How do Wilfred Owen and John McCrae differ in their attitude to war? :: English Literature

How do Wilfred Owen and John McCrae differ in their attitude to war? Study 'Dulce et Decorum Est' and 'In Flanders Field' These two poems are the most famous and best written poems of World War 1. Wilfred Owen wrote ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ in 1915 and John Mc Crae wrote ‘In Flanders Field’ which was 1st published in 1919, four days before Mc Crae died. These two World War poets have distinctively different views on war. But, there are also some similarities between them for example the poems were both 1st hand accounts and that the poets had 1st hand experience of the war. Another similarity is that the poets died from the effects of the war. These two poets have different attitudes towards the war in general as Owen originated from the 1st wave of World War 1 poets. These types of poets strongly opposed the war; they saw the war as bloody and non-patriotic. On the other hand, John Mc Crae was in the 2nd wave of poets. He viewed war to be beautiful and not so much to be patriotic, but to be known to have died whilst fighting for ones country. To start analyzing these poems, I will look at the basic points. In Owens, we can clearly see that the poem is divided into 3 stanzas. The tone of the stanzas is different and they all deal with different ideas related to World War 1. Stanza one deals with the tiredness and fatigue of the soldiers and also the utter exhaustion of them. Uses of verbs such as trudge, limped and adjectives like knock-kneed, bent double show us the extreme conditions that they had to fight in and the effects. Again, the verb ‘cursed’ to describe there movements shows how physically enfeebled they are and that the only way that they can move is by cursing. The statement ‘men marched asleep’ shows again their exhaustion as they were totally tired and seemed to march whilst sleeping. The phrase ‘blood-shod’, which is assonance, shows the hardship that the soldiers are suffering in. Words like, lame, blind, drunk and deaf show that the senses of the soldiers are stopped up and that they can no longer walk, smell, see and hear (hoots). From the sad tone of stanza 1, we are introduced into stanza 2 which is a frenzied opening in other words in complete contrast to the previous stanza. The first words ‘Gas! Gas!’ show violent movement. The words fumbling and clumsy show the difficulty the soldiers were in trying to get their masks on. Owen goes onto describe very effectively How do Wilfred Owen and John McCrae differ in their attitude to war? :: English Literature How do Wilfred Owen and John McCrae differ in their attitude to war? Study 'Dulce et Decorum Est' and 'In Flanders Field' These two poems are the most famous and best written poems of World War 1. Wilfred Owen wrote ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ in 1915 and John Mc Crae wrote ‘In Flanders Field’ which was 1st published in 1919, four days before Mc Crae died. These two World War poets have distinctively different views on war. But, there are also some similarities between them for example the poems were both 1st hand accounts and that the poets had 1st hand experience of the war. Another similarity is that the poets died from the effects of the war. These two poets have different attitudes towards the war in general as Owen originated from the 1st wave of World War 1 poets. These types of poets strongly opposed the war; they saw the war as bloody and non-patriotic. On the other hand, John Mc Crae was in the 2nd wave of poets. He viewed war to be beautiful and not so much to be patriotic, but to be known to have died whilst fighting for ones country. To start analyzing these poems, I will look at the basic points. In Owens, we can clearly see that the poem is divided into 3 stanzas. The tone of the stanzas is different and they all deal with different ideas related to World War 1. Stanza one deals with the tiredness and fatigue of the soldiers and also the utter exhaustion of them. Uses of verbs such as trudge, limped and adjectives like knock-kneed, bent double show us the extreme conditions that they had to fight in and the effects. Again, the verb ‘cursed’ to describe there movements shows how physically enfeebled they are and that the only way that they can move is by cursing. The statement ‘men marched asleep’ shows again their exhaustion as they were totally tired and seemed to march whilst sleeping. The phrase ‘blood-shod’, which is assonance, shows the hardship that the soldiers are suffering in. Words like, lame, blind, drunk and deaf show that the senses of the soldiers are stopped up and that they can no longer walk, smell, see and hear (hoots). From the sad tone of stanza 1, we are introduced into stanza 2 which is a frenzied opening in other words in complete contrast to the previous stanza. The first words ‘Gas! Gas!’ show violent movement. The words fumbling and clumsy show the difficulty the soldiers were in trying to get their masks on. Owen goes onto describe very effectively