Twentieth-Century War Poets: Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, and Rupert Brooke
The horrors of World War I (1914–1918) produced a seismic shift in English poetry, as soldier-poets chronicled the brutal realities of combat. Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, and Rupert Brooke represent three distinct responses to the war—from idealistic patriotism to graphic disillusionment—forever changing how literature depicts conflict.
1. Rupert Brooke (1887–1915): The Idealist
Brooke’s early war sonnets, particularly "The Soldier" (1914), captured pre-war patriotism with their romanticized vision of sacrifice:
"If I should die, think only this of me: / That there’s some corner of a foreign field / That is forever England."
His poetry glorified duty and national pride, but his death in 1915 (from sepsis, not combat) spared him the trenches’ horrors.
Legacy: Brooke became a symbol of lost youth, though later poets rejected his idealism as naive.
2. Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967): The Satirist
A decorated officer turned fierce critic, Sassoon’s poetry exposed the war’s futility and homefront hypocrisy:
"The General" mocks incompetent leadership: "‘He’s a cheery old card,’ grunted Harry to Jack / As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack."
"Suicide in the Trenches" contrasts a boy’s despair with civilians’ oblivious patriotism.
His 1917 protest letter (published in The Times) condemned the war’s prolongation, nearly resulting in court-martial.
Legacy: Sassoon’s irony influenced Orwell and later anti-war literature.
3. Wilfred Owen (1893–1918): The Tragic Realist
Owen, who died a week before Armistice, crafted the war’s most harrowing verse, blending stark imagery with technical innovation:
"Dulce et Decorum Est" dismantles the "old Lie" of glorious death with a gas-attack nightmare: "If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood / Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs."
"Anthem for Doomed Youth" juxtaposes battlefield slaughter with muted mourning: "What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?"
His use of pararhyme (e.g., "escaped/scooped") created dissonance, mirroring psychological trauma.
Legacy: Owen’s posthumous Poems (1920), edited by Sassoon, became the defining voice of WWI’s tragedy.
Contrasting Visions
Brooke: Noble sacrifice (pre-trenches idealism).
Sassoon: Bitter satire (anger at leaders and civilians).
Owen: Pity and terror (immersion in frontline horror).
Conclusion: Together, these poets chart WWI’s evolution from fervor to disillusionment. Owen’s line—"My subject is War, and the pity of War"—encapsulates their collective legacy: exposing war’s true cost while mourning a shattered generation.