood with the Dead." Picture-Show. Siegfried Sassoon. E. P. Dutton, 1920. LitFinder. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

Parfitt, Matthew. "Dulce et Decorum Est." Masterplots, Fourth Edition. Ed. Laurence W. Mazzeno, 4th ed. Salem Press, 2010. Salem Literature Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

Graalman, Robert Edward. "Wilfred Owen." Critical Survey of Poetry: British, Irish, & Commonwealth Poets. Ed. Rosemary M. Canfield Reisman, 4th ed. Salem Press, 2011. Salem Literature Web. 14 Nov. 2013.