War Poetry

What was a soldier’s experience like?

You have probably studied some war poetry in your English lessons.
The poems below give two very different impressions of what it was like to die as a soldier in
World War One. They can give us a confusing picture of what it was like to fight in the
trenches.

Poem 1 (Pair A) Poem 2 (Pair B)

Anthem for Doomed Youth How Sleep The Brave
By Wilfred Owen By Walter de la Mare

What passing bells for these who die as cattle? Nay, nay, sweet England, do not grieve!
Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Not one of those poor men who died
Only the stuttering rifles rapid rattle But did within his soul believe
Can patter out their hasty orisons (prayer) That death for thee was glorified.

Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes Heard and obeyed. O, if thou weep
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes. Such courage and honour, beauty, care,
The pallor of girls brows shall be their pall; Be it for joy that those who sleep
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, Only thy joy could share.
And each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds.
He was a poet and writer during the war
He fought in the trenches and was killed in
1918

TASKS
1. If your are partner A you need to read poem A and if you are partner B you will have to
read poem B…..

● Read through the poem - underline any words that you do not understand and find
definitions for them
● As we did earlier, underline the key words or phrases in your poem that tell you about
the experiences of soldiers
● Then fill out the grid for the poem you are working on
2.
You will then need to teach your partner about your poem:
●
Tell them what the key words are, what is the poem suggesting about the fighting in
WW1 and whether or not the information about the poet is important
 (Pair A) Doomed/Negative Poem (Pair B) Patriotic/Positive Poem
Anthem for Doomed Youth How Sleep The Brave
By Wilfred Owen By Walter de la Mare

Important words used in this poem are… Important words used in this poem are…

Cattle, monstrous, tenderness, holy,blind

This poem suggests that fighting in World War This poem suggests that fighting in World War
One was… One was….
(positive or negative image of war?) (positive or negative image of war?)

Terrible, scary, lots of people killed, bloody.

Does the information about the poet help Does the information about the poet help
explain why and what he was writing? explain why and what he was writing?

How? How?