Dulce et Decorum Est

Mark Twain, in his juvenalian essay “The War Prayer” (1923) lambasts war and the motivations behind fighting them. He supports his argument by incorporating potent sarcastic diction, utilizing hyperbole, and by the use of hypocrisy. Twain’s purpose is to convey the absurdity of war and to examine what he believes to be the asinine motivations behind going to war, especially those of a religious and patriotic nature, in the hope that future conflict is avoided. He adopts an ironic tone (“An aged…

In writing of his own experience in the Iraq War, Turner creates a style of writing, which is seen as a witness of war in poetry. Brian Turner’s “16 Iraqi Policemen”, and Autopsy is so startling and it is able to leap off the pages and have a grip onto the reader where it refuses to let go. Adding to this, these poems are able to give a taste of what it was like being apart of the Iraqi war, and what it was like to be a bystander. At times Brian Turner is brilliant with how he is able to connect…

“War is hell” (O’Brien 1154). That simple line enlightens so much about what war is and how it is portrayed throughout this short story. The author contradicts himself as he tells the story, to make the point that every contradiction has a story in its own. Three of the most memorable quotes are, “…war is grotesque. But in truth war is also beauty” (1155). “War makes you a man; war makes you dead” (1155). Lastly, “In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, … in…

The work of art I am choosing to discuss romantic characteristics of is, "The Raft of the Medusa" by Theodore Gericault. This picture depicts the survivors of the "Medusa", a french ship that sunk after a tragic accident. This painting is a huge representation of a macabre theme. It is very disturbing due to the fact that men are lying lifelessly upon the ground and the whole painting creates uneasy feelings. Gericault does a tremendous job at exemplifying the two extremes of hope and despair.…

Both Herman Melville along with Walt Whitman published the volumes of poetry that focus mainly on the civil war. In spite of both poetry having similarities, they have differences in philosophical as well as political approaches concerning civil war, their way of transmitting ideas along with their conception. Whitman normally experiments as well as explores the free verse whereas the Melville normally strictly builds his poetry. Their stylistic normally differ parallel and the dissimilarities…

The Red Badge of Courage is one of the greatest American novels written by Stephen Crane. Unfortunately, this book was banned due to its excessive violence and the enmity that the author has towards soldiers. “The Red Badge of Courage in 1895. Regardless, the book is considered one of the most accurate portrayals of the physical and psychological effects of intense battle.” (Shmoop) What the author is trying to make the reader understand is that in war you either be a coward and run for your…

The wholly conspicuous anti-war discourse in the novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, occurs in between Vonnegut and Mary O’Hare. O’Hare fears that the book will glorify war as a myriad of books and movies have in the past. She is apprehensive that Vonnegut might portray the “babies” fighting in the war as grown men, and these babies will be played by “war-loving, dirty old men” (18). Vonnegut reassures Mary that the he will show the inhumanity of war. Vonnegut even goes to promise, “I’ll call it ‘The…

YEAR 12 ENGLISH “UNIVERSAL THEMES” - REPRESENTATIONS OF WAR: PLANNING Poem Chosen: Anthem for Doomed Youth Write a paragraph summarising the representation of war being presented in your poem and the main ways in which it is shown. The poem represents war as depressing and futile. The representation of how horrific war is, can be construed from the title itself. It conveys a strong feeling for the reader and foreshadows what the poem will consist of. Usually an anthem is a stirring song…

Inspired by the events of the 1991 Gulf War, Gillian Clarke’s Lament effectively describes the impacts of war on the surrounding environment and wildlife. Although written specifically about the Gulf War, the message of the poem can be applied to the present day - using only words, Clarke paints a vivid picture of the effect of humanity’s behaviour on nature and its inhabitants. Similarly, Boey Kim Cheng’s Report to Wordsworth illustrates the extent of the damage done to the environment. Written…

The Shootout By: Adam Lee “Come on!” I said sarcastically, as I plopped down in my chair off in the sidelines. It was all tied up, 0-0, the 2014 World Cup was going into a shootout. The sweat was pouring down my scorched, red face. I was nervous out of my mind. One team was going to win and one team was going to lose. I was either going to go home with pride for my country, or disappointment in myself. We began to line up at the halfline and start the shootout. The stadium we were in was big,…