A Synthesis of the Themes in Selected Poems about War - Essay Example

? War Poems A Synthesis of the Themes in Selected Poems about War War is the single most physically devastating event that has fascinated human intelligence since the beginning of time. The bravery of soldiers in combat, the glory and prestige of patriotic young men and the heart rendering image of the soldiers’ mothers, sisters and wives awaiting their return has been a common theme of war poems not only in Europe, but across the world. A war poem, however, is one of the cruelest ironies literature is capable of producing. A poem, a medium of entertainment, traditionally a means of expressing love, adoration and joy, is being used to communicate the dark, deathly and sinister image of the devastation that war is. An unnatural union between beauty and death exists with the bringing together of the image of a war with that of a poem. Even so, this stark union is useful in understanding the perverted nature of war, and consequently of life itself. Under times of war, the meaning of life changes. Love, honour, bravery and glory all assume different meanings in the battlefield – just like the boy who becomes a killer under the strain of his uniform. It is crucial; therefore, to identify the themes and motifs employed by poets in their poems about war, since they teach us important lessons about others, but most importantly, our own selves. In dealing with the themes of glory, love and honour in uniquely insightful ways, war poems are pivotal not only to one’s understanding of war, but contribute significantly to one’s appreciation of the true value of life. Love is a value that can be replaced under times of war, as is evident by a soldier’s farewell to his lady love in “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars”. This remarkable poem by Richard Lovelace captures a conflict that resides within every soldier – the conflict between duty and desire. While the persona does want to be called “unkind” for leaving his love for battle, he boldly asserts how his affection for her is being replaced by a greater love. He says “True a different mistress now I chase; the first foe in the field” The sense of the replacement of love is evident in these lines, where the soldier must divert his attentions away from Lucasta, and towards the enemy that he must fight in the battlefields. In the final verse of the poem, he claims “I could not love thee (Dear) so much Lov’d I not honour more” The superiority of honour over love has been asserted effectively. Duty overpowers desire. This assertion, however, makes one think how honorable it really is to bid farewell to true relations based on mutual love and respect, and proceed to shedding blood of fellow humans. What then, is honorable - to experience the love of another on an individual level, or to contribute to hatred and enmity on a mass scale? Searching for the answer to all these questions is important for us as humans, War is not always restricted to the battle field, and affects civilian lives in more than one ways. War poems are, therefore, crucial in understanding how the collective psyche of people under war becomes deformed and unnatural. Keith Douglas, in his poem “How to Kill” reflects this deformity of man’s mind effectively. Ruthless in its title, the poem is one where the persona makes the reader witness a murder in the battlefield. Behind the “dial of glass”, the killer becomes insensitive to the death of a human, and exclaims “Being damned, I am amused to see the centre of love diffused and the waves of love travel into vacancy. How easy it is to make a ghost.” The language is striking in its effect. “Love” is “diffused” from its core like a chemical reaction, while the “waves of love travel into vacancy”. The scientific jargon used to describe emotions and love is disturbingly uncanny, where the unnatural deformity caused by war is crudely highlighted. The use of the word “amused” to describe the soldier’s reaction on killing his opponent is another example of how distorted human emotions become in war. Another example of the conflicting nature of war is portrayed in Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade”. The poem is glorifying six hundred men of the Light Brigade who charged in the face of the enemy, oblivious to the danger, and embraced death bravely. Although the tone of the poem exemplifies the pride and glory of the death of the soldiers, however, there is an alarming description of the blind following of the soldiers that led to their eventual death “Forward the Light Brigade!” Was there a man dismayed? Not though the soldier knew Someone had blundered. Theirs not to make reply, Theirs no to reason why” The phrase “Someone had blundered” depicts how everything under war is not free of errors, and men may lose their lives due to a superior’s blunder. Even so, the there was no one in the Light Brigade to “reason why”. The absence of reason in man under war is a blaring question mark on exactly how “glorious” such a death, and consequently, war, is. A similar thread of thought can be woven into the poem “Bomb Crater Sky” by Lam Thi My Da, where the self-sacrifice of a woman is praised. Though the woman is blown to smithereens as she diverts the enemies bombing toward her own self instead of the troops further down the road, Da apotheosizes the woman. She is likened to the sun and the blue sky, and an everlasting radiance surrounds her grave. Even so, one is tempted to question whether this woman’s death was in vain or not. The enigma surrounding war is heightened through such war poems, where the purpose of sacrifice, the intellect behind obeying orders and the morality of combat is blatantly questioned. The poem “At the Un-National Monument along the Canadian Border” is important in unveiling another aspect of war. After the war ends, monuments as reminders of the bravery of the soldiers who died fighting are built. William E. Stafford, however, writes this poem in tribute to a place that has not been maimed by the effects of war, and where “the only heroic thing is the sky”. The questions that war raises seem to be reconciled in this poem where true glory lies in the appreciation of the natural world around us, and not the unnatural creation of man that is called war. Works Cited Da, Lam Thi My. "Bomb Crater Sky." 2013. Poets.org. 2 Febuary 2013 . Douglas, Keith. "How to Kill." 2013. Learn Peace. 2 Febuary 2013 . E.Stafford, William. "At the Un-National Monument along the Canadian Border." 2013. Poetry Foundation. 2 Febuary 2013 . Kendall, Tim. "A Short Post About Killing." 26 March 2009. War Poems. 2 Febuary 2013 . Lovelace, Richard. "To Lucasta, Going to the Wars." 2013. Poetry Foundation. 2 Febuary 2013 . Tennyson, Alfred Lort. "The Charge of the Light Brigade." 2013. Poetry Foundation. 2 Febuary 2013 . Read More