Who’s For The Game

Question 1

Context:
Who did Jessie Pope write poems for?

Answer 1

• Jessie Pope was a writer for newspapers, magazines and was a patriotic and motivated propaganda war poet.

Question 2

Context:
For what works is Jessie Pope best known for?

Answer 2

She is best known for her patriotic poems