POETRY AND PROPAGANDA

OF THE GREAT WAR

Diplomarbeit zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Magisters der Philosophie

an der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz

vorgelegt von

Gernot Alfred Wolfmayr

Am Institut für

Anglistik

Begutachter

Ao. Univ. -Prof. Mag. Dr. phil Martin Löschnigg

Graz, 2018

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Statutory Declaration

I hereby declare that the following diploma thesis is, to my best knowledge and belief,

original and the result of my own investigation. All the ideas taken from other, external

sources are clearly acknowledged in the text.

_______________________________ Graz, 11.05.2018

(Gernot Wolfmayr)

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Acknowledgement

First of all, I’d like to thank Ao. Univ. -Prof. Mag. Dr. phil. Martin Löschnigg, who introduced

me to the poetry of the First World War and instilled in me a passion for the tragic beauty of

its poems. I’d also like to thank him for his patience in guiding me through the process of

writing my diploma thesis and helping me find a clear and sensible structure. Thank you for

your support and I do hope that the end result is to your liking.

Secondly, I’d like to thank my brother, Albert Wolfmayr, and my sister, Waltraud

Wolfmayr, who supported me in the process of writing my diploma thesis and aided me with

their advice, answering any and all of the issues I was uncertain about.

I’d also like to thank Ao. Univ. -Prof. Mag. Dr. phil. Klaus Rieser, who inspired me to

focus my diploma thesis on the deceptive nature of propaganda and how humans tend to

fall for what they wish to be true. Without his influence, my diploma thesis may as well have

been about the more simple beauty of the poetry during the Romantic Period, overlooking

the beauty of the poetry that stems from the tragedy that is the First World War.

Most of all, I’d like to thank my life partner, Melanie Fuchs, for her emotional support

and her help in writing my diploma thesis. Not only did she keep supporting me through the

considerable amount of time I took to write my diploma thesis, but she also proof-read the

entirety of the text, advising me on grammatical as well as referential mistakes. Thank you

so much for being by my side during this time.

Last but not least, I’d like to thank all those that had shown and will show an interest

in the subject of the Great War. I do believe that its poetry holds many lessons for humanity

and the hope that my diploma thesis will help relay some of those lessons, helped me

through the process of writing. So, thank you to all those that helped me feel that my work

matters.

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Happy little Soldier Boy,

Thought that dying would be such a joy.

Surely, you must be glad,

Now that you are dead.

And for such a worthy cause,

Enough, to give life a pause.

Now, your fight is won,

But the war, goes on.

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Contents

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 5

2. The Main Themes of Poetry and Propaganda ........................................................................... 7

2.1. Theme: A Cleansing War............................................................................................................. 7

2.2. Theme: Honour and Glory ........................................................................................................ 14

2.3. Theme: Defend and Protect ..................................................................................................... 21

2.4. Theme: (Fight against) Evil ....................................................................................................... 26

2.5. Theme: God ............................................................................................................................... 31

2.6. Theme: Sacrifice ........................................................................................................................ 35

2.7. Theme: Duty (and Social Pressure) .......................................................................................... 42

2.8. Theme: Fight to a Finish ........................................................................................................... 49

3. Direct Poetic Discourse ............................................................................................................. 55

4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 69

5. Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 71

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1. Introduction

The First World War has been the cause of many records, some appalling, some impressive.

While the horrendous number of casualties, caused by an astonishing quantity of artillery

shells fired, and a shocking disregard for human life, is one of the things most remember the

First World War for, other less troubling topics are worth discussing as well. Actually, while it

is indisputable that the loss of life caused through World War One must not be forgotten,

other topics hold important lessons as well. For example, the subject of propaganda.

Propaganda as a means to control the entire population of a country and beyond even that,

was arguably born through the First World War (cf. Conrad et. al. 2014: 25). Otto von

Bismarck said that one does not shoot at the enemy with public opinion, but with powder

and lead. However, with the beginning of the 20th century this claim was only true in its most

literal sense (cf. Conrad et. al. 2014: 40). The truth of the matter was quite the contrary,

since the propaganda effort was one of the most significant war efforts of England (cf.

Buitenhuis 1987: 12). Considering that the United States of America were neutral in the

conflict and declared war against Germany in April of 1917, it can be considered a successful

one as well.

The man mostly responsible for the British propaganda effort was C.F.G. Masterman.

He was appointed head of the War Propaganda Bureau in late August 1914 and worked

under the cover of Wellington House, since his efforts were highly secret. His first instinct,

being a writer himself, was to turn to his colleagues, the writers of England, for help. Thus,

on the afternoon of the 2nd of September in 1914, numerous great names of the British

literary world gathered in Wellington House in complete secrecy (cf. Buitenhuis 1987: 13-

14): -men like William Archer, Sir James M. Barrie, Arnold Chesterton, Sir Arthur Conan

Doyle, John Galsworthy, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Hope Hawkins, Maurice Hewlett, W. J.

Locke, E.V. Lucas, J.W. Mackail, John Masefield, A.E.W. Mason, Gilbert Murray, Sir Henry

Newbolt, Sir Gilbert Parker, Sir Owen Seaman, George Trevelyan, H.G. Wells, Israel Zangwill

and assorted government officials (cf. Buitenhuis 1987: 14). While not all of those men

agreed to write propaganda for Masterman and thus aid the war effort, most did.

Additionally, the number of writers who supported the British propaganda effort increased

further, with a total of fifty-four authors signing the Authors’ Manifesto, a declaration of

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British authors for the British decision to go to war. This manifesto was printed in the New

York Times on 18th of September in 1914, in an effort to convince the United States of

America of the righteous nature of the British cause (cf. Buitenhuis 1987: 18). Naturally, a

great number of authors wrote propaganda to aid the war effort out of their own accord as

well.

Masterman’s focus on literature as an instrument of propaganda was partially the

cause for another record set during the First World War. Never before and never again was

such a vast number of poems focused on a single subject, in this case the Great War,

produced in such a short time. Countless amateur and other professional writers joined in

the war euphoria and expressed their enthusiasm about the war in a lyrical fashion.

However, there was also an anti-war response, and the ensuing clash of opinions is a truly

captivating topic of the subject of propaganda during the Great War. Thus, analysing the

propaganda poetry of the First World War and explaining how and why propaganda and

poetry was produced in such a way is an undertaking well worth its time. To do this in a lucid

fashion, the poetry will be separated in themes, namely the themes that were most

frequently applied. While the number of poems is too vast to truly analyse and compare

them all, the separation into the most common themes aims to provide an empiric account

of the poetry of the Great War. Each theme will consist of a pro-war poem, representative of

pro-war poetry, and the anti-war response. By this comparison, an understanding of the

culture and mind-setting during those troubled times will be provided, as well as an

appreciation of the art form that is poetry, and of the poets themselves.

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2. The Main Themes of Poetry and Propaganda

2.1. Theme: A Cleansing War

One of the major themes of pro-war poetry during the First World War was the idea of a war

that acts as a cleansing fire. To understand this idea, one must understand the socio-political

situation of Great Britain at the beginning of the twentieth century. While Great Britain was

still on the very top of the world economically, even so after the financial crisis in 1907, the

stability of English life was still shaken by social issues, more precisely by three sources of

violence (cf. Bergonzi 1980: 21).

First of all, there was the Suffragette movement, which started out peacefully in 1897

when Millicent Fawcett founded the National Union of Women’s Suffrage. She believed in

peaceful protest and the effectiveness of logical arguments. This changed, however, when

Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters founded the Women’s Social and Political Union,

who were not prepared to wait for the slow process of peaceful protest to change the

situation of women. Under their leadership suffragettes set churches on fire, vandalised

Oxford Street, attacked politicians on their way to work and even fire-bombed their houses.

Most famously, they blew up part of David Lloyd George’s house in 1913 (cf. Trueman 2015,

online).

The second source of violence stemmed from social unrest in Ireland, more

specifically Ulster. This was caused by the third Home Rule Bill, introduced by Prime Minister

H.H. Asquith. While most parts of Ireland welcomed this Home Rule Bill, Ulster had a

protestant majority, which dreaded being ruled by a mostly catholic parliament in Dublin.

The first and the second Home Rule Bill in 1886 and 1893, both of which had been rejected,

caused only small-scale militaristic training exercises by unionists. However, the third Home

Rule Bill was likely to pass and sparked stronger resistance. Thus, on 13th of December 1912,

the Ulster Volunteer Force was established, a para-military body which counted 90.000 men

who drilled regularly by mid-1914. Since the Ulster Unionist Council organized the illegal

import of weapons from Germany, they were well armed as well. This, in return, caused Irish

nationalists to likewise establish a paramilitary body, namely the Irish Volunteer Force. Both

sides were capable and willing to use violence in order to try and strong-arm the British

government into either rejecting or passing the Home Rule Bill (cf. BBC 2014, online).

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The third source of violence is called the Great Unrest, which actually consisted of a

series of industrial strikes from 1910 to 1914. These were caused by growing social unrest in

the working class. Unemployment and cuts in wages forced many workers to lower their

living standards. Additionally, the Labour Party, which achieved significant gains during the

1906 election, failed to take decisive action to try and improve the conditions of the workers

in the industry. Many felt disillusioned and betrayed, looking for alternative ways to change

their situation to the better. The miners of Durham were the first to strike in 1910, but other

professions were soon drawn into the conflict. Railway workers, dock workers, the women

of the garment industry of London and other less organised groups of workers contributed

to the Great Unrest. The government deployed troops to intimidate the workers, with

questionable results. The most famous confrontation occurred at Llanelli in South Wales,

which led to the death of two striking railway workers (cf. D.T. 2011, online). C.E. Montague

wrote “…Many of them are men who have gloatingly threatened us with class warfare in this

country – warfare in which rifles and machine guns should be used to settle industrial

disputes…” (Vansittart 1981: 19), which provides one with an idea of how close social unrest

in the industry was to spiralling out of control into class warfare and civil war.

However, all of these three sources of violence were quenched with the outbreak of

the First World War. Emmeline Pankhurst instructed her fellow Suffragettes to halt their

campaign of violence and to support the government in the war effort (cf. Trueman 2015,

online). Many members of the UVF joined the war effort, with the 36th (Ulster) Division

created specifically for the members of the UVF. However, the situation still spiralled out of

control in 1916, but at the time of the outbreak of the war the situation seemed to have

calmed down (cf. BBC 2014, online). Many workers joined the war effort, especially young

men, who had been upset with their situation and were of a militant temper. With the

emergence of a common enemy, all of the groups that had been fighting against their own

government, and amongst each other refocused their efforts into fighting this common

threat, and a country close to civil war was once again united.

Considering all this, one can understand why some poets chose to ascribe cleansing

qualities to the Great War. Those cleansing qualities mainly appeared in two ways. The first

approach addressed the aimlessness of the nation’s youth by providing potential recruits

with a clear sense of direction, a cause worthy of pursuing. This approach is well known to

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humanity, has been recorded of having been used as soon as 1212, and is still being used at

the present point in time (cf. Milevsky n.d., online). Examples for poems using this approach

are Laurence Binyon’s “The Fourth of August” and Enid Petre’s “The Volunteer” (cf. Khan

1988: 10). The second approach is one of religious zeal. The Great War was either seen as

punishment for Britain’s sinful ways or as God’s means to the end of freeing Britain of its

decadence. Either way, the First World War was willed by God to act as an instrument of

cleansing. A well-known example of this approach was Kate Mellersh’s “Britain Asleep:

1914” (cf. Khan 1988: 41). If the war was not intentionally delivered unto man by God, it still

acted as an instrument of cleansing by reminding humanity of Jesus Christ the Saviour,

through the suffering inflicted through the war. Most popularly known for this approach was

Lucy Whitmell’s “Christ in Flanders” (cf. Khan 1988: 42).

Both aspects of a cleansing war, addressing the nation’s youth and the religious

aspect, were not only romantically depicted in poetry. Recruits truly believed to have found

a worthy cause to live and die for. They felt their existence had been enriched by the coming

of the war. War poets such as Julian Grenfell are prime examples of soldiers who felt in such

a way. How accurately the poets captured the actual feelings and emotions of the soldiers,

or how strongly they influenced and shaped them, can be seen in a letter which Lieutenant

Henry Paul Mainwaring Jones wrote to his brother on 27th of July in 1917. He was killed in

action in France, on 31st of July in 1917, at the age of 21.

…Have you ever reflected on the fact that, despite the horrors of war, it is at least a big thing? I mean to say that in it one is brought face to face with realities. The follies, selfishness, luxury and general pettiness of the vile commercial sort of existence led by nine-tenths of the people of the world in peacetime are replaced in war by a savagery that is at least more honest and outspoken. Look at it this way: in peacetime one just lives one’s own little life, engaged in trivialities, worrying about one’s own comfort, about money matters, and all that sort of thing – just living for one’s self. What a sordid life it is! (Housman 1930: 159)

In his letter, Mainwaring incorporates both aspects of the theme “A Cleansing War”.

He truly seems to have been convinced of his life, his very existence, being enriched by his

joining the war. He admits there being horrors of war, but the gains seem to outweigh the

costs and, all in all, joining the war has given his life meaning. Also, life during peacetimes is

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decadent and self-centred, which often is the sentiment of the religious aspect of pro-war

poems that focus on the cleansing aspect of the Great War.

Considering the social unease during the beginning of the 20th century, one can

understand the feeling of relief and sense of purpose the outbreak of the war had caused.

However, with religious institutes loosing influence in present day’s Europe, the religious

aspect of pro- and anti-war poetry may be harder to grasp. Therefore, an example of the

intensity of religious zeal during the First World War may help to understand just how strong

the conviction of many soldiers and civilians had been.

A prime example is Arthur Machen’s short story “The Bowmen”. The story was based

on a battle that had actually taken place in August 1914, the Battle of Mons, in which the

British army had held off a numerically larger German force and retreated in good order. In

Machen’s story a soldier remembers a visit to a vegetarian restaurant, and that the plates

had been decorated with pictures of St. George and the motto “Adsit Anglis Sanctus

Georgius” (Buitenhuis 1987: 103), which translates into “‘May St. George be a present help

to the English’” (Buitenhuis 1987: 103). The soldier repeats this motto and St. George truly

arrives with his Agincourt Bowmen to shoot down the German troops and thus save the

English. It was to Machen’s own surprise that his obviously fictional story was believed to be

true by the English population, though with a slight change. The bowmen had turned into

angels. The story was reprinted in numerous papers and magazines, and distinguished

clergymen preached the story in their sermons. Even when Machen attempted to discredit

his own story, he failed to convince the English people of the truth. Particularly, Machen

tried to explain that while he does believe in miracles, he cannot believe the miracle of the

Bowmen since he himself had fabricated the story. Harold Begbie even replied to Machen in

“On the Side of Angels: A Reply to Arthur Machen”. In his reply, Begbie informed Machen

that while he may believe his story to be a product of his imagination, he in truth had most

likely established a telepathic connection with a soldier fighting on the battlefield of Mons.

