War and Poetry the Gallantry Term Paper

SAMPLE EXCERPT . . .
In "Occasioned by the Battle of Waterloo," Wordsworth echoed Tennyson's praise for the fighters who bravely involved themselves in defending their country or territory. He addressed these fighters as "[i]ntrepid sons of Albion," synonymously referring to them as "heroes," who are praised for their "instant sacrifice prepared." Once again, the poem addresses death as inevitable, and in fact, is expected and welcomed by these brave warriors. The war, through Wordsworth use of romantic imagery, was no longer an event causing death and destruction; instead, war became the opportunity to display bravery and loyalty even at the face of death. War is gallant because it gave humanity a deeper meaning and significance in life through death, and this supreme sacrifice -- by offering one's life through death -- is considered as a "Sacred Monument" for humankind.

Kipling's "The white man's burden" is an interesting poem that discussed war from the perspective of the "white man." The "white man" referred to in the poem was the Western (specifically, American) colonizer who had the "burden" of creating a progressive society to its colonies in poor countries found in the Asian and African regions. In this poem, war was given more depth, and Kipling meant to show how, after the deaths and destruction, society would face an even greater task, and this is the rehabilitation of a fallen country or territory after the war: the white man's burden. The burden of the war is satisfying the needs of the people and winning their approval of the new regime established by the colonial government ("Fill full the mouth of Famine"; "Watch sloth and heathen Folly"; "Ye dare not stoop to less -- Nor call too loud on Freedom").

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Lastly, Jones's "A tear for those who gave their all" highlighted the pure emotions and nostalgia that the poet felt for his comrades who have died during the war. Like Tennyson's and Wordsworth's portrayals of war, Jones meant to illustrate how war gave him a new meaning to life. For him, reality had been abandoned when he joined the war, and his belief in a romanticized notion of death (i.e., preferring death over survival) made this poem more romantic in its implicit meaning while explicitly showing a real event or occurrence happening in Jones's life.

Term Paper on War and Poetry the Gallantry Assignment

Bibliography

Jones, G. (1969). E-text of "A tear for those who gave their all." Available at: http://grunt.space.swri.edu/atear.htm.

Kipling, R. (1899). E-text of "The white man's burden." Available at: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/kipling.html.

Tennyson, A.L. (1854). E-text of "The charge of the light brigade." Available at: http://www.nationalcenter.org/ChargeoftheLightBrigade.html.

Wordsworth, W. E-text of "Occasioned by the Battle of Waterloo." Available at: http://www.sonetos.com.br/sonetos.php?n=1875. [END OF PREVIEW] . . . READ MORE