War Poetry Flashcards
Which famous poet wrote ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade?’
Alfred Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate.
What are the key ideas for ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’?
The poet is describing a battle he read about in a newspaper. Alfred Lord Tennyson was never a soldier.
Name some methods used in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’.
Rhythm (of charging horses)
Extensive repetition
Anaphora
Quote some quotations from ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’.
‘Half a league, half a league / Half a league onward’ which uses repetition
‘Not though the soldier knew / Someone had blundered’
‘When can their glory fade?’
Which famous poet wrote ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’?
Wilfred Owen.
What are the key ideas for ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’?
It directly addresses jingoistic poetry (e.g. Jessie Pope) through a visceral description of a gas attack.
Name some methods used in ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’.
Caesura
Range of punctuation
Narrative structure
Quote some quotations from ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’.
‘Bent double, like old beggars under sacks’ which uses simile.
‘Gas! GAS! Quick[ly], boys! / An ecstasy of fumbling’ which uses a range of punctuation.
‘The old Lie: Dulce et Decorum est’ which uses a Latin quotation.
Which famous poet wrote ‘Base Details’?
Siegfried Sassoon.
What are the key ideas for ‘Base Details’?
It is a polemical against war — specifically, it criticises the Majors’ careless, cruel and heartless attitude to war.
Name some methods used in ‘Base Details’.
Alliteration
First person narrator
Quote some quotations from ‘Base Details’.
‘Puffy petulant face / Guzzling and gulping’ which uses alliteration.
‘And when the war is done and youth stone dead / I’d toddle safely home and die — in bed’ which is a rhyming couplet.
Which famous poet wrote ‘The Send Off’?
Wilfred Owen.
What are the key ideas in ‘The Send Off’?
A description of the soldiers leaving to go to the front line.
Name some methods used in ‘The Send Off’.
Assonance
Personification
Symbolism
Quote some quotations from ‘The Send Off’.
‘Then, unmoved, signals nodded, and a lamp / Winked to the guard’ which uses personification.
‘Down the close, darkening lanes their sang’ which uses assonance.
‘Their breasts were struck all white with wreath and spray / As men’s are, dead.’ which uses symbolism.
Which famous poet wrote ‘The Soldier’?
Rupert Brooke.
What are the key ideas in ‘The Soldier’?
The poem is a sonnet wherein the soldier speaker patriotically celebrates his home.
Name some methods used in ‘The Soldier’.
Personification
First Person Narrator
Assonance
Quote some quotations from ‘The Soldier’.
‘That there’s some corner of a foreign field / That is forever England.’
‘In that rich earth a richer dust concealed.’
‘In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.’ which uses hyperbole.
What is the definition of ‘anaphora’?
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.
What is the definition of ‘bleak’?
Offering little hope or excitement, dismal.
What is the definition of ‘caesura’?
A rhythmical pause in a poetic line or sentence.
What is the definition of ‘conscription’?
Compulsory sign-up to the national service.
What is the definition of ‘contemptuous’?
Expressing deep hatred or disapproval.
What is the definition of ‘enjambment’?
Moving over from one line to another without a terminating punctuation mark.
[NB: ‘terminating punctuation mark’ does not just refer to ‘.’, ‘!’ and ‘?’ in this context — it simply means a punctuation mark at the end of a line.]
What is the definition of ‘first person narrator’?
A piece of literature written in which a narrator relays events from their own point of view using the first person, i.e. ‘I’.
What is the definition of ‘jingoism’?
Extreme patriotism.
What is the definition of ‘melancholy’?
To be overcome with sorrow and sadness.
What is the definition of ‘narrative’?
A spoken or written account of connected events.
What is the definition of ‘nostalgic’?
Remembering the past in a positive light.
What is the definition of ‘patriotic’?
Expressing devotion to one’s country.
What is the definition of ‘polemic’?
A statement that heavily criticises or defends an idea.
What is the definition of ‘refrain’?
A line, or group of lines, that appears at the end (esp. of a stanza) to add impact.
What is the definition of ‘repetition’?
Deliberate use of the same words or phrases a few times in close succession in order to make an idea clearer and more memorable.
What is the definition of ‘sibilance’?
A more specific kind of alliteration in which a hissing ‘s’ sound is created as a result of using repeated soft consonants.
What is the definition of ‘sonnet’?
A poetic form with fourteen lines.
When was Alfred Lord Tennyson born? when did he die?
- 1892.
Who was Alfred Lord Tennyson?
He was a British Victorian poet. Poet Laureate from 1850 until 1892.
Why was Alfred Lord Tennyson significant in the study of war poetry?
He wrote about the Battle of Balaclava (Crimean War) in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ despite never actually having gone to war himself.
When was Wilfred Owen born? when did he die?
- 4th November 1918 — 7 days before the end.
Who was Wilfred Owen?
A WWI soldier who was killed in France a week before the end of the fighting.
Why was Wilfred Owen significant in the study of war poetry?
He was a leading WWI poet who highlighted the brutality of war in his poems.
When was Siegfried Sassoon born? when did he die?
- 1967.
Who was Siegfried Sassoon?
An English poet, soldier and writer. He was decorated for his bravery on the Western Front.
Why was Siegfried Sassoon important in the study of war poetry?
He was a leading WWI poet who viewed that war was unnecessarily prolonged by the government.
When was Rupert Brooke born? when did he die?
- 1915.
Who was Rupert Brooke?
He was an English soldier and poet who died serving in WWI.
Why was Rupert Brooke significant to the study of war poetry?
He was an idealist; his war sonnets swiftly became a focus for patriotism and glory of war.