Begbie goes on to claim to have proof of this, namely the soldier with whom Machen

established this connection, and two other soldiers who themselves had also seen the

angels. Of course, this all turned out to be false. However, it did not stop the legend of the

angels to be considered fact at the time (cf. Buitenhuis 1987: 102-105).

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With this impressive display of religious faith, eluding the requirement of evidence

and even the disavowal of the truthfulness of the story by its own author and the previously

discussed socio-political situation in mind, one can now better grasp the meaning and effect

of the pro-war poetry of that time. This chapter will be dealing with a poem that

incorporates both aspects of the theme “A Cleansing War”, namely Rupert Brooke’s “Peace”.

Being one of Brooke’s five famous war sonnets, it was widely read and reached a large

audience. While that was not always the case, Brooke’s sonnets caught public interest when

Dean Inge quoted Brooke’s “The Soldier” in his sermon in St. Paul’s. The Times reprinted the

poem, and when news of Brooke’s death came roughly a week later, Brooke became a hero

and a martyr (cf. Bergonzi 1980: 41). After this, Brooke became the most famous poet of the

time, with an immense influence on the British population.

Now, God be thanked Who has matched us with His hour, And caught our youth, and wakened us from sleeping, With hand made sure, clear eye, and sharpened power, To turn, as swimmers into cleanness leaping, Glad from a world grown old and cold and weary, Leave the sick hearts that honour could not move, And half-men, and their dirty songs and dreary, And all the little emptiness of love!

Oh! we, who have known shame, we have found release there, Where there’s no ill, no grief, but sleep has mending, Naught broken save this body, lost but breath; Nothing to shake the laughing heart’s long peace there But only agony, and that has ending; And the worst friend and enemy is but Death. (Giddings 1988: 24)

The first five lines of the poem immediately incorporate both aspects. The slumbering

nation saved from its inactive, slothful ways through God’s hour, the beginning of the war. It

is as if they have reawakened from a long period of sleep and they are once again powerful

and full of purpose. Brooke’s “swimmers” (Giddings 1988: 24) evoke the image of naked,

able- bodied, men, soldiers, whose sins are washed off of them. The sixth and the seventh

line of the octave are an attack on “shirkers”, men who did not wish to join the war effort for

various reasons. The last line of the octave however, provides the reader with an insight into

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the more personal feelings of Brooke and may help to explain why Brooke had chosen to

write pro-war poetry such as this.

Brooke had been involved in a straining love affair and came close to a nervous

breakdown. Being psychologically unstable, with a paranoid streak, he can be considered a

troubled youth (cf. Bergonzi 1980: 37). The last line of the octave underlines the relief

Brooke attempted to convey through his poem. He could leave all his troubles and

uncertainties behind and take up a worthy cause, something that many beside him must

have felt at that time. Brooke singled out the “emptiness of love” (Giddings 1988: 24), of

which he was glad to be rid of. This also shows that Brooke’s feelings were actually genuine.

While Brooke had had conflicted feelings about the war (cf. Bergonzi 1980: 40-41), one can

assume that his sonnets reflected his honest opinion, expressed in grand phrasing.

The sestet then discusses the horrors of war, although Brooke refrains from actually

naming them, thus almost denying their existence completely. The opening line of the sestet

once again praises the cleansing quality of the war, admitting that they had sinned, but are

now absolved of that burden. This “release” (Giddings 1988: 24) is what the rest of the

sestet is concerned with, and shows just how much Brooke had wanted to escape the

burdens of his life. It is apparent that Brooke had had a troubled mind, constantly worrying

about his place in life, as well as the consequences of his actions and other similar matters.

In war, the only thing one has to worry about is the loss of “breath” (Giddings 1988: 24),

which is a euphemism for death, which at the same time is another way of “release”

(Giddings 1988: 24) from the troubles of life. Brooke makes it very clear that what he was

most glad about is to finally have peace of mind when he states that only the “body”

(Giddings 1988: 24) can be harmed. Ironically, he can “sleep” (Giddings 1988: 24) peacefully

during the war, since nothing except the war itself concerns him. There is “no ill, no grief”

(Giddings 1988: 24). Yes, there is “agony” (Giddings 1988: 24) but that soon passes, a small

price to pay for peace of mind.

It was crucial for pro-war poetry to deal with the potential loss of life and other

negative features of the war. Poetry that advertised the cleansing quality of the war often

focused “Death” and “agony” (Giddings 1988: 24) being a small price to pay for what is

gained in return. In case of religious zeal, death also offered the eternal reward of Heaven.

Rupert Brooke’s “Peace” used both approaches of dealing with the horrors of war, with the

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final line of the poem calling “Death” a “friend” (Giddings 1988: 24). This also explains the

title of the poem, which may seem contradictory at first. However, after closer inspection it

becomes clear that Brooke refers to both the peace of mind gained through the war and the

eternal peace achieved through death.

The progression of the war brought with itself a process of disillusionment and with it

an increasing number of anti-war poems was produced. However, the theme “A Cleansing

War” was not attacked as often as other themes such as “Honour and Glory” or “Duty (and

Social Pressure)”. Still, some poets did address the subject, most notably Siegfried Sassoon in

his poem “Dreamers”:

[…] Soldiers are dreamers; when the guns begin They think of firelit homes, clean beds and wives.

I see them in foul dug-outs, gnawed by rats, And in the ruined trenches, lashed with rain, Dreaming of things they did with balls and bats, And mocked by hopeless longing to regain Bank-holidays, and picture shows, and spats, And going to the office in the train. (Black 1982: 60)

The contradiction to the sentiment of Brooke’s “Peace” cannot be missed. Sassoon’s

description of “foul dug-outs” and “ruined trenches” (Black 1982: 60) directly opposes the

idea that the war would improve the situation of the British people or the world in general.

Pro-War poetry that followed the theme “A Cleansing War” described the world before the

war as “foul” (Black 1982: 60) and decadent. Sassoon points out that the war is responsible

for the degradation of the world, creating a vivid picture of the ruined landscape as a

festering wound upon the world in the mind of the reader.

The remaining lines of the poem are clear in their meaning and simply state that the

soldiers, who had hoped for the war to be an enriching experience, as they were led to

believe by pro-war propaganda and poetry, now realize that their former situation had

actually been quite comfortable and desirable. Sassoon’s poetry was never bashful, and his

way of straightforwardly stating what he deemed wrong about the war was typical for him.

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Additionally, just as it had been the case with pro-war poetry, anti-war poetry found its

support among soldiers and civilians as well. Lieutenant Algernon Hyde Villiers, who was

killed in action on 23rd of November 1917 in France at the age of 31, agreed that the war

could not improve the situation of mankind.

But I don’t now see any good reason for the feeling one had in the first excitement that the old order was changing. Not by such means are the changes brought which matter. We shall go back to the same world with more antagonism and a huge legacy of broken lives, broken homes and broken resources. Poverty will be greater and the hope of alleviating it dimmer. (Housman 1930: 288)

Another soldier attacked Rupert Brooke directly, criticising him for attributing to the war a

cleansing quality (cf. Housman 1930: 298). Being a soldier himself, Sassoon best represents

the decline of the pro-war mood among soldiers. Even more so, since Sassoon used to be of

a pro-war mind- set himself. As previously mentioned, anti-war poetry rarely attacked the

notion of a cleansing war. However, when it did, it was usually in a direct manner, such as

Sassoon used in the previously discussed poem, stating that there was no improvement to

be found. Herbert Read confirmed those allegations in 1965 in his poem “To a Conscript of

1940”, passing his verdict after having considered the effects of many years and yet another

world war.

2.2. Theme: Honour and Glory

A very similar theme and often overlapping with the notion of a rejuvenating war, was the

theme “Honour and Glory”. Pro-war poetry focused heavily on a romantic depiction of

warfare, of honourable battle in close combat, man against man. However, with the

industrialization of warfare, honourable battle became a rare sight. It was only in the battles

between pilots that a chivalrous code was most frequently applied, the reason being that

“honourable” duels between two pilots were actually possible (cf. Löschnigg 1994: 164). Still,

the myth of honourable medieval style combat persisted, and pro-war poetry relied heavily

on that idea. Early British tactics during the First World War also attempted to make the

romantic myth a reality, putting much importance on close combat tactics, believing in the

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importance of cavalry. This happened despite the fact that earlier wars, like the Boer Wars

and the American Civil War, had demonstrated the destructive power of entrenched

defenders equipped with modern weaponry against openly advancing infantry and cavalry

(cf. Löschnigg 1994: 81).

The results were devastating, with soldiers leaving their trench and openly

advancing towards enemy positions, at times even in close formation. The best known

example for such a battle was the Battle of the Somme, an infamous slaughter with a tragic

history. Lt. Col. John Buchan, who himself was of a patriotic mind- set, sure of a swift and

decisive British victory, wrote about the war and informed the public of the ongoing conflict.

He also wrote two volumes about the Battle of the Somme, named “The Battle of the

Somme: First Phase” and “The Battle of the Somme: Second Phase”. However, being part of

the propaganda effort, Buchan downplayed British and exaggerated German losses. For

example, in “Volume V” of his “History of the War” published late in 1915, Buchan estimated

the German casualties of 1914 to be 1,300,000 killed and wounded. The British, on the other

hand, suffered only 100,000 casualties. Thus, his account of the Battle of the Somme was

sure to be romanticized, using what Barbara Tuchman named “verbal nobility” of British

military history to gloss over the reality of war. Hence, Buchan’s description of the first

assault during the Battle of the Somme aims to soften the struggle of the troops, which are

trying to survive their generals’ often suicidal tactics (cf. Buitenhuis 1987:93-95). “The British

moved forward in line after line, dressed as if on parade; not a man wavered or broke ranks;

but minute by minute the ordered lines melted away under the deluge of high explosive,

shrapnel, rifle and machine-gun fire.” (Buitenhuis 1987:94).

Just like Buchan’s reports of the Battle of the Somme, pro-war poetry attempted to

soften the grimmer aspects of war. Pro-war poetry that focused on the theme “Honour and

Glory” used a similar approach to the theme “A Cleansing War”, namely that in the end it

will all be worth it, meaning what is gained outweighs what is lost. However, the difference

is in what is gained and when it is gained, since glory is gained through glorious battle and

most often a glorious death. One cannot deny the presence of death in war, and since dying

prematurely is generally considered a bad thing to happen to oneself, it was up to pro-war

poetry to gloss over the grim reality of death. Pro-war poetry based on the theme “Honour

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and Glory” presented death as the gateway to eternal glory. A beautiful example for such

poems is Laurence Binyon’s “For the Fallen”.

While Binyon’s poem strikes a very melancholic note, the message conveyed is still

clearly pro-war. Laurence Binyon himself was among those that had signed the Authors’

Manifesto and had agreed to write propaganda for Masterman. Being too old to serve in the

war when it broke out, Binyon did his bit by volunteering in the medical sector, as many

women decided to do as well, also serving as a Red Cross orderly at the Western Front in

1916 (cf. Lehman 1982: 131). He refrained from the jingoism some of his colleagues

exercised, which resulted in “For the Fallen” being a moving, melancholic poem, which still

very clearly deals with the subject of a premature death in a positive manner. The poem was

written in 1914, during the first months of the First World War, while the war euphoria was

high, which places its promise of glory in the foreground.

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free. (Black 1982: 36)

The first stanza of the poem starts with the theme “Sacrifice”. Noteworthy is the

personification of England, in this case as a mother, which was a very common trait of First

World War poetry. However, while the stanza generally expresses grief and sorrow, the final

line already points out that the lives of the “fallen” (Black 1982: 36) were sacrificed for a

worthy cause.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres. There is music in the midst of desolation And glory that shines upon our tears. (Black 1982: 36)

In the second stanza the mood of the poem changes, and the theme “Honour and Glory” is

addressed. While those that are left behind still grief, they see that the dead soldiers have

attained something greater than their previous existence. The words “immortal” and “glory”

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(Black 1982: 36) combined summarize the overall message of the poem. However, this

becomes more apparent in the continuation of the poem.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young, Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted : They fell with their faces to the foe. (Black 1982: 36)

The third stanza clarifies that they had died fighting honourably in a glorious battle. As

previously mentioned, this is one of the premises necessary to attain glory.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old : Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. (Black 1982: 36)

In the fourth stanza the speaker clarifies the advantages of the fate of the “fallen” (Black

1982: 36) in comparison to those that had survived, both civilians and soldiers, in the first

two lines. The remaining two lines again point towards the immortalization of the soldiers

that had given their lives.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; They sit no more at familiar tables of home; They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; They sleep beyond England’s foam. (Black 1982: 36)

The fifth stanza has a tendency towards the negative and clarifies the feeling of loss the

survivors are left with. However, the third line of the stanza implies ascension of the “fallen”

(Black 1982: 36) toward a higher plane. They are no longer troubled by the mundane labours

of the mortal realm.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound, Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight, To the innermost heart of their own land they are known

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As the stars known to the Night; (Black 1982: 36)

The sixth stanza returns to a consolatory tone in reply to the fifth stanza. While the survivors

have many “hopes” and “desires” (Black 1982: 36), their sources are unclear and they cannot

always realize them. However, their desire for their kin, the “fallen” (Black 1982: 36), causes

no mysteries. They are “known / As the stars known to the Night” (Black 1982: 36). The

fourth line of the stanza carries a powerful message and is laden with meaning. First of all,

the immortalization of the “fallen” (Black 1982: 36) is once again pointed out, since they are

now as eternal as the “stars” (Black 1982: 36). Secondly, the light of the “stars” (Black 1982:

36) represents the positive aspect of the death of the “fallen” (Black 1982: 36). The “stars”

(Black 1982: 36) are a light in the darkness of the eternal sleep, which is represented by the

“Night” (Black 1982: 36). Thus, the glory of the “fallen” (Black 1982: 36) shall shine eternally.

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain; As the stars are starry in the time of our darkness, To the end, to the end they remain. (Black 1982: 36)

The final stanza of the poem repeats the sentiment of the sixth stanza, putting more

emphasis on the eternity of the glory of the “fallen”, (Black 1982: 36) which will “remain”

(Black 1982: 36), while only “dust” (Black 1982: 36) will be left of the rest of us.

The poem has a clear consolatory tone, but the emphasis on the “glory” (Black 1982:

36) that is gained makes this poem a fitting representative for pro-war poetry, which focuses

on the theme “Honour and Glory”. Additionally, Laurence Binyon’s “For the Fallen” is still a

popular poem today, although it is used more for its consolatory function than for its

promise of glory to recruits. However, it is this promise of glory that is frequently referred to

in pro-war poetry. Commonly enough to provoke numerous responses in anti-war poetry, of

which Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” is by far the best known example.

