World War I Poetry

The War to End All Wars

Wilfred Owen(1893 - 1918) “The poetry is in the pity.”

Owen. For an evangelical, man is saved not by the good he does,

but by the faith he has in the redeeming power of Christ's sacrifice. Though he had rejected much of his belief by 1913, the influence of his education remains visible in his poems and in their themes: sacrifice, Biblical language, his description of Hell.

He enlisted in the Artists' Rifles on 21st October 1915; there followed 14 months of training in England. He was drafted to France in 1917, the worst war winter. His total war experience was rather short: four months, from which only five weeks in the line. All his war poetry is based on his service during this time. After battle experience, thoroughly shocked by horrors of war, he went to Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh.

In August 1918, after his friend, the other great War Poet, Siegfried Sassoon, had been severely injured and sent back to England, Owen returned to France. War was still as horrid as before. The butchery was ended on 11th November 1918 at 11 o'clock. Seven days before, Owen had been killed in one of the last vain battles of this war.

Mustard GasHow could something with the same name as what you put on your hot dog be so deadly? Easily, mustard gas has nothing to do with mustard; it was named mustard gas because sometimes it smells like mustard. But what is mustard gas you ask?

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Facts about Sulfur Mustard, mustard gas, also known as sulfur mustard, is a chemical weapon. It is considered a vesicant (blistering agent) because it causes the skin to blister when in contact with it. Mustard gas is usually not in gas form but in liquid form. Mustard gas is clear in pure state and brown when mixed with other chemicals. Same with smell, it has no smell when pure but when mixed with other chemicals may have garlic, onions, or "mustard" smell, therefore its name. Mustard gas dissolves in many things like fats, alcohol, water, oils, and gasoline.

Siegfried Sassoon (1886 - 1967)

“Mad Jack’ Wants to Know Who Is to Blame

• Accessories before the fact

Those who sold the war to an unsuspecting youth

• Accessories after the fact

Those who sought to deny what actually happened in the war