Death and War
I would have to say that I have always found both of the world wars to be very interesting. Although, they were each depressing and devastating in their own right I have always found it intriguing to learn about the lives of the soldiers that risked their lives to fight for their country as well as the bystanders affected by the war. I find the soldiers poetry to be the most interesting and often full of complex and raw emotion. After doing a little searching on the internet I found a moving piece by Rupert Brooke that I really enjoyed reading. It is entitled “Dead”:
“Blow out, you bugles, over the rich Dead!
There's none of these so lonely and poor of old,
But, dying, has made us rarer gifts than gold
These laid the world away; poured out the red
Sweet wine of youth; gave up the years to be
Of work and joy, and that unhoped serene,
That men call age; and those who would have been,
Their sons, they gave, their immortality.
Blow, bugles, blow! They brought us, for our dearth,
Holiness, lacked so long, and Love, and Pain.
Honour has come back, as a king, to earth,
And paid his subjects with a royal wage;
And Nobleness walks in our ways again;
And we have come into our heritage.”
This poem highlights the presence of death during the war. The scenario of war is assumed due to the constant reference to the bugles which are often affiliated with the military. Brooke describes the men as “rarer gifts that gold” perhaps referring to the fact that survival becomes a lost hope for many of the soldiers. Survival is seen as something almost unattainable and rare making them rare commodities. In the second stanza I found it embodied perhaps the betrayal that many of the soldiers faced after being apart of the realities of war and not the fairytale they were told about by the government. Brooke continues to talk of death, referring to the earth, pain and honour. Although in lecture we were told about Brooke’s often romanticized opinion of war, I found this poem to be one that perhaps showed a more realistic opinion of war and showcased the forever reoccurring theme of death that is associated with war.
“Blow out, you bugles, over the rich Dead!
There's none of these so lonely and poor of old,
But, dying, has made us rarer gifts than gold
These laid the world away; poured out the red
Sweet wine of youth; gave up the years to be
Of work and joy, and that unhoped serene,
That men call age; and those who would have been,
Their sons, they gave, their immortality.
Blow, bugles, blow! They brought us, for our dearth,
Holiness, lacked so long, and Love, and Pain.
Honour has come back, as a king, to earth,
And paid his subjects with a royal wage;
And Nobleness walks in our ways again;
And we have come into our heritage.”
This poem highlights the presence of death during the war. The scenario of war is assumed due to the constant reference to the bugles which are often affiliated with the military. Brooke describes the men as “rarer gifts that gold” perhaps referring to the fact that survival becomes a lost hope for many of the soldiers. Survival is seen as something almost unattainable and rare making them rare commodities. In the second stanza I found it embodied perhaps the betrayal that many of the soldiers faced after being apart of the realities of war and not the fairytale they were told about by the government. Brooke continues to talk of death, referring to the earth, pain and honour. Although in lecture we were told about Brooke’s often romanticized opinion of war, I found this poem to be one that perhaps showed a more realistic opinion of war and showcased the forever reoccurring theme of death that is associated with war.