Nevertheless, the reply delivered by anti-war poetry concerning itself with the theme

“Honour and Glory” will be Siegfried Sassoon’s “Memorial Tablet”.

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Squire nagged and bullied till I went to fight, (Under Lord Derby’s Scheme). I died in hell – (They called it Passchendaele). My wound was slight, And I was hobbling back; and then a shell Burst slick upon the duck-boards : so I fell Into the bottomless mud, and lost the light. (Black 1982:122)

The first six lines of the poem do not directly address the topic of glorious battle, but instead

the opening line actually addresses the theme “Duty (and Social Pressure)”, which was

another important theme during World War One. Sassoon’s poem provides the reader with

a narrative about a soldier who was pressured into joining the war effort. He then dies in

“hell” (Black 1982:122). What is noteworthy and makes this poem an intentional attack on

the theme “Honour and Glory”, is the manner in which the soldier dies. His death is utterly

random. This aspect of the First World War is often represented in anti-war poetry, as it is

denied in pro-war poetry. Poetry which promoted the war, often presented battle as having

some sort of order to it. Soldiers that died were fated to die and “fell with their faces to the

foe” (Black 1982:36). Completely contradictory to this the soldier of Sassoon’s narrative is in

retreat when a wayward shell ends his life. The soldier’s death is based completely on

chance and him falling “into the mud” (Black 1982:122) set a stark contrast to the clean and

honourable style of battle which pro-war poetry often depicted.

At sermon-time, while Squire is in his pew, He gives my gilded name a thoughtful stare; For, though low down upon the list, I’m there; ‘In proud and glorious memory’ . . .that’s my due. Two bleeding years I fought in France, for Squire : I suffered anguish that he’s never guessed. Once I came home on leave : and then went west . . . What greater glory could a man desire? (Black 1982:122)

The second and final stanza of Sassoon’s poem directly attacks the theme “Honour and

Glory”. Additionally, the reader now knows for sure that Squire, whose name could also be a

comment on the often promised honourable, knightly battle by pro-war poetry, is in fact a

member of the clergy. As previously mentioned, the church was known to help in the

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recruitment effort, helping in the spreading of Rupert Brooke’s poetry among other things.

Sassoon attacked the church for doing just that, and in “Memorial Tablet” it is a member of

the clergy that is directly responsible for the tragic fate of the speaker. However, the main

focus of the second stanza is in the soldiers “due” (Black 1982:122). The speaker did not fight

for himself or for some greater cause, the only reason he joined the war effort was for

“Squire” (Black 1982:122), who himself was ignorant of the fate he had doomed the speaker

to, as can be seen in the fifth and sixth line of the second stanza. This discrepancy between

what civilians believed the war to be and what the soldiers experienced at the front is

another common theme in Sassoon’s poetry.

In the end, the soldier went west, which was a common turn of phrase among

soldiers, meaning that he had died. All that remains of him was his “gilded name” (Black

1982:122) on a memorial tablet. Through the speaker Sassoon asks the reader “What

greater glory could a man desire?” (Black 1982:122) in the sarcastic tone that is typical of

Sassoon’s poetry. Juxtaposed to Binyon’s promise of eternal glory, (“As the stars that shall be

bright when we are dust, / […] / To the end, to the end they remain.” (Black 1982:36))

Sassoon’s question makes the reader reflect on how valuable this promise of glory may be

pragmatically. Additionally, those two poems very accurately depict the reality of the British

society of the time. Meaning, Binyon’s poem shaped the understanding of the war of the

civilian population, and Sassoon’s poem represents the disillusion of the soldiers that had

fought at the front. While there were Soldiers present at the front who had spent

considerable time fighting in the trenches and still kept believing in the presence of honour

and glory in the war, they are more of an exception. Analyzation of letters officers had sent

home showed that those soldiers who had thought to find honour and glory in the war were

usually fresh recruits, whose idea of the war had been shaped by pro-war propaganda, such

as Binyon’s. An example for such a person is Lieutenant Hedley John Goodyear, who wrote a

letter to his mother before finding his end in France:

The hour is all more dramatic for me because for the first time since I came to France I am close to the spot consecrated by the blood of our gallant dead. It was here that noble Raymond fell and Joe and Kenneth shed their blood in freedom’s cause. I trust to be as faithful as they. I do not think for a moment that I shall not return from the field of honour but in case I should not, give my last blessing to Father and my greatest thanks for all he did for me. (Housman 1930: 114)

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With this excerpt from his letter one wonders if Lieutenant Goodyear would have kept

referring to the battlefield as a “field of honour” (Housman 1930: 114), had he survived his

first battle. Soldiers that survived for longer periods of time usually changed their opinion of

the war, as can be seen in a letter by Captain the Hon. Colwyn Erasmus Arnold Philipps. “The

first thing we learn here is to forget about ‘Glory’” (Housman 1930: 114). Those two quotes

mirror the two poems discussed in this chapter and may provide an understanding of how

poetry created and reacted to reality. However, it must be mentioned that this loss of faith

in the positive aspects of the Great War is limited to the theme “Honour and Glory”. While

other themes were affected by disillusionment as well, none were affected as extensively as

the idea of honour and glory in war. So, while themes such as e.g. “Sacrifice” and “Duty (and

Social Pressure)” fared better, pro-war propaganda based on the theme “Honour and Glory”

was simply too detached from reality to endure experience of trench warfare.

2.3. Theme: Defend and Protect

Even with Great Britain beset by civil unrest and a population longing for change, the

previously discussed themes “Honour and Glory” and “A Cleansing War” are not sufficient

for a nation to justify going to war. Thus, the British propaganda effort provided reasons,

mainly the defence of the neutral nation of Belgium, which Germany attacked in an effort to

reach France quickly. On the third of August, Germany invaded Belgium, after being denied

the right to pass through the nation with the German army, ignoring Belgium’s neutrality. As

a result of this invasion, England declared war on Germany the next day, the fourth of

August. Naturally, this official reason to go to war was heavily represented in the British pro-

war propaganda effort and poetry. A significant part of said propaganda effort was based on

the Bryce Report. With Germany attacking Belgium, refugees poured into England in an

attempt to escape the war. With the refugees, rumours of alleged German atrocities arrived

in Great Britain as well. It was because of those rumours that the British government

established the Committee to Investigate Alleged German Outrages, under the chairmanship

of Lord Bryce in December 1914 (cf. Buitenhuis 1987: 27). With Bryce’s impeccable

reputation, the report about those alleged atrocities remained unquestioned. However, the

report is now known to have been a tissue of invention, unsubstantiated observations by

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unnamed witnesses and second-hand eyewitness reports. Still, some of the most gruesome

stories about the war stem from the Bryce Report and even papers hostile to the Allies did

not attempt to impugn the correctness of the report (cf. Buitenhuis 1987: 27). Thus, stories

of German soldiers spitting babies on bayonets, the cutting off of children’s hands and

women’s breasts, mass rapes, hostage murders and many other such atrocities were

considered fact throughout the war (cf. Buitenhuis 1987: 27).

Considering this, one can better understand the emotions a reader of Herbert Read’s

“The Refugees” must have felt at the time.

Mute figures with bowed heads They travel along the road: Old women, incredibly old, And a hand-cart of chattels.

They do not weep: Their eyes are too raw for tears.

Past them have hastened Processions of retreating gunteams, Baggage-wagons and swift horsemen. Now they struggle along With the rearguard of a broken army.

We will hold the enemy towards nightfall And they will move Mutely into the dark behind us, Only the creaking cart Disturbing their sorrowful serenity. (Balcon 1985: 41)

The poem is an emotional address to the British population and aligned rather well with the

recruitment effort of the time, as the poem almost exactly describes one of many

recruitment posters (see figure 1):

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Figure 1 (British official photographer n.d.: online)

The British soldier standing in front of a group of refugees could arguably be seen as the

speaker of Read’s poem, even though the grim expression of the soldier does not necessarily

match the melancholic tone of the poem. Bare of the typical jingoism pro-war poetry often

displayed, Read’s poem instead attempts to make the reader sympathize with the Belgian

refugees. Its slow and sombre tone raises the desire for change in the reader, to carry light

into the “dark” (Balcon 1985: 41) and bring action into the stifling quiet Read had conveyed

in this poem. Also, the poem aligned with the rumours the actual refugees carried with

them. Thus, the British population was urged to help defending the Belgium victim against

the invading Germans, often focusing on the women of Belgium. Hence, England put itself in

the position of a righteous protector of the weak. At this point one should consider that

when analysing poetry, one must keep the mind-set of the society at the time in mind. In this

case, while women were fighting to be equal, they were still considered the weaker sex with

absolute certainty.

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Figure 2 (IWM n.d.: online)

In such a way, chivalry was used to motivate men to hasten to the defence of Belgium. To

attack such an argument was an understandably difficult task for anti-war poetry and

propaganda. First of all, pro-war poetry had positioned Great Britain as a noble and altruistic

defender of the weak. Secondly, rumours and reports of German atrocities depicted the

invaders as a truly barbarous people. Those two points were often represented in pro-war

propaganda and poetry. However, arguments did arise that perhaps a peaceful solution

could have been achieved, if only it would have been pursued. Different reasons for not

attempting to settle the conflict peacefully were provided, but in Wilfred Owen’s “The

Parable of the Old Men and the Young”, it was simple pride.

In his poem, Owen retells the biblical story of how Abraham was ordered by God to

kill his own son, in order to test Abraham’s faith. Both, in the bible and in Owen’s poem,

Abraham, named “Abram” (Lewis 1971: 42) by Owen, followed God’s order and took his son

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with him to make an offering of him. Owen deviates from the biblical version, when he has

Abraham build “parapets and trenches there” (Lewis 1971: 42) as a sacrificial altar. However,

he continues true to the biblical story, and trying to kill “his son” (Lewis 1971: 42) Abraham is

stopped by an angel. God, satisfied with the obedience Abraham had shown, had sent a

“ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;” (Lewis 1971: 42). The Angel tells Abraham to “Offer

the Ram of Pride instead of him.” (Lewis 1971: 42). In the biblical version, Abraham cries

tears of joy and sacrifices the ram. In Owen’s poem however, “the old man would not so, but

slew his son, / And half the seed of Europe, one by one” (Lewis 1971: 42). Hence, the

meaning of the poem becomes clear. It was the people in power who, instead of sacrificing

their ego, would rather kill all of the young men of “Europe” (Lewis 1971: 42). The poem

does not argue directly that the evil deeds of the German army could be untrue or that the

defence of Belgium is not necessary. However, the war that had caused those atrocities and

raised the need for defence, could have been prevented, had the leaders of the nations of

Europe abandoned their “pride” (Lewis 1971: 42). More importantly, that possibility is still

open to the world. As long as the war goes on, the young men are still being sacrificed to the

“pride” (Lewis 1971: 42) of their nation’s leaders. Thus, the argument that England is acting

in defence of Belgium and the remaining free nations of the world, had become invalid. The

war is only being fought to satisfy the ego of the people in power. While Owen’s poem does

exclusively attack the British government, but rather every nation involved in the conflict,

the attack on pro-war poetry and propaganda is clear, the need for defence is a pretence.

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2.4. Theme: (Fight against) Evil

The previously discussed theme “Defend and Protect” was taken to more abstract heights

with the theme “(Fight against) Evil”. While the theme “Defend and Protect” did not stray

too far from a rational line of argumentation, the theme “(Fight against) Evil” was more

emotional in its reasoning. With the British soldiers fighting against evil itself, the war took

on a crusade-like appearance (see figure 3). Ironically enough, the Germans used the same

depiction of good versus evil as a knight slaying a dragon in their own propaganda effort (cf.

Buitenhuis 1987: 38).

Figure 3 (IWM Staff 2018: online)

Of course, the will of God was also a common iteration in the theme “(Fight against) Evil”.

However, one must consider that the evil the British soldiers had to fight against was not

necessarily condemned as such, because God had said so, but also from an atheist

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standpoint. One could consider the theme “(Fight against) Evil” and additionally the theme

“God” to be subplots of the theme “Defend and Protect”, since they all have a similar line of

argumentation for Britain’s obligation to go to war. While the themes “Honour and Glory”

and “A Cleansing War” promise a reward for going to war, those previously mentioned

themes urge men to fight, because it is the morally right thing to do. Of course, there is still a

reward for doing the right thing, but first and foremost, men should fight, because it is the

right and hence the only choice.

However, in the theme “(Fight against) Evil”, there was an additional reward, not for

oneself, but for coming generations. If the Triple Entente were to be successful in defeating

the evil German and Austrian armies, then evil would be banished from this world for all

eternity. The idea that the British soldiers were actually fighting evil and not a rival nation

was taken quite literally and thus the First World War became the war to end all wars. Since

war is evil and evil is defeated, there would be no more cause for war (see figure 4).

Figure 4 (Nicholson n.d.: online)

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The soldier barring the door to war represents what the British soldiers are doing by going to

war themselves. They wage war on war itself, and while the destruction and suffering caused

by such a war is apparent in the drawing by Sir Robert Nicholson, it was worth it since

humanity will never have to suffer war again. This notion was also apparent in Rudyard

Kipling’s poem “Justice”. While the poem was published towards the end of the war, in

October 1918, it still captures the spirit of the theme “(Fight against) Evil”, which was

repeatedly utilized in pro-war poetry and propaganda throughout the war.

The poem begins with the speaker warning the world of the consequence of having

“parley with the foe” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 175) in the poem’s first stanza. One cannot

argue with evil, instead it must be quelled without exception. The second stanza includes the

namesake of the poem with the lines “Needs must we loosen first the sword / Of Justice

upon earth;” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 175). This represents the general intellect of pro-

war poetry and propaganda in the theme “(Fight against) Evil”. As previously mentioned, war

is gruesome, but necessary. Even more so, going to war is the right thing to do. This was the

main argument for going to war. However, in this specific case, Kipling wanted to loosen the

sword of justice upon the Germans after the war had been won as well, “Or else all else is

vain /…/ And the spent world sinks back again” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 175). In the third

stanza the “evil” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 176) of the German people is defined.

A people and their King Through ancient sin grown strong, Because they feared no reckoning Would set no bound to wrong; But now their hour is past, And we who bore it find Evil Incarnate held at last To answer to mankind. (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 175-176)

Before the third stanza, the reader may have believed the “foe” (Hibberd and Onions 1986:

175) to be an ordinary human and two peoples engaged in war. However, after the third

stanza he or she knows the enemy to be “Evil Incarnate” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 176).

Even more so, the German people have never been anything but “evil”, (Hibberd and Onions

1986: 176) as they had come to power through “ancient sin” (Hibberd and Onions 1986:

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176). The fourth stanza then names the many sins the German people had committed.

