5H Literature - The Great War - War Poetry

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 5

English Literature

WAR POETRY

Goals

Learning outcome:

– To develop pupils’ ability to write and discuss poetry.

– To educate pupils’ about the First World War and discuss its wider impact.

– To develop vocabulary associated with war.

Introduction to the War Period & War Poets

We will focus on these 5 poems:

The Soldier

In Flanders Fields

The Things that make a Soldier Great

Dulce et Decorum Est

A Working Party

What are the main themes
of War Poetry?

Historical context - 1

The First World War  aka The Great War (1914-1918)

• Trenches
  
• Large-scale slaughter in Flanders and Northern France
  
• Entire generation of young men wiped out
  
• Britain lost place as one of dominant political + economic powers in the world
  
• Great Depression (1930s)

The War Poets 

Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967)

Established poet at beginning of war

Joined army in August 1914

Wounded twice

Published many poems on war experiences and feelings

The War Poets 

Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)

• Most talented of "Trench Poets"
  
• Wounded in 1917; wrote most of his poems back in England
  
• Went back to France in 1918; killed November 4
  
• Poems published in 1920 - edited by Siegfried Sassoon
  
• Created tragic vison of world at war, dominated by pain and suffering
  

The War Poets 

Characterized by harsh realism; biting sarcasm

Main themes:  

• incompetence of officers
  
• ignorance of people
  
• false picture of war
  
• frustrations of soldiers
  

The Soldier - Rupert Brooke

Go to page 13

Read the Poem

Analyse: What is the attitude / the tone of the poem?

Compare and Contrast

Go to page 14 / 15

Read the Poems

'The things that make a soldier great' and

Dulce et Decorum est

Analyse: What are the differences between these two poems?

Which year marked the end of the once mighty British Empire?

1. 1914
2. 1918
3. 1939
4. 1945

What is another name for the famous War Poets?

1. Trench Poets
2. French Poets
3. Trash Poets
4. Horror Poets

What are the main themes
of War Poetry?

End of lesson

This was the last introduction to literature!