World War I was an extremely blood war that engulfed Europe from from 1914 to 1919, with huge losses of life and little ground
lost or won. Fought mostly by soldiers in trenches, WWI saw an estimated 10
million military deaths and another 20 million wounded. While many hoped that
WWI would be "the war to end all wars," in actuality, the concluding
peace treaty set the stage for World War II.
I've just
watch this short documentary. This video will easily enhance our knowledge
about WWI. Enjoy it!
There are
also several famous poets writing about WWI. For instance :
• Wilfred
Owen : " Dulce et Decorus Est"
•
Siegfried Sassoon : " How to Die"
• Herbert
Read : "The Happy Warrior"
•
W.N.Hodgson : "Before Action"
• Wilfred
Gibson : "Back"
Other
than that, there is a strong but neglected tradition of women's poetry written
in response to the events of the First World War. Many of these poems are the
products of direct experience of the processes of war; making weapons, nursing
the wounded, the loss of brothers, sons, or lovers in the trenches by women on
active service in the battle areas as well as by women involved in the war
effort at home. The range of this poetry is wide. It is often experimental and
in advance of the male poetic response. Some of the women poets are well known
in other contexts like Rose Macauley, Edith Nesbit, and Edith Sitwell
while others are largely unknown. Below are some examples of such works
by a number of women poets of the period.
• Madeline Ida Bedford : “Munition
Wages”
• Eva
Dobell : “Pluck”
• Marian
Allen : “The Wind on the Downs”
• Sybil
Bristowe : “Over the Top”
This is
one of the poem :
The Call, by Jessie Pope
Who's for the trench—
Are you, my laddie?
Who'll follow French—
Will you, my laddie?
Who's fretting to begin,
Who's going out to win?
And who wants to save his skin—
Do you, my laddie?
Who's for the khaki suit—
Are you, my laddie?
Who longs to charge and shoot—
Do you, my laddie?
Who's keen on getting fit,
Who means to show his grit,
And who'd rather wait a bit—
Would you, my laddie?
Who'll earn the Empire's thanks—
Will you, my laddie?
Who'll swell the victor's ranks—
Will you, my laddie?
When that procession comes,
Banners and rolling drums—
Who'll stand and bite his thumbs—
Will you, my laddie?
For more
collection of WWI poem, visit http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/poets-of-the-first-world-war .
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