However, the point is that all of the German people had committed them, as becomes clear

in the line “Willed and fulfilled by high and low” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 176). This

becomes even more apparent in the fifth stanza.

That when the dooms are read, Not high or low shall say: - ‘My haughty or my humble had Has saved me in this day.’ That, till the end of time, Their remnant shall recall Their fathers’ old, confederate crime Availed them not at all. (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 176)

Thus, all of Germany, no matter which role they had played in the conflict, is “Evil Incarnate”

(Hibberd and Onions 1986: 176). However, Kipling must have seen some hope for the

German people, since he empathized the need and duty of the British people, to make sure

the same “evil” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 176) does not rise again. The last line in the

fourth stanza “Let them relearn the Law” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 176) and the final

stanza are dedicated to that subject. Kipling makes it clear that they must do so in order to

“honour” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 176) their fallen soldiers.

The most important aspect of this poem, however, is the demonization of the

German people. While Kipling’s intense hatred may be explained by the loss of his son, who

had died in the war, his opinion of the German people is not an exception to the norm. Still,

anti-war poetry and propaganda did address the theme “(Fight against) Evil”, among others

Charles Hamilton Sorley in his poem “To Germany”:

You are blind like us. Your hurt no man designed, And no man claimed the conquest of your land. But gropers both through fields of thought confined We stumble and we do not understand. You only saw your future bigly planned, And we, the tapering paths of our own mind, And in each other’s dearest ways we stand, And hiss and hate. And the blind fight the blind.

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When it is peace, then we may view again With new-won eyes each other’s truer form And wonder. Grown more loving-kind and warm We’ll grasp firm hands and laugh at the old pain, When it is peace. But until peace, the storm The darkness and the thunder and the rain.

(Gardner 1976: 46)

Sorley cannot be declared to having been of a pure anti-war mind-set. Like many of the

soldier poets, he did feel that it is his duty to do his bit and as soon as he was able to, he

joined the war effort. However, Sorley had spent a long period of time in Germany, since his

parents had advised him to study abroad for a year and admired the German culture (cf.

Giddings 1988: 13-14). His emotional discrepancy to Kipling can clearly be seen in his poem.

While Sorley does depict the German people as the aggressors (line 1, 2 and 5), he does not

deny them their humanity. Additionally, he does not put the fault purely with the German

people. Sorley’s poem reminds one of Owen’s argument that peace could have been

possible, if only the leaders of Europe’s nations had let go of their pride. In addition, Sorley’s

expectations of the world after the war is an optimistic one. While Kipling declares it

Britain’s duty to educate and police Germany, Sorley expects all nations to have learned

from the gruelling experience of war (line 6-9). Most importantly, the German and the

British people are on equal footing. It is no one’s job to watch over the other and no one is

superior to the other. All of them are simply human. This sentiment is often repeated in anti-

war poetry and was the general reply to pro-war poetry and propaganda, which relied on

the theme “(Fight against) Evil”. However, Sorley’s poem was written before the war had

ended, and thus it is appropriate to compare Kipling’s poem with another poem that had

been written after the war had ended. Namely, Sassoon’s “Reconciliation”.

When you are standing at your hero’s grave, Or near some homeless village where he died. Remember, through your hearth’s rekindling pride, The German soldiers who were loyal and brave.

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Men fought like brutes; and hideous things were done; And you have nourished hatred, harsh and blind. But in that Golgotha perhaps you’ll find The mothers of the men who killed your son. (Balcon 1985: 54)

The first two lines of the second stanza follow the same line of argument as Sorley’s poem.

The two final lines of the poem point out that all sides had suffered during the First World

War. In its entirety, the second and final stanza of the poem provides the same point of

equality between Germany and Britain as Sorley’s poem. When compared with Kipling’s

poem, which was written around the same time as Sassoon’s, the stark contrast of the

emotional charge of the poems is self-evident. However, it cannot be said that Sassoon had

had fewer reasons to hold a grudge against Germany. He had fought in the war himself,

losing a brother and dear comrades to the opposing Germans. Nevertheless, his poem

carries a consolatory tone, as he is hoping for a future without war. Which, ironically

enough, is precisely what pro-war poetry had promised. The spirit of pro-war poetry and

propaganda did end up dictating the negotiation policy of the terms of the German

surrender. Thus, instead of a consolatory peace agreement, the terms were aimed to cripple

Germany, making it incapable of waging war again. This, partially, led to World War Two.

However, it is up to speculation if a more consolatory peace agreement could have averted

the recurrence of hostilities.

2.5. Theme: God

With the clergy being strongly involved in the recruitment effort, as previously mentioned, it

is of no surprise that God was often named in pro-war poetry. In the chapter on the theme

“A Cleansing War” Arthur Machen’s short story “The Bowmen” was discussed,

demonstrating just how strong the religious zeal of the British population had been. Thus, it

is of little surprise that the theme “God” was strongly represented in pro-war poetry. Two

important aspects dominate pro-war poetry and propaganda based on the theme “God”.

The first aspect is the will of God. Great Britain going to war is willed by God and thus cannot

be questioned. As previously discussed in chapter 2.1, the war could also be seen as a form

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of punishment or a medium to cleanse Britain of its sin. Most importantly, however, be it

one or the other, it is still God’s will. The second aspect of the theme “God” is the answer to

a grim aspect of war, namely death. If a soldier were to lose his life in the struggle, he can be

assured to have gained a place in paradise. Thus, death is a rather pleasant option and needs

not be feared. An example for this would be John Oxenham’s poem “The Vision Splendid”,

which focuses heavily on the soldiers dying and continuing to exist on a higher plane of

existence. However, the poem to represent pro-war poetry is William Evans’ “The War”,

since it combines the most important aspects of pro-war poetry focusing on the theme

“God”.

Man was arraigned: For Christ was challenged by another king, The king of Might, with hatred in his wing, And strength arrayed.

Christ called from Heaven For noble martyrs in His glorious cause, To justify the Cross, and Christian laws, His love for men.

We heard the call; And England’s manhood stood by Christ the King, Who comes with love and healing in His wing, And gives His all.

With changed eyes, And faces glowing with a holy ray, Our boys, transfigured by the conflict, pray In Paradise. (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 90)

The first stanza declares who the aggressor and the one responsible for the conflict is. The

“king of Might” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 90) is the namesake of the poem, “War” (Hibberd

and Onions 1986: 90). This alone could have the Germans and the British fight against this

evil together. However, in combination with the third stanza, it becomes clear that Germany

had aligned itself with the “king of Might” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 90), while “England’s

manhood stood by Christ the King” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 90). This reminds one of the

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theme “(Fight against) Evil”, not only are the British following God’s will, but in addition to

that the Germans are working directly against God by supporting the challenger, “War”

(Hibberd and Onions 1986: 90).

The second stanza repeats the sentiment that Britain going to war is God’s will.

However, the “noble martyrs” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 90) God is calling for makes it clear

that the soldiers are asked to die in God’s conflict. Although, they die for good reasons,

which is also repeated in the third stanza, after it is declared that England followed God’s

“call” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 90) and thus will. The final stanza of the poem completes

the downplaying of the aspect of death. The soldiers that had died in the conflict had not

lost their lives, but had ascended to a higher state of being. The major part of pro-war poetry

based on the theme “God” was written in a similar manner almost always repeating the two

main aspects of the theme, the will of God and the ascension of the fallen soldiers to

paradise.

However, with Christianity’s moral code of non-violence, God’s will could not be

incorporated in a pro-war message without causing an anti-war response. A direct rejection

of the idea that God had willed the war was Mrs. G. O. Warren’s “The Second Calvary”. In

the poem God directly states that “’This is Man’s will – not Mine’” (Khan 1988: 53). A

sentiment that is repeated by Lieutenant Horace William Fletcher of the Royal Welch

Fusiliers in a letter to his mother. “And in this kingdom of love, war and hatred of nation for

nation, and man for man, can have no place whatsoever. Don’t you feel how far this shows

us to be from the coming of the kingdom?...” (Housman 1930: 109). However, pro-war

messages concerning God were equally frequent in letters from the front, and it cannot be

said with certainty that one opinion was prevalent over the other. Still, G. O. Warren was

one of many that pointed out the discrepancy in pro-war poetry and Christian teachings. This

obvious discrepancy became even more evident for the soldiers that had to endure the

horrors of war at the front. The thoughts and emotions of said soldiers were reproduced in

Sassoon’s “Christ and the Soldier”.

The poem is made up of three parts, each part of the poem describing a soldier on a

battlefield, who comes upon Christ and speaks to him. In the first part of the poem the

soldier meets Christ and “dumped down upon his knees” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 93),

laments his exhaustion. Jesus/God replies by showing the soldier his “hands and feet”

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(Hibberd and Onions 1986: 93) and thus his wounds. This refers to the suffering of Christ,

which was often incorporated in pro-war poetry, in the sense that the soldiers now suffer for

Christ and mankind, as Christ had suffered for mankind before them. However, the soldier

meets this suffering of Christ with pragmatism, muttering “’Wounds like these / Would shift

a bloke to Blighty just a treat!’” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 93). This is the first indication, of

how little the soldiers fighting in World War One could gain from the abstract concept of

God. All they want was for the war to end, as becomes evident in the second part of the

poem, in which the soldier “chucked his rifle in the dust” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 94) and

says “’Oh Christ Almighty, stop this bleeding fight!’” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 90). The

soldier then exclaims his wish to live while Jesus asks the soldier “’Can you put no trust / In

my known word that shrives each faithful head? / Am I not resurrection, life and light?’”

(Hibberd and Onions 1986: 94). This addresses the promise of paradise that pro-war poetry

often referred to. Dying is not such a bad thing, actually it is an improvement of one’s

situation. However, Sassoon points out the soldiers’ desire to live when “The soldier cried, ‘I

was born full of lust, / with hunger, thirst, and wishfulness to wed.’” (Hibberd and Onions

1986: 94). Again, the abstract concept of paradise does little to ease the soldiers’ suffering.

In the third part Jesus continues to speak after a description of the battlefield and

says: “’Believe; and I can cleanse your ill. / I have not died in vain between two thieves; / Nor

made a fruitless gift of miracles.’” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 94). The soldier answers:

“’Heal me if you will, / Maybe there’s comfort when a soul believes / In mercy, and we need

it in these hells.’” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 94). With this Sassoon admits to religion having

a comforting effect in the war, if one chooses to believe. However, since the soldiers say

“Maybe” (Hibberd and Onions 1986: 94), it is clear that the soldier himself does not know

such comfort. On one hand, this could implicate that Sassoon himself did not believe in God

and wanted to communicate his own lack of faith. On the other hand, it could again point

out that trusting in the abstract concept of paradise is not sufficient to ease a soldier’s

suffering. However, the climax of the poem is found in the next three lines, in which the

soldier continues speaking, “’But be you for both sides? I’m paid to kill / And if I shoot a man

his mother grieves. / Does that come into what your teaching tells?’” (Hibberd and Onions

1986: 94). Thus, the previously mentioned discrepancy is directly pointed out by Sassoon

through the soldier’s questioning. Underlining the senselessness of waging war for God,

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Jesus does no longer reply but instead, “Forsaken Jesus dreamed in the desolate day - /

Uplifted Jesus, Prince of Peace forsworn – An observation post for the attack.” (Hibberd and

Onions 1986: 94).

Thus, Sassoon’s poem addressed both the main aspects of pro-war propaganda and

poetry focused on the theme “God”, pointing out that soldiers cannot find solace in the

promise of paradise alone and the paradoxical nature of the argument of the war being the

will of God. However, while Sassoon depicts God as wanting to comfort the soldier but being

unable to do so, other poets attacked God for not helping mankind in its struggle. Poets such

as Arthur Graeme West and Edmund Blunden accused God of allowing such suffering to take

place or even willing it for his own petty amusement. Soldiers, disillusioned by the horrors of

war, often applied such an accusatory style of writing poetry focused on the theme “God”.

While this accusatory style was not as prevalent in Sassoon’s poem, it was still one of the

major aspects of anti-war poetry focused on the theme “God” and the third of the prevalent

arguments against pro-war poetry and propaganda.

2.6. Theme: Sacrifice

The subject of death and suffering, as previously mentioned, had to be addressed and

somehow solved for propaganda, to aid the recruitment effort. Since a war will always cause

death and suffering, most themes provide an answer to said problem. However, the theme

“Sacrifice” actually benefited from said suffering, because it attempted to present the

soldiers’ plights as a noble sacrifice. The harsher the reality of war, the greater and hence

more noble the sacrifice. Thus, pro-war poetry and propaganda did not need to hide the

horrors of war. Not even the disillusionment after the Battle of Verdun and the Somme

presented a problem for pro-war poetry that specifically focused on the suffering of the

soldiers. Additionally, the theme “Sacrifice” was very rarely attacked by anti-war poetry and

propaganda. A possible explanation for this reluctance to attack pro-war poetry which

focused on the theme “Sacrifice” may lie in cognitive dissonance. After all, if one does not

believe his being in the war will grant him glory, adventure or assured entrance to paradise,

then at least one’s life is not given in vain, but is a noble sacrifice. To admit to oneself that

one’s suffering and eventual death would not even be that, was understandably rare.

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Besides that, attacking this noble sacrifice and claiming it not to be one would have made

one the attacker of grieving parents, friends and other relatives. Thus, few anti-war poems

which disputed the noble sacrifice of the soldiers fighting in the war were ever written. The

consolatory nature of pro-war poetry focusing on the theme “Sacrifice” prevailed. Soldiers

fighting in the war knew that in case they die, they will have given their life for a worthy

cause and their friends and family will remember them with pride. Friends and family

grieving for the fallen soldier found consolation in the thought that the soldier had given his

life willingly for the good of England and the world. Again, his death was a noble sacrifice.

However, the theme “Sacrifice” did not limit itself to the soldiers that were actually fighting

in the war. Mothers, who sacrificed their beloved sons, were a common recurrence in the

theme “Sacrifice”, focusing on the consolatory function of the poem. Considering England’s

previously mentioned affinity for religious poetry, miracles and the like, it comes as little

surprise that those mothers and their sons were presented as the Holy Mother Mary and

Jesus Christ. One such poem was Mary Jay Anderson’s “An Incident”:

He was just a boy, as I could see, For he sat in the tent there close by me. I held the lamp with its flickering light, And felt the hot tears blur my sight As the doctor took the blood-stained bands From both his hands, wounded more pitifully Than Thine, O Christ, on Calvary.

I was making tea in the tent where they, The wounded, came in their agony; And the boy turned when his wounds were dressed, Held up his face like a child at the breast, Turned and held his tired face up, For he could not hold the spoon or cup, And I fed him. . . . Mary, Mother of God, All women tread where thy feet have trod.

And still on the battlefield of pain Christ is stretched on His Cross again; And the Son of God in agony hangs, Womanhood striving to ease His pangs. For each son of man is a son divine, Not just to the mother who calls him ‘mine’,

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As he stretches out his stricken hand, Wounded to death for the Mother Land. (Reilly 1981: 52)

The speaker of the poem is a nurse, describing the suffering of a young soldier boy, but also

her own suffering, caused by witnessing such terrible conditions. In the first stanza of the

poem it is established that the soldier is very young and suffering terribly. The similarity

between Christ and the soldiers is openly stated, as it was often the case in pro-war poetry

and propaganda focusing on the theme “Sacrifice”. The theme was not limited to poetry, but

expanded to other media as well (see figure 5):

Figure 5 (Lonsdale 2014: online)

The painting was commissioned by the “Graphic”, an illustrated newspaper which payed

James Clark to paint a suitable picture for the Christmas edition of the paper in 1914. The

painting became immensely popular, and the original was even bought by Queen Mary

(Lonsdale 2014: online). The depiction of the soldiers as a modern Christ, sacrificing their life

for mankind, was popular in both civilian and soldierly life. Lieutenant the Hon. Eric Fox Pitt

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Lubbock wrote a letter to his mother in which his opinion of the soldiers as Christ becomes

evident: “And we should feel proud that we are suffering for that step and sweating blood to

help the world, as One once sweated blood before to save it.” (Housman 1930: 177). Thus,

to see themselves walking in the footsteps of Christ himself was not uncommon among the

soldiers. Additionally, Lieutenant Lubbock defines the consolatory function of the theme

“Sacrifice” when he continues: “Of course, that idea does not make the suffering less awful,

but it is another way of looking at it.” (Housman 1930: 177). As mentioned before, the

theme “Sacrifice” actually benefited from the horrors of war. This comment by Lieutenant

Lubbock helps to understand how propaganda based on the theme “Sacrifice” helped

soldiers to bear those horrors. However, this is strictly from the soldiers’ perspective. In the

second stanza of the poem, the consolation of women, even more so of mothers, is the main

focus.

The childlike appearance of the soldier addresses the maternal feelings of the women

of England. The speaker herself is not truly the mother of the boy, but still feels as if the

soldier is her child, as he is as helpless as a baby in his suffering. The two final lines of the

stanza sum up the feelings of England’s mothers: “And I fed him. . . . Mary, Mother of God, /

All women tread where thy feet have trod.” (Reilly 1981: 52). This kinship with Mother Mary

is not repeated as often as the soldiers’ kinship with Jesus Christ, but was an important

aspect of pro-war poetry none the less. Furthermore, with the soldiers being Jesus Christ,

the mothers were Mother Mary by default, even if that was not always as blatantly stated.

The consolatory function the thought of being like the Holy Mother Mary held, is apparent.

The third stanza repeats and amplifies the notion that the soldiers are Jesus Christ.

Additionally, the pain of Mother Mary is explicitly extended to all women. The final two lines

of the stanza define what purpose the soldiers’ suffering serves. What is remarkable about

the poem is the intense focus on both the suffering of the soldier and the Christian

connotations. Clearly, the poem would not work as well, if the suffering of the soldier was

not as gruesome and apparent. Thus, the poem demonstrates how the theme “Sacrifice”

actually benefited from the horrors of war. Of course, while the soldier-Christ metaphor was

an obvious connotation, there were also pro-war poems which focused on the theme

“Sacrifice” and did not rely on religious aspects. One such example is Maud Anna Bell’s

“From a Trench”. The speaker of the poem is a soldier who is currently at the front and in a

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trench, thinking about the home he protects. Two aspects of the theme “Sacrifice” are

repeated in the poem, namely, the sacrifice itself and what is gained through the sacrifice.

While M. J. Anderson’s poem focused heavily on the sacrifice itself, it did miss one aspect

which was often repeated in the theme “Sacrifice”, the good gained through the sacrifice.

Bell’s poem on the other hand focuses heavily on that aspect, presenting the good in the

form of flowers, more specifically crocuses. The poem is structured similar to a song,

consisting of three stanzas and three chorus stanzas, with only slight deviations. In the

course of the poem the speaker describes his suffering, but also the peace and beauty of

home, which he had made possible through his sacrifice. The poem ends with a chorus

stanza “There are crocuses at Nottingham! / Bright crocuses at Nottingham! / Real crocuses

at Nottingham! / Because we’re here in Hell.” (Reilly 1981: 11). The final line of the poem

epitomizes the final aspect of the theme “Sacrifice”. It is only through their sacrifice that

England may live. One can imagine that a soldier may be motivated through the sentiment of

enabling a peaceful and safe life back home, through enduring the horrors of war.

With that sentiment in mind, one may understand why the pro-war poetry and

propaganda focusing on the theme “Sacrifice” was so rarely attacked. However, Charles

Sorley did attack it in his poem “All the Hills and Vales Along”. The poem was written in

1914, in a time when jingoistic poetry was produced plentifully. Sorley’s poem attacks said

jingoism with biting sarcasm, blatantly stating that the young soldiers were going to their

deaths, nothing more. The entire poem is written in a way that almost forces the reader to

read the poem as a joyful song with a merry tune. The first stanza alludes to the previously

mentioned jingoism that had been going on:

All the hills and vales along Earth is bursting into song, And the singers are the chaps Who are going to die perhaps. O sing, marching men, Till the valleys ring again. Give your gladness to earth’s keeping, So be glad, when you are sleeping.

(Parsons 1966: 34)

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The earth bursting into song (cf. Parsons 1966: 34) represents the jingoism during the early

months of the First World War. Already, the sarcasm of Sorley becomes evident, since he so

blatantly states the possibility of death. The soldiers are asked to give their gladness to

earth’s keeping (cf. Parsons 1966: 34), which can be interpreted as giving up their lives for

the earth. This initiates the attack on the aspect of sacrificing your life for a worthy cause. It

is not for England and its people that the soldiers die, but for the earth. However, the earth

does not care about their sacrifice or their suffering. This is established in the second and

third stanza.

Cast away regret and rue, Think what you are marching to. Little live, great pass. Jesus Christ and Barabbas Were found the same day. This died, that went his way. So sing with joyful breath, For why, you are going to death. Teeming earth will surely store All the gladness that you pour.

Earth that never doubts nor fears, Earth that knows of death, not tears, Earth that bore with joyful ease Hemlock for Socrates, Earth that blossomed and was glad ‘Neath the cross that Christ had, Shall rejoice and blossom too When the bullet reaches you. Wherefore, men marching On the road to death, sing! Pour your gladness on earth’s head, So be merry, so be dead. (Parsons 1966: 34)

In the beginning, the second stanza refers to “Jesus Christ and Barabbas” (Parsons 1966: 34).

Sorley used the Christ Metaphor as well, even though he used it differently. Christ was

condemned to die by a mob, who chose Barabbas to be pardoned instead of Christ. Similarly,

the soldiers are condemned to die by their country. While conscription was not yet applied

in 1914, Sorley still must have felt that the young recruits were condemned to or tricked into

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going to war. The final two lines of the second stanza return the focus to the “Earth”

(Parsons 1966: 34) the recruits are dying for. Now, the indifference of the “Earth” (Parsons

1966: 34) becomes clear in the third stanza of the poem. Furthermore, Socrates’ death is

mentioned, whose fate was strictly speaking not decided by a mob. However, he was

sentenced to die by a large group of people. Additionally, both “Socrates” (Parsons 1966: 34)

and “Jesus Christ” (Parsons 1966: 34) were considered sacrificial deaths. While one died for

mankind, the other died for his morals and for what he believed to be right. Sorley does not

question the kinship between the soldiers, Christ and Socrates, but instead attacks the worth

of the sacrifice directly. The “Earth” (Parsons 1966: 34) is completely indifferent to the fate

of the soldiers, as it was to the fate of “Socrates” (Parsons 1966: 34) and “Jesus Christ”

(Parsons 1966: 34).

The fourth and final stanza of Sorley’s poem then repeats the depiction of jingoism

and what the result of said jingoism will be in the end. Namely, the deaths of all those

soldiers for the sole benefit of an indifferent “Earth” (Parsons 1966: 34). Thus, it is not the

soldiers whom Sorley attacks, but the result of their sacrifice. While he does depict them as

misguided and of false conviction, he does not accuse them of willingly doing the wrong

thing. As previously mentioned, anti-war poetry which attacked the theme “Sacrifice” was

scarce. Thus, one cannot provide statements about the typical style and aspects of anti-war

poetry concerned with the theme “Sacrifice”. However, one thing does still hold true, the

soldiers themselves and their convictions were never questioned. While Sorley does depict

the soldiers as misguided, he still does not accuse them of not truly believing in the value of

their sacrifice themselves. If anything, the soldiers are victims and good hearted ones at that.

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2.7. Theme: Duty (and Social Pressure)

The theme “Duty (and Social Pressure)”, more specifically social pressure which had been

enacted upon the grounds of duty, was another major theme in the pro-war poetry and

propaganda of the First World War. Up to this point, all the themes discussed compelled

able-bodied men to join the war effort out of their own free will. This is no longer the case

with the theme “Duty (and Social Pressure)”, which is aimed at those that would not be

moved by the prospect of a grand adventure, eternal glory or a place in paradise. Those men

would have to join the fight, because it is a man’s duty to do so. According to a multitude of

letters sent home from the front, this idea was quite prevalent. However, it is important to

discriminate between two periods during the First World War, namely, the pre-conscription

and the post-conscription period. Joining the war effort was voluntary, social pressure aside,

until 27th of January in 1916, when conscription was officially the law of the land. With

conscription, which came into effect on 3rd of February and from 2nd of March, all unmarried

men aged 18 to 41 were deemed to have enlisted. However, it only took a few months for

conscription to extend to married men as well (cf. a.u. 2013: online). From this point on, the

theme “Duty (and Social Pressure)” was treated differently, since it was no longer only the

moral duty of a man to join the fight, but definite law.

Up to that point, however, the recruitment effort relied on the war euphoria during

the early months of the Great War and on social pressure. Albeit, the war euphoria of the

British people may not have been as consistent as one would believe. After all, thousands

protested against going to war against Germany at Trafalgar Square on 2nd of August (cf.

Stuart 2012: online). Thus, it is of little surprise that social pressure played a significant role

in the British recruitment effort. Multiple angles to this social pressure existed. For example,

able-bodied men had their character attacked, had they not joined the war effort.

Additionally, a man risked his chances with women, should he not enlist. Furthermore,

having shirked one’s duties during the war will burden one’s conscience and life after the

war had been won, to name three. Constance Powell’s “The Slacker” mostly utilized the first

angle, attacking a man’s character. The poem consists of three stanzas, with each stanza

applying a more aggressive tone. While the first stanza only establishes that one can find a

slacker in any profession, the final three lines turn to a more disdainful tone: “But it’s not his

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job that matters, / His finery or his tatters, / For there’s something in a slacker you can tell

him anywhere.” (Powell n.d.: online). The second stanza continues to explain how one can

tell a slacker, but also initiates the attack on men, who had chosen not to enlist.

It's something in the look he has about him! It's something in the way he meets your eye! It's something in his sloppy way of talking! It's something in the manner of the people passing by You know he can't be happy, he don't look it— He knows he isn't acting like a man. His pluck is wearing thin, For he's thinking of his skin, And he's damn well going to save it, if in any way he can! (Powell n.d.: online)

Hence, the cowardice of the slacker is established. If an able-bodied man chooses not to join

up, he must be afraid and selfishly think of only himself and his own well-being. This angle

was often exploited and reached its pinnacle with Admiral Penrose Fitzgerald’s white feather

movement. Women were called upon to hand white feathers to able-bodied men without a

uniform, hence humiliating and pressuring them to join (cf. Khan 1988: 79). To elucidate, the

term “white feather” hailed from cock-fighting. A game bird with a white feather in its tail

was considered to be more likely to lose. Thus, to show the white feather meant to turn tail.

To show the white feather was a turn of phrase, used to describe human cowardice during

the 19th century. Presenting white feathers to accuse someone of cowardice became popular

with A.E.W. Mason’s “The Four Feathers”, a story located in the Boar War. In the story, the

protagonist acts cowardly and thus is handed four feathers. However, he redeems himself

and returns the feathers (cf. Simmer n.d.: online).

Of course, this practice led to soldiers on leave or soldiers who had been wounded

and therefore deemed unable to fight being accused of cowardice as well. This grew to be a

problem of such proportions that the War Office issued silver badges to provide veterans

with a possibility to prove they had not shirked their duty (cf. Bates 2011: online). With that

in mind, one may be able to imagine the crushing pressure imposed upon able-bodied men.

The third stanza continues with providing some excuses shirkers may use, but the speaker

declares the real reason to be lack of courage. After that however, the tone shifts again:

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He says his country doesn't really want him. He says that he has got a duty here. He says so much you couldn't really mind him, And, poor chap, we listen, but we know the reason's fear. His women-folk are silent, they don't say much— His mother is the saddest thing on earth, She defends him when she can, But he's proved he's not a man, And she wishes she had buried him the hour she gave him birth.

(Powell n.d.: online)

The fourth line of the third stanza indicates that the speaker is a woman, as well as, standing

in for all the women of Great Britain. With this, the second angle mentioned above is also

applied in Powell’s poem. After all, how can a man hope to successfully court a woman, if

her opinion of him is one as provided through the poem? “His women-folk” (Powell n.d.:

online) are ashamed for his cowardice, which illustrates women’s general opinion of him as

well. However, the final four lines of the poem are truly seething with hate and despise. Not

even a mother’s love can overcome the shame from being a shirker. Rather, “she wishes she

had” (Powell n.d.: online) killed her own son immediately after giving “birth” (Powell n.d.:

online) or at least that he had died as soon as he had been born. Not only can one grasp the

pressure able-bodied men had to endure if they did not enlist, but the poem also addresses

the duties of women.

Figure 6 (a.u. n.d.: online)

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As in the previously mentioned white feather movement, women were encouraged to urge

men in their social circle to enlist. As can be seen in the poster (see figure 6), mothers were

no exception. While Powell’s poem mainly informs men of their mothers’ shame and true

emotions, it also educated women on the way they were supposed to feel.

Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 (Keitch 2017: online) (IWM Staff 2018: online) (Keitch 2017: online)

A significant part of the recruitment effort was directed towards women, who were urged to

help in the recruitment of able-bodied men. “According to Ruth Adam, the Daily Mirror laid

down that ‘every woman in England who has trained herself to do a woman’s work should

nag every man she has influence over to enlist’.” (Khan 1988: 80). Naturally, this notion

could be found in diverse media, for e.g. posters, such as the images above. Thus, women

were instrumentalized in the recruitment effort, either having them pressure young men

themselves or being used as a means to pressure men. As for example, in the third image

above, in which men were asked, if they had less pluck than women did. Again, one must

consider the mind-set of the early 20th century, in which women were considered the

weaker sex. Thus, a man that would not join the war effort was no longer a man, true to the

first angle of the theme “Duty (and Social Pressure)”. However, the instrumentalization of

women was challenged by some, most notably by Helen Hamilton’s “The Jingo-Woman”,

which specifically challenged the white feather movement.

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As the title indicates, the poem is addressed to women of a jingoistic opinion, the

speaker being a woman herself scolding them for their misbehaviour: “Jingo-woman / (How I

dislike you!) / Dealer in white feathers, / Insulter, self-appointed, / Of all the men you meet,

/ Not dressed in uniform, / When to your mind, / (A sorry mind), / They should be, / The

test?” (Reilly 1981: 47). The poem creates a specific situation in the readers' mind, namely of

a woman scolding another woman, who had just handed a white feather to a man. This is

partly due to the structure of the poem, since it does not truly have a specific order to it.

Rather, the poem reads more like a rant, in which the speaker lists reasons, why the practice

of handing over white feathers to men without uniform is condemnable. Even more so, since

the speaker adds additional insults to the monologue, which are read in a form of aside.

However, the poem does have two stanzas. The first stanza consists of insults towards the

“Jingo-woman” (Reilly 1981: 47) and arguments as to how she may be in the wrong. The

second stanza is composed of a grim prediction of the future and another rebuke towards

the “Jingo-woman” (Reilly 1981: 47). It is noteworthy that Hamilton specifically defends men

that wanted to serve, but were physically unfit: “Men there are, and young men too, /

Physically not fit to serve, / Who look in their civilian garb / Quite stout and hearty.” (Reilly

1981: 48). Thus, while the speaker does condemn the white feather movement, she did not

jump to the defence of pacifists. Furthermore, Hamilton’s poem is not necessarily anti-war,

but rather anti-propaganda. While Hamilton did have a pacifistic mind-set, the distinction

between strictly anti-war poems and Hamilton’s “The Jingo-Woman” should be made.

The second stanza, as previously mentioned, predicts a grim future, namely, the

possibility of women having to join the war effort. While this sets up the final argument of

Hamilton, “Can’t you see it isn’t decent, / To flout and goad men into doing, / What is not

asked of you?”, (Reilly 1981: 49) it also points out the hypocrisy of the “Jingo-woman” (Reilly

1981: 47) through her sarcastic tone in “You’ll join up first, of course, / Without waiting to be

fetched.” (Reilly 1981: 49). The notion that men should not be pressured into joining the

war, even more so by those that did not join the war themselves, was quite common in anti-

war propaganda and poetry, which focused on the theme “Duty (and Social Pressure)”.

However, as previously mentioned, the poem did not defend pacifists but rather men that

wanted to fight but were not permitted to. The defence of pacifists was the second major

concern of anti-war poetry and propaganda in the theme “Duty (and Social Pressure)”.

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With the introduction of conscription, the “conscience clause” was decided as well.

This was due to the high number of members of parliament who would have otherwise

opposed conscription. This allowed able-bodied men to avoid conscription, on the grounds

of conscientious objection against combat service. When the conscription bill passed, over

16.000 men claimed exemption from military service. However, having claimed

conscientious objection, one had to attend a tribunal to have the sincerity of his claim

assessed. Usually, conscientious objectors were offered non-combatant work in the army or

civilian work that aided a country at war. If those alternatives were turned down, they were

arrested and sent to military barracks, where they faced a court martial like any soldier who

disobeyed orders did. This court martial would sentence the conscientious objectors to serve

time in prison, which they did in a civilian institution. After they had finished their time in

prison, they were called upon again one day after their release, and the circle began anew.

This was also known as the cat and mouse process and was so taxing that more than eighty

conscientious objectors died in prison or as a result of their experience there (cf. a.u. 2013:

online). Besides the brutal treatment, conscientious objectors were also the target of

ridicule, as can be seen in one of many depictions of conscientious objectors during the First

World War (see figure 10):

Figure 10 (Allen 2014: online)

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Conscientious objectors were depicted as weak, foolish, womanly and homosexual, the

latter being illegal at the time. Postcards such as the one above, were but one media used to

attack them. However, while living as a conscientious objector during World War One was a

difficult choice to make, they were not without support. Poets such as Eva Gore-Booth and S.

Gertrude Ford attacked the unjust treatment of conscientious objectors. While Ford used a

religious defence of conscientious objectors following the teachings of Jesus Christ in her

poem “A Conscientious Objector”, others attacked the tribunal and its treatment of

conscientious objectors. Eva Gore-Booth combined both aspects in her poem “Conscientious

Objectors”. Gore-Booth attended court-martials and tribunals and visited conscientious

objectors in prison. She experienced first-hand the vain appeals and helpless protests of

pacifists brought to trial (cf. Khan 1988: 153). This experience was the cause for the third and

final stanza of her poem: “Before six ignorant men and blind, / Reckless they rent aside / The

Veil of Isis in the mind … / Men say they shirked and lied.” (Booth 2016: online). The religious

aspect of the anti-war argument stems from the incompatibility of war and Christ’s

teachings, but also Buddhism: “For the gentleness of Buddha’s dream / And Christ’s rejected

truth, / The treasure under the world’s stream / Pearl of pity and ruth.” (Booth 2016: online).

Interestingly, pro-war poetry attacked shirkers in general and rarely singled out

conscientious objectors. It was only in anti-war poetry that the subject was given specific

attention. However, pacifism was attacked by generally arguing that one cannot deal with an

aggressor pacifistically. One example for such a poem is Rose E. Sharland’s “Non-

Resistance”. Sharland argues that “For had we waited for the Huns, of common-sense

bereft, / There would have been no Pacifists nor any of us left.” (Khan 1988: 153). Sharland’s

poem was one of the more reasonable responses to pacifism and more aggressive responses

reverted to the same line of argument as Constance Powell had applied. E.g. Katharine Lee

Bates’ “Soldiers to Pacifists” is a poem in which Bates called pacifists traitors and aims to

insult them, rather than reason with them.

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2.8. Theme: Fight to a Finish

With the war continuing on for far longer than originally anticipated, a new theme gained in

popularity. After all, a popular notion had been that the war would be over by Christmas

1914. As time passed and the war had no end in sight, a shift in propaganda themes was an

obvious result. Themes such as “Honour and Glory” had lost their lustre, especially after the

great slaughters, e.g. the Battle of the Somme. Moral dropped significantly compared to the

war euphoria of 1914 and the War Office was well aware that the mood of the population

was dangerously close to changing against the continuation of the war. When Siegfried

Sassoon, by then a well-known poet, writer of anti-war poetry and most importantly, a

decorated war hero, wrote “Finished With War: A Soldier’s Declaration” in July of 1917, the

War Office knew it had acted cautiously or risked a political disaster. Sassoon had arranged

for a Member of Parliament to read his statement in the House of Commons. Sassoon’s

statement was published in the newspaper as well, and it was only due to Robert Graves’

intervention, Graves had befriended Sassoon during his service in France, that Sassoon was

spared a court martial and instead sent to Craiglockhart Hospital. By declaring that Sassoon

had been suffering from Shell Shock and hence was not responsible for his actions, the War

Office had avoided direct confrontation and the possibility of irritating the public (cf. Simkin

2014: online).

However, Sassoon was not the only one that had grown tired of the war, and pro-war

propaganda reacted to the war-weary mood of Great Britain. Thus, the theme “Fight to a

Finish” gained in popularity. The theme was mostly a composition of the themes “Duty (and

Social Pressure)” and “Sacrifice”, and the poem “The Anxious Dead” by John McCrae

demonstrates, how these two themes had been combined to keep the British population

invested in the war:

O Guns, fall silent till the dead man hear Above their heads the legions pressing on: (These fought their fight in time of bitter fear, And died not knowing how the day had gone.)

O flashing muzzles, pause, and let them see The coming dawn that streaks the sky afar;

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Then let your mighty chorus witness be To them, and Ceasar, that we still make war.

Tell them, O guns, that we have heard their call, That we have sworn and will not turn aside, That we will onward till we win or fall, That we will keep the faith for which they died.

Bid them be patient, and some day, anon, They shall feel earth enwrapt in silence deep; Shall greet, in wonderment, the quiet dawn, And in content may turn them to their sleep.

(Gardner 1976: 48)

Simply summarized, the poem states that it is the duty of the living to honour the sacrifice of

the fallen and keep fighting until the war is won. In the first stanza of the poem, the suffering

of the fallen is what the reader should take notice of. Thus, it is clear for whom and why the

war continues. The second stanza attempts to present war as something glorious yet again.

Romanticizing and mythologizing war through noble language and mentioning of ancient

heroes or historical figures had mostly, but not exclusively, been a trait of pro-war poetry.

Anti-war poetry and propaganda, on the other hand, more often relied on a straightforward

description of the horrors of war. McCrae’s poem clearly displays such noble language, with

the speaker almost praying to the guns. In the final two lines of the second stanza and the

third stanza of the poem, the sentiment of a fight to a finish is clearly established, also, the

duty of the living towards the fallen to “keep the faith for which they died” (Gardner 1976:

46). The fourth and final stanza of the poem promises an end to the fighting. Even though

the speaker considers a possible loss of the war by the Entente in the third stanza, the fourth

stanza has the fallen “content” (Gardner 1976: 48), which implies a British victory.

Considering the depiction of the Prussian militarism and previously discussed poetry, a world

without war was only possible, if the Central Powers were defeated. Thus, the poem

indirectly promises a British victory in the end. Additionally, the final stanza reminds the

reader of the notion of the war to end all wars, which had been very popular at the

beginning of the conflict.

This trust in an eventual victory is partially responsible for the continuation of the

war, even though multiple attempts at peace had been made. The influence of pro-war

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propaganda and poetry was too strong to be overcome by men such as Lord Lansdowne and

Herbert Asquith. The division in cabinet on the issue of making peace or continuing the war,

contributed to Lloyd George’s rise to power, who had been a proponent of the fight to a

finished mind-set (cf. Buitenhuis 1987: 141). Asquith had instructed Lansdowne to draft a

memo, in which the government was urged to begin peace negotiations with Germany

immediately. However, Lansdowne’s proposal was rejected twice, once in the cabinet and a

second time in the House of Lords. When Lansdowne decided to go public with his proposal,

after not being heard in the House of Lords, he was widely reviled as a traitor, villain and a

coward (cf. Buitenhuis 1987: 141-142). Patriotic poetry, in combination with the

misinformation of the British population about the war, had made it impossible for pacifistic

voices to be heard and seriously considered.

It is also noteworthy that in a sense the theme “Fight to a Finish” benefited from the

enormous loss of life during the First World War, as did the theme “Sacrifice”. Since the new

recruits owed it to those that had fallen in the conflict to continue their fight, the negative

aspects of war actually caused additional compulsion for those that had not yet joined the

war effort. This could also be explained with the sunk-cost effect, which states that the more

an individual irreversibly invests in a decision, the more likely that person is to hold on to

that decision (cf. Pfister, Jungermann, Fischer 2017: 58). Thus, a focus on those that had

already fallen in the course of the First World War was typical for the theme “Fight to a

Finish”. Up to the present day, the notion of having to see the war to its bitter conclusion is

widely accepted. John McCrae’s more popular poem “In Flanders Field” follows the same

line of argument as “The Anxious Dead” and is still recited on Remembrance Day. Still, the

notion was challenged, mostly by the soldiers that were expected to continue fighting, most

notably the previously mentioned Siegfried Sassoon. At this point, it is important to know

what his declaration of wilful defiance actually stated.

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 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

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impossible for them to be changed without our knowledge, and that, has 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 prolonging those sufferings for ends which I believe to be evil and unjust. I am not protesting against the military conduct of the War, but against the political errors and insincerities 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 it may help to destroy the callous complacence with which the majority of those as home regard the continuance of agonies which they do not share, and which they have not sufficient imagination to realise.

(Giddings 1988: 111)

Sassoon’s disillusionment concerning the war and his disappointment in the leadership of

the country is evident. Also, he was not alone with his accusation that the government was

intentionally and unnecessarily prolonging the war. His attack on “those who have the

power to end it” (Giddings 1988: 111) was often repeated, and most often the ones

responsible for the war were either the government or the war profiteers/munition makers.

However, in Osbert Sitwell’s “Arm-Chair”, many more are accused of being responsible for

prolonging the slaughter. The poem has the speaker imagining being various ages, at each

age doing something different to help the war, beginning with: “If I were now of handsome

middle-age, / I should not govern yet, but still should hope / To help the prosecution of this

war.” (Black 1982: 108). All of the speaker imagined personas are of a patriotic mind-set,

which Sitwell mocks and criticizes through the speaker’s ironic voice. The middle-aged man

stands in for the patriotic citizens of England, who keep the war going through their patriotic

fervour, but ultimately have no understanding of the war.

If wet, write anxious letters to the Press. I’d give up wine and spirits, and with pride Refuse to eat meat more than once a day,

And seek to rob the workers of their beer. The only way to win a hard-fought war Is to annoy the people in small ways, Bully or patronize them, as you will ! I’d teach poor mothers, who have seven sons – All fighting men of clean and sober life – How to look after babies and cook; Teach them to save their money and invest; Not to bring children up in luxury

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– But do without a nursemaid in the house ! (Black 1982: 108-109)

The sarcastic tone of the poem clearly carries Sitwell’s criticism of England’s pro-war citizens.

The person imagined by the speaker is described as someone that does not truly suffer, but

feels he generously sacrifices a lot for the war effort. At the same time that person chastises

people that truly suffer and teaches them to be as selfless as he is. Obviously, the person

described lacks knowledge of the reality of the First World War. This was a focus of anti-war

poetry as well, specifically of soldier poets who had been fighting at the front. There was a

gap between them and the civilians at the home front. For the understanding of this poem it

is important to know that soldiers on leave found that the civilians at the home front were

drastically misinformed about the situation at the front. For example, Robert Graves found

conversation with his parents impossible, since their beliefs of life in the trenches shocked

him (cf. Buitenhuis 1987: 101). This misinformation does not limit itself to one single social

class, even high ranking politicians were misinformed, as can be seen in the memoirs of

Lloyd George. He had seriously considered sacking Field Marshall Haig, being aware of the

appalling casualties at the Western Front and the continuing wastage of material and

money. However, he could find little support for the action in the cabinet or from the

dominion leaders: (cf. Buitenhuis 1987: 144). “Most of them, he writes, ‘were under the spell

of the synthetic victories distilled at G.H.Q.’” (Buitenhuis 1987: 144). Understandably, some

soldiers criticized pro-war civilians who preached war and a fight to a finish, while not being

informed about the reality of warfare, as did Osbert Sitwell in his poem. Although, this was

not the only group Sitwell criticized, next was the military leadership of Great Britain: “If I

were old or only seventy, / Then should I be a great man in his prime.” (Black 1982: 109) are

the two opening lines of the third stanza, which was also a recurring argument in the critique

of the theme “Fight to a Finish”, namely the old sending the young to their deaths. “I should

rule army corps; at my command / Men would rise up, salute me, and attack / - And die.”

