In Britain (and in much of the world), talk of the war was steeped in a jingoism that hid the realities of what was going on. With some help from Sassoon, Owen was soon writing brilliant, biting poems, including "Anthem for Doomed Youth," which was published posthumously in 1920. Fortunately for us, this revolution in his thinking was also matched by big improvements in his writing.
But over time, after grueling months in the trenches, and through his encounter with Siegfried Sassoon (an older soldier and poet who was pretty cynical about the war) Owen came to realize that the realities of battle were far different from what he'd been led to believe. He entered the Great War full of enthusiasm and patriotic fervor, ready to fight and die for his country. Wilfred Owen, the poet behind "Anthem for Doomed Youth," was a young British officer in World War I. And where the fighting is, things are a lot less glamorous. But, it's often completely detached from what's actually going on where the fighting is. There's a lot of talk about patriotism and glory. There are funerals and prayers, parades and flag waving. Back home, there's usually a whole bunch of pomp and circumstance in wartime. And it's a reality that a lot of the general public is sheltered from. Sure, that's a cliché courtesy of William Tecumseh Sherman, but it's also a reality that a lot of soldiers throughout history have lived through.
0 kommentar(er)
