When the young soldiers were enlisting; they were oblivious to the reality of war believing only in the romantic visions they had derived from propaganda. These romantic ideas include patriotism, adventure and heroism. The soldiers went to war thinking that it would be a great experience, this however was the very opposite of the reality of war.
The realism of war involved, trench foot, shell shock, depression, after war effects at home and many others. The conditions in the trenches were horrific; the soldiers would be knee deep in mud for weeks on end, resulting in horrible trench foot, which was repulsive. It would also be extremely cold, there would be mice and rats; scampering throughout the trenches scrounging on the already depleted rations of the soldiers. This environment was hellish. There was also shell shock, the continuous bombardment of shells and shrapnel flying everywhere which drove the new recruits insane. Depression was also a dismal side of the war; the troops would be in the trenches, with the conditions icy cold, and raining, mice and rats, there for weeks on end stuck in a stalemate with the enemy - and as a result the soldiers would begin to lose hope, for the war had blocked out sport, fun, love and all the things that a young man would enjoy and as a consequence they would become depressed.
For many soldiers the end of the war was not the end at all, the effects continued into their time back at home, misleading common sounds for that of the frontline for instance, if someone slammed a door they would think a bomb had gone off. The stress eventually destroyed the veterans many of which turned to alcohol and drugs. This of course ended up in the death of the veterans. The true reality of war was shown when the soldiers came back after the end of the war. The horror and senselessness was only realised when the civilians saw what had happened to these bright young men.
A Soldier’s Cemetery
by John William Streets (1916)
Behind that long and lonely trenched line
To which men come and go, where brave men die,
There is a yet unmarked and unknown shrine,
A broken plot, a soldier’s cemetery.
There lie the flower of youth, the men who scorn’d
To live (so died) when languished Liberty:
Across their graves flowerless and unadorned
Still scream the shells of each artillery.
When war shall cease this lonely unknown spot
Of many a pilgrimage will be the end,
And flowers will shine in this now barren plot
And fame upon it through the years descend:
But many a heart upon each simple cross
Will hang the grief, the memory of its loss.
For many, the war was about romantic ideas, patriotism and glory. In the poem ‘A Soldier’s Cemetery’ these romantic ideas disappear when the soldiers have an insignificant death and are not glorified as they thought. ‘Across their graves flowerless and unadorned’. This extract reinforces the obsolete death the soldiers experienced. The cold and bitter tone intensifies the insignificant deaths. The war continues no matter how many deaths occur. ‘Still the scream the shells of artillery’. This line from the poem depicts the shrieking sound of the continuing shells, bringing more death and havoc to the soldiers. Personification gives the shells life, creating an imposing, scary image. The reality is that this really happened and the horror of the war is present in this quote, the fact that your death means nothing and the shells just keep screaming is very un patriotic, which is one of the many reasons soldiers enlisted to go to war... to have a glorified death and fight for and defend your country.
The realism of war involved, trench foot, shell shock, depression, after war effects at home and many others. The conditions in the trenches were horrific; the soldiers would be knee deep in mud for weeks on end, resulting in horrible trench foot, which was repulsive. It would also be extremely cold, there would be mice and rats; scampering throughout the trenches scrounging on the already depleted rations of the soldiers. This environment was hellish. There was also shell shock, the continuous bombardment of shells and shrapnel flying everywhere which drove the new recruits insane. Depression was also a dismal side of the war; the troops would be in the trenches, with the conditions icy cold, and raining, mice and rats, there for weeks on end stuck in a stalemate with the enemy - and as a result the soldiers would begin to lose hope, for the war had blocked out sport, fun, love and all the things that a young man would enjoy and as a consequence they would become depressed.
For many soldiers the end of the war was not the end at all, the effects continued into their time back at home, misleading common sounds for that of the frontline for instance, if someone slammed a door they would think a bomb had gone off. The stress eventually destroyed the veterans many of which turned to alcohol and drugs. This of course ended up in the death of the veterans. The true reality of war was shown when the soldiers came back after the end of the war. The horror and senselessness was only realised when the civilians saw what had happened to these bright young men.
A Soldier’s Cemetery
by John William Streets (1916)
Behind that long and lonely trenched line
To which men come and go, where brave men die,
There is a yet unmarked and unknown shrine,
A broken plot, a soldier’s cemetery.
There lie the flower of youth, the men who scorn’d
To live (so died) when languished Liberty:
Across their graves flowerless and unadorned
Still scream the shells of each artillery.
When war shall cease this lonely unknown spot
Of many a pilgrimage will be the end,
And flowers will shine in this now barren plot
And fame upon it through the years descend:
But many a heart upon each simple cross
Will hang the grief, the memory of its loss.
For many, the war was about romantic ideas, patriotism and glory. In the poem ‘A Soldier’s Cemetery’ these romantic ideas disappear when the soldiers have an insignificant death and are not glorified as they thought. ‘Across their graves flowerless and unadorned’. This extract reinforces the obsolete death the soldiers experienced. The cold and bitter tone intensifies the insignificant deaths. The war continues no matter how many deaths occur. ‘Still the scream the shells of artillery’. This line from the poem depicts the shrieking sound of the continuing shells, bringing more death and havoc to the soldiers. Personification gives the shells life, creating an imposing, scary image. The reality is that this really happened and the horror of the war is present in this quote, the fact that your death means nothing and the shells just keep screaming is very un patriotic, which is one of the many reasons soldiers enlisted to go to war... to have a glorified death and fight for and defend your country.