(Black 1982: 109). This concludes the critique of the military leadership and their tactics.

Sassoon invested considerably more effort in attacking his generals, but this would leave the

theme “Fight to a Finish”. More focused on this theme, Sitwell has his speaker continue with

his attack on the political leadership of Britain:

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Or I might also govern men By making speeches with my toothless jaws, Constant in chatter, until men should say, ‘One grand old man is still worth half his pay! That day, I’d send my grandsons out to France – And wish I’d got ten other ones to send (One cannot sacrifice too much, I’d say). Then would I make a noble, toothless speech, And all the list’ning Parliament would cheer. (Black 1982: 109)

The politician described by the speaker goes on to swear never to make peace until all the

young men are crippled or dead (cf. Black 1982: 109). The selfless sacrifice of the speakers’

own grandsons is laden with irony, since in the end he does not sacrifice his own, but

someone else’s life. The speaker repeats the accusation that the British civilians know

nothing of the reality of war, but still preach about it. Preaching in quite a literal sense with

the next group Sitwell attacks, namely the Church. In his poem, the “Bishops” (Black 1982:

109) welcome the “toothless speech” (Black 1982: 109) about never making peace. They

praise the speakers imagined persona and “In every pulpit would they preach and prance;”

(Black 1982: 109). This criticises the ardent participation of the church in the recruitment

effort, which was evident in e.g. the previously discussed propagation of Rupert Brooke’s

sonnets. The poem ends on the subject of the old sacrificing the young. The speaker had

been discussing an imagined persona, which had grown older throughout Sitwell’s poem.

Beginning at “middle-age” (Black 1982: 108), moving on to “old or only seventy” (Black 1982:

109) and finally regretting: “But as it is, I am not ninety yet” (Black 1982: 110) and wishing,

with the final line of the poem, “O let me govern, Lord, at ninety-nine!” (Black 1982: 110).

The speaker also mentions “Methuselah” (Black 1982: 110), the biblical Noah’s grandfather,

who had died at the age of 969 years. This also makes him the longest lived human to ever

walk the earth (cf. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica 1998: online), which adds to the

ironic tone of the poem when the speaker states that: “Methuselah was quite a youngster

when / He died. Now, vainly weeping, we should say: / ‘Another great man perished in his

prime!’” (Black 1982: 110).

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To summarize, with his poem Sitwell criticized civilians at the home front who pushed

for the continuation of the war. He criticized politicians who refused to offer or accept peace

terms and clergyman who supported said politicians. While only briefly, he also criticized the

military leadership of Britain. All those groups had two things in common. First of all, there is

their age, since they were all too old for military service and could be patriotic without the

danger of being drafted themselves. This also leads to the second point, which is the

ignorance of those old men. No one from the groups mentioned in the poem had spent time

in the trenches and thus no one truly knew about the situation at the front. The image of an

old man sitting comfortably and safely in an arm-chair comes to the mind of the reader,

hence the title. This man, no matter to which group he belongs to, pushes for the war to

continue while risking and suffering no real anguish himself. This image provides a new

understanding of Sassoon’s declaration and the frustration many soldier poets must have

felt. However, their protest remained unheeded, since World War One ended with a total

victory and the surrender of Germany and Austria Hungary.

3. Direct Poetic Discourse

The poetic discourse between pro- and anti-war poetry has been an interesting topic so far.

However, the question if poets conversed with each other directly through their poetry

arises, meaning, did poets and poetesses write poems in response to a specific poem by

another poet or poetess? This far more specific scope requires a more precise approach to

the topic of poetry, since the nature of direct poetic discourse often lies in minor details. The

poems compared in the previous chapter were only required to cover the same theme and

be of an opposing mind-set, but that does not suffice to declare a poem to having been a

direct response to another poem. Also, there exist numerous poems which had been written

as a positive response to another poem. For example, Moina Belle Michael’s “We Shall Keep

the Faith” was intended as an approval to the poem “In Flanders Field” by John McCrae.

McCrae’s poem’s popularity even inspired multiple answers, and, true to the theme

“Sacrifice”, as previously mentioned, none were critical. However, the focus in this chapter

will lie with negative responses, to continue the previous comparison of opposing mind-sets.

But how does one identify a response poem? The simplest indication is a direct

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statement by the author, e.g Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum est” and E.A. Mackintosh’s

“War, the Liberator”. Owen’s poem was originally subtitled “To Jessie Pope” and “To a

certain Poetess” (cf. Parker 1987: 250), which leaves no doubt concerning the intent of the

poem, namely to criticise Jessica Pope and her jingoistic poetry. However, in the end Owen

most likely did not wish to only criticise one jingoistic poetess and dropped the subtitle. Still,

drafts which included the subtitle still circulate today, making it part of the direct poetic

discourse. Without the subtitle Owen’s poem could not be considered to be direct discourse,

since nothing in the poem itself would indicate that to be the case. Instead, the poem

addresses the theme “Honour and Glory” very directly and can be interpreted as criticism of

jingoistic poetry, which advocates glory and honour in war. On the other hand, Mackintosh’s

poem has a direct connection to its subtitle “To the Authoress of “Non-Combatants”” and

“War, the Liberator” was in its entirety a direct answer to the things stated in “Non-

Combatants”. The poem “Non-Combatants” had the speaker, a mother, talk of their,

meaning non-combatants’, or more specifically women’s, part in the war. It is definitely pro-

war, but apparently Mackintosh had felt that the speaker depicted war in too negative a

light, since his reply was, simply put, even more pro-war. It is unclear, if Mackintosh’s

intention was to put Evelyn Underhill, the authoress of “Non-Combatants”, into her place or

to console her by stating that the sons and husbands of the women that had been left

behind did not suffer as heavily as she had thought. In either case, the poem only truly

makes sense in connection with Underhill’s poem, and the first stanza of the poem clearly

shows the earlier mentioned connection to the subtitle:

SURELY War is vile to you, you who can but know of it, Broken men and broken hearts, and boys too young to die, You that never knew its joy, never felt the glow of it, Valour and the pride of men, soaring to the sky. Death's a fearful thing to you, terrible in suddenness, Lips that will not laugh again, tongues that will not sing, You that have not ever seen their sudden life of happiness, The moment they looked down on death, a cowed and beaten thing. (Hibbert and Onions 1986: 142)

Were the poem to stand alone and not in connection to “Non-Combatants”, this first stanza

would hardly work as well. Even though the poem is a declaration of men’s triumph over

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death and the fear thereof, the poem would feel off, since the speaker obviously addresses

another person. Without knowing who that person is and what that person has said, the

speaker’s words feel misplaced. If the subtitle were to be dropped, Mackintosh’s poem

would still be recognized as a response to someone else, but it could not be said with

absolute certainty that the intended target of the poem was “Non-Combatants”. Thus, the

poem’s intended purpose can only be achieved in connection with the subtitle.

Another way of identifying direct poetic discourse, is through lines the author has

borrowed from the original poem he intended his own poem to be a reply to. An example

for such a poem is another of Wilfred Owen’s poems, namely “Imperial Elegy”, in which he

comments on Rupert Brooke’s most popular poem “The Soldier” (cf. Parker 1987: 245).

Not one corner of a foreign field But a span as wide as Europe; An appearance of a titan’s grave, And the length thereof a thousand miles, It crossed all Europe like a mystic road, Or as the Spirit’s Pathway lieth on the night. And I heard a voice crying This is the Path of Glory. (Parker 1987: 245)

It is of course the very first line of the poem, which indicates Owen’s intent to criticize

Brooke’s poem, which stated: “If I should die, think only this of me: / That there’s some

corner of a foreign field / That is forever England.” (Giddings 1988: 25). Owen contradicts

Brooke’s claim of positive aspects that come from one’s death, there is no “rich earth”

(Giddings 1988: 25) with “a richer dust concealed” (Giddings 1988: 25). Instead, the face of

“Europe” (Parker 1987: 245) is transformed into a massive “grave” (Parker 1987: 245). With

the final line criticising the pro-war poetry, which was based on the theme “Honour and

Glory”, it is truly only that one opening line, which makes Owen’s intent to attack Brooke

specifically clear to the reader.

A reference to certain lines of a poem is not limited to the content of the poem itself,

but can also be in reference to the title of the poem. For example, May Herschel-Clarke’s

poem “The Mother”, which is yet another direct response to Brooke’s “The Soldier”.

Obviously, the reference to Brooke’s poem already lies in the title, simply switching the

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subject of the poem. Simple enough, but by doing this, Herschel-Clarke makes a powerful

statement, pointing out the suffering of mothers during war times, often caused by pro-war

sentiments, which poems such as Brooke’s “The Soldier” advocated. However, this opening

reference is far from the only hint Herschel-Clarke made towards Brooke’s poem. Taking no

risk of the reader possibly misunderstanding her intent, the three opening lines of her poem

are a quote from “The Soldier”. “If I should die, think only this of me: / That there’s some

corner of a foreign field / That is for ever England. Rupert Brook” (a.u. n.d.: online). After

naming Rupert Brooke directly, she continues in the same manner as Owen did, borrowing a

line from Brooke’s poem.

If you should die, think only this of me In that still quietness where is space for thought, Where parting, loss and bloodshed shall not be, And men may rest themselves and dream of nought: That in some place a mystic mile away One whom you loved has drained the bitter cup Till there is nought to drink; has faced the day Once more, and now, has raised the standard up.

And think, my son, with eyes grown clear and dry She lives as though for ever in your sight, Loving the things you loved, with heart aglow For country, honour, truth, traditions high, –Proud that you paid their price. (And if some night Her heart should break – well, lad, you will not know. (a.u. n.d.: online)

While the speaker in Brooke’s “The Soldier” was a soldier, happy to die for England, the

speaker in Herschel-Clarke’s “The Mother” is the mother of Brooke’s speaker, responding to

what her son had said, representing all mothers of England. With an ironic voice Herschel-

Clarke’s poem repeats sentiments from all five of Brooke’s war-sonnets, making it clear that

a mother cannot feel the joy Brooke ascribes to the British soldiers.

Another interesting example of direct poetic discourse is Herbert Read’s “The Happy

Warrior”. While it used its title to make the connection to its intended target, the poem it

criticised was strictly speaking not a poem of the Great War, since “Character of the Happy

Warrior” was written by William Wordsworth long before the outbreak of the First World

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War. Wordsworth, who himself had lived until 1850 (cf. a.u. 2001: online), could not possibly

have had the Great War in mind while writing his poem, thus the criticism of Herbert Read is

not directed at him, but rather at all jingoistic poetry, which repeated the same sentiments

that Wordsworth advocated through his poem. Still, Read’s poem can be considered as

direct poetic discourse, since it is directed at one specific poem, even though its point is

more general and aimed at all pro-war poetry of its time. Herbert Read used the same

means as Owen and Herschel-Clarke to make sure the reader understands the poem’s

purpose, repeating parts of the title and copying lines from the original poem. While

Wordsworth’s poem is a long description of what the happy warrior is or ought to be, ending

with a concluding “This is the happy Warrior; this is he / Whom every Man in arms should

wish to be.” (Dowden 1893: 230), Read’s poem is a graphic description of a horrific scene,

described by a soldier who had witnessed it on the field.

His wild heart beats with painful sobs, His strain’d hands clench an ice-cold rifle, His aching jaws grip a hot parch’d tongue, His wide eyes search unconsciously.

He cannot shriek. Bloody saliva Dribbles down his shapeless jacket.

I saw him stab And stab again A well-killed Boche.

This is the happy warrior, This is he . . . (Parson 1936: 87)

The concluding two lines echo Wordsworth’s original poem, but the first stanza of Read’s

poem identifies its nature of direct discourse as well. Much like in Wordsworth’s poem, the

speaker simply describes the soldier, with the difference that the description depicts a

gruesome vision. This introduces yet another way direct poetic discourse can be identified,

namely by copying the style and structure of the original poem. Additionally, the aim of the

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poem appears to be the same, with both poems describing the happy warrior. Of course, the

true aim of Read’s poem is to show that Wordsworth’s description of a happy warrior is far

from the truth, but Read achieves this by doing what Wordsworth had done before him.

Another example for direct poetic discourse being aimed at a poem from long before

the First World War, is Mackintosh’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade brought up to Date”.

What differentiates this poem from Read’s “The Happy Warrior” is that the title, which

indicates the direct discourse nature of the poem, specifically points out that the addressed

poem is from long before the First World War. The poem is directed at Alfred Lord Tennyson

and his poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade”. Thus, the fact that it is actually the same

poem, simply brought up to date, is clearly indicated in the title. At this point, it is important

to know the background information of the almost legendary charge of the Light Brigade.

Actually, it was nothing more than a tactical blunder during the Crimean War, which was

turned into the embodiment of valour, partially through Tennyson’s poem. At the time, in

1854, Tennyson enjoyed great popularity in England and had actually been the Poet Laureate

after Wordsworth, which makes the popularity of his poem and in extension of the charge

itself all the more feasible. The charge itself was caused by a chain of misunderstandings,

which caused 670 mounted soldiers to attack a far off Russian artillery battery. Over the

distance of one and a quarter mile, exposed and under fire from three sides, the cavalry rode

to attack the Russians, even managing to take out one artillery battery, routing the Russian

troops for a short time. Of course, the success came with a high cost. With 110 of the

soldiers of the Light Brigade dead and 160 wounded, one could believe that the charge had

been a foreshadowing of the First World War, making Mackintosh’s response all the more

appropriate (cf. Greenspan 2014: online). Tennyson’s poem took a foretelling role as well, as

its tone is very similar to that of the pro-war poetry of the First World War.

Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. ‘Forward, the Light Brigade! ‘Charge for the guns!’ he said : Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.

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‘Forward, the Light Brigade!’ Was there a man dismay’d? Not tho’ the soldier knew Some one had blunder’d. Their’s not to make reply, Their’s not to reason why, Their’s but to do and die : Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. (a.u. 1902: 493)

Mackintosh copies the opening lines of the poem, though the title already left no possibility

for misapprehension, concerning the direct discourse nature of his poem and the addressee.

Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward – ‘That is, unless some damned Airman has blundered, If the map isn’t right We’ll be a funny sight.’ So they tramped along Officers pondered, While, with equipment hung, Curses on every tongue, Forward with rifles slung, Slouched the six hundred. (a.u. 2017: online)

Mackintosh continues to use lines from Tennyson’s poem, only altering them slightly. It is

important to mention that Mackintosh was not strictly speaking of an anti-war mind-set.

However, while he was of the opinion that going to war was a necessity and the duty of an

English man, he was honest about the grim reality of war, often describing its horrors in his

poems. This was also the point of this poem, which is more anti-propaganda than anti-war.

The original poem by Tennyson presented the reality of battle too gloriously, a description of

war, which Mackintosh felt was no longer accurate. Thus, he brought the scenario of a

charge towards the enemy up to date, as the title of his poem states. In Tennyson’s poem

the soldiers are depicted as courageous, “boldly” (a.u. 1902: 494) charging the enemy, even

though they knew that “someone had blunder’d” (a.u. 1902: 493). This situation is depicted

again in Mackintosh’s poem, although now the soldiers are slouching “forward” (a.u. 2017:

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online), cursing their situation, hoping that there had been no blunder. The plot structure of

the two poems is identical, basically a depiction of a charge towards the enemy, but the

result of those two charges differs greatly.

Flash’d all their sabres bare, Flash’d as they turn’d in air, Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army, while All the world wonder’d : Plunged in the battery-smoke Right thro’ the line they broke ;

Reel’d from the sabre-stroke Shatter’d and sunder’d. Then they rode back, but not Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them Volle’d and thunder’d ; Storm’d at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell, They that had fought so well Came thro’ the jaws of Death Back from the mouth of Hell, All that was left of them, Left of six hundred. (a.u. 1902: 494)

On the one hand, Tennyson’s depiction ends in glorious victory and the heroic death of

those that had fallen. Mackintosh’s depiction, on the other hand, is one of the First World

War and lacks the bravado of Tennyson’s poem.

Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them, Volleyed and thundered, ‘And – what was twice as bad – Our gunners never had

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Strafed that machine-gun lad. […] Was there a man dismayed? Yes, they were damned afraid, Loathing both shot and shell, Into the mouth of Hell, Sticking it pretty well, Slouched the six hundred.

Through the barrage they passed, Men falling thick and fast, Till the machine-gun blast Smote them to lying Down in the grass a bit; Over the roar of it. Officers yelled, were hit, Dropped and lay dying. Then the retreat began, Every unwounded man Staggered or crawled or ran Back to the trench again, While on the broken plain Dead and untroubling, Wounded and wondering, What help the night would bring, Lay the six hundred. (a.u. 2017: online)

Again, Mackintosh writes true to the claim of his poem’s title and keeps revising Tennyson’s

poem. Sometimes borrowing entire lines, like the question “Was there a man dismayed?”

(a.u. 2017: online), but answering it according to the situation of World War One. Most

significantly, the six hundred in Mackintosh’s poem do not suffer losses and return gloriously

but instead are left on the field, due to the modern weaponry that was used during the

Great War. To some extent Mackintosh’s poem is almost a mirror image of Tennyson’s

“Charge of the Light Brigade”, but the message the poem carries is clearly reversed.

Basically, Mackintosh had done the same thing as Read in his poem “The Happy Warrior”,

but to an even greater extent. This way of echoing, but actually reversing a poem’s meaning,

is one of the ways that is easier to miss than the previously discussed forms of direct poetic

discourse. For example, Wilfred Owen’s “Asleep” echoes Julian Grenfell’s “Into Battle”,

which is one of the more popular poems from the earlier stages of the First World War (cf.

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Parker 1987: 244-245). In his poem, Grenfell used a very romantic description of battle and

war and dedicated a considerable part of the poem to positive nature metaphors. This is

most likely due to it being the typical style of English poetry at the time, with pastoral

imagery being favoured and hence often used in pro- and anti-war poetry (cf. Löschnigg

1994: 345-346). Thus, it is of no surprise that Grenfell’s “fighting man” (Black 1982: 25) is

bolstered by a rural scenery:

The naked earth is warm with Spring, And with green grass and bursting trees Leans to the sun’s gaze glorying, And quivers in the sunny breeze; […] The fighting man shall from the sun Take warmth, and life from the glowing earth; (Black 1982: 25)

On the one hand, Owen’s soldier is also connected with nature, but on the other hand,

Owen’s description of nature is a negative one:

– Or whether yet his thin and sodden head Confuses more and more with the low mould, His hair being one with the grey grass And finished fields of autumns that are old . . . (Parsons 1965: 166)

Grenfell’s “green grass” (Black 1982: 25) is changed to “grey grass” (Parsons 1965: 166) in

Owen’s poem, echoing but also completely reversing the imagery. Owen also questions

Grenfell’s depiction of death, when his speaker asks:

Whether his deeper sleep lie shaded by the shaking Of great wings, and the thoughts that hung the stars, High pillowed on calm pillows of God’s making […] Who knows? Who hopes? Who troubles? Let it pass! He sleeps. He sleeps less tremulous, less cold Than we who must awake, and waking, say Alas! (Parsons 1965: 166)

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This casts doubt on Grenfell’s claim that:

And find, when fighting shall be done, Great rest, and fullness after dearth. All the bright company of heaven Hold him in their high comradeship, The Dog-Star, and the Sister Seven, Orion’s Belt and sworded hip. […]

The thundering line of battle stands, And in the air death moans and sings; But Day shall clasp him with strong hands, And Night shall fold him in soft wings.” (Black 1982: 25-26)

This form of direct poetic discourse is easy to miss and prone to fallacy, but in the case of

Owen’s “Asleep” the intent to reply to Grenfell’s “Into Battle” is evident. Additionally,

Owen’s ideology combined with the popularity of “Into Battle” made a response by Owen

very likely. Another poem relying on repeating and reversing another poem is Siegfried

Sassoon’s “Dreamers”, which was written as a reply to Herbert Asquith’s “The Volunteer”.

However, in this case, the evidence is not as definite as it had been with Owen’s “Asleep”.

The speaker of Asquith’s “The Volunteer” tells the story of a soldier that had died in battle,

but is “content” (Black 1982: 32) now that he had escaped his mundane existence. The first

stanza of the poem tells of the soldiers suffering during peace times:

Here lies a clerk who half his life had spent Toiling at ledgers in a city grey, Thinking that so his days would drift away With no lance broken in life’s tournament. Yet ever ‘twixt the books and his bright eyes The gleaming eagles of the legions came, And horsemen, charging under phantom skies, Went thundering past beneath the oriflamme. (Black 1982: 32)

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In the second stanza the soldier had finally joined up in a war and had died fulfilling his

dream, happily giving his life for this purpose:

And now those waiting dreams are satisfied; From twilight to the halls of dawn he went; His lance is broken; but he lies content With that high hour, in which he lived and died. And falling thus he wants no recompense, Who found his battle in the last resort; Nor need he any hearse to bear him hence, Who goes to join the men of Agincourt. (Black 1982: 32)

Sassoon’s “Dreamers”, on the other hand, reverses the plot and meaning of Asquith’s poem,

while using the same structure:

Soldiers are citizens of death’s grey land, Drawing no dividend from time’s tomorrows. In the great hour of destiny they stand, Each with his feuds, and jealousies, and sorrows. Soldiers are sworn to action; they must win Some flaming, fatal climax with their lives. Soldiers are dreamers; when the guns begin They think of firelit homes, clean beds and wives.

I see them in foul dug-outs, gnawed by rats, And in the ruined trenches, lashed with rain, Dreaming of things they did with balls and bats, And mocked by hopeless longing to regain Bank-holidays, and picture shows, and spats, And going to the office in the train. (Black 1982: 60)

First of all, the title and recurring theme of “Dreamers” (Black 1982: 60) hints at the reversal

of meaning in the poem. While Asquith’s clerk had spent his life in a mundane routine,

hoping for a chance for glorious battle, Sassoon’s speaker describes the exact opposite. In

“Dreamers” the soldiers have exactly what Asquith’s clerk had dreamed of, but the speaker

describes war as a hellish scenario, in which the soldiers’ dream is to return to the mundane

existence the clerk had wished to escape. Additionally, Asquith’s clerk lives in “a city grey”

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(Black 1982: 32), while Sassoon’s soldiers “are citizens of death’s grey land” (Black 1982: 60).

Sassoon copied Asquith’s description of the negative scenery, but made it the scenery that

Asquith’s clerk had dreamed of, thus repeating, but also reversing Asquith’s poem. Sassoon

also questions Asquith’s depiction of death, “His lance is broken; but he lies content / With

that high hour, in which he lived and died.” (Black 1982: 32). In “Dreamers” this “high hour”

(Black 1982: 32) is described as “Some flaming, fatal climax” (Black 1982: 60), with the

meaning of “climax” (Black 1982: 60), hinting at the positive meaning Asquith had originally

ascribed to death in battle. It is possible that those similarities are unintentional and simply a

coincidence, but the opposite does seem more likely. However, as previously mentioned, the

technique of repeating and reversing a poem is prone to fallacy. Thus, such poems often

cannot be concluded to being direct poetic discourse with absolute certainty.

In the beginning of this chapter it was mentioned that not all direct poetic discourse

was between two authors, but some poets actually wrote poems, which addressed their

own earlier poetry. Due to the war euphoria in 1914, most poets had had a pro-war mind-

set, which also contributed to the high number of soldier poets. Poets such as Brooke,

Sassoon, Owen, Sorley and many more joined the war effort, seeing it as a chance for glory

or at least as their duty as citizens of Great Britain. With the exception of Sorley, most also

wrote pro-war poetry. For example, Sassoon wrote “France”, “Absolution” and “Because we

are Going”, all pro-war poems, to which he refers to in “The Poet as Hero”:

You've heard me, scornful, harsh, and discontented, Mocking and loathing War: you've asked me why

Of my old, silly sweetness I've repented— My ecstasies changed to an ugly cry.

You are aware that once I sought the Grail, Riding in armour bright, serene and strong; And it was told that through my infant wail

There rose immortal semblances of song.

But now I've said good-bye to Galahad, And am no more the knight of dreams and show:

For lust and senseless hatred make me glad, And my killed friends are with me where I go.

Wound for red wound I burn to smite their wrongs;

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And there is absolution in my songs. (Hibbert and Onions 1986: 159)

The first stanza makes it clear that the speaker is actually Sassoon himself, who answers the

question as to why he changed from a pro- to an anti-war mind-set. The second stanza refers

to Sassoon’s earlier time in the military, during which he was part of the cavalry, as a trooper

in the Sussex Yeomanry. Since he saw too little action, he grew bored and later joined an

infantry regiment, the Royal Welch Fusiliers (cf. Parker 1987: 237). However, seeing more

action and thus the uglier side of the war as an infantry man, his opinion of the war changed,

which is also stated in the third stanza of the poem. Additionally, the final line repeats the

title of one of his pro-war poems, “absolution” (Hibbert and Onions 1986: 159) and is most

likely a direct reference to the poem.

Another interesting example for direct poetic discourse referring to their own older

poems, is Rudyard Kipling. Most of all, because he stands in a stark contrast to Sassoon, who

is well known for his anti-war poetry, while Kipling had been a popular propagandist. Kipling

referred to all of his poetry written during World War One when he wrote:

I could not dig; I dared not rob: Therefore I lied to please the mob. Now all my lies are proved untrue And I must face the men I slew. What tale shall serve me here among Mine angry and defrauded young? (Hudson 1988: 110)

While Kipling’s poem is bare of any direct reference to a single specific poem, the statement

of the poem is clearly intended to address his previous poetry and generally any and all

propaganda he had written during the Great War. The poem is especially powerful in

conjunction with the previously mentioned poetry of Rudyard Kipling and presents said

poetry in a different light.

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4. Conclusion

As Arthur Ponsonby once stated, it is absolutely necessary for a country engaged in war, to

utilize falsehood. Be it to keep up the morale of its civilian population as well as of its

soldiers or to inflame sufficient passion to keep up the recruitment necessary to continue

the armed conflict (cf. 1928: 13-14). Thus, one cannot judge either side involved in the

struggle, for using falsehood as a weapon during the war, even more so since no nation

involved in the Great War had fought honestly. Additionally, concerning the poetry used by

the propaganda effort, many of the poems were not intended as falsehood, but were

actually truly believed. For example, Julian Grenfell’s “Into Battle” and Rupert Brooke’s war

sonnets, all were most likely meant sincerely and written with a passionate, honest heart.

Their goal was not to deceive the British population, but only to inspire. While some poets,

such as Rudyard Kipling, did intentionally deceive their fellow citizens, the poetry of the First

World War was often a display of honest emotions, both in pro- and anti-war poetry. It is

this honest emotion that makes the poetry of the First World War such a moving and

beautiful collection of literature, though terrible and frightening at the same time. During

the Romantic Period it was believed that true emotion produced the best of and that anyone

with a passionate heart could write poetry. However, it was during the First World War that

the doctrine of Romanticism was most often applied, with the soldier poets expressing their

experiences and emotions in poetry, and an entire country inflamed by passion through the

Great War. It is this passion that caused such an animated clash of opinions in the poetry of

the First World War, besides most of the professional propaganda furthered by Masterman,

it was a conflict of honest emotions. This honesty can be seen in the change of heart many

poets displayed as the conflict progressed, as for example the previously mentioned Wilfred

Owen and Siegfried Sassoon had done. Even one of the most popular pro-war poets, Rupert

Brooke, seemed to have had a change of heart as he came closer to seeing action, as his final

poem would suggest. However, the truth of the matter shall remain a mystery, since Brooke

never lived to actually experience the hardships of trench warfare. Still, this changed when

John Buchan, who himself had replaced Masterman, was replaced by Lord Beaverbrook (cf.

Buitenhuis 1987: 132-134), who then refocused the propaganda effort to the distribution of

photographs, press releases, press relations and more modern media such as war films.

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Thus, the professional writing of pamphlets, propaganda books and of course poetry was

greatly diminished, although the activity was still going on (cf. Buitenhuis 1987: 135-136).

Due to this rise of e.g. war films it can be said that the Great War was also the cradle

of modern propaganda, as it is known to us today. It is important to remember that while

the medium has greatly changed, in truth propaganda has not done so. Through the

previous chapters the main themes of pro-war propaganda and the anti-war response within

those themes have been documented and discussed. If one looks closely at those themes,

one may notice their recurrence during every war following the First World War. However,

the change in medium truly made the First World War the last war to birth a large body of

poetry, while simultaneously being the first war to cause such an intense propaganda effort.

Thus, while war always causes great suffering, but also great passion, the Great War was the

only war that expressed both in poetry to such a large extent, making the poetry of the First

World War unique and well worth a read. Even now, a century after the First World War has

come to a close, its poetry has important lessons to teach us and hopefully the content of

this diploma thesis has succeeded in conveying some of these lessons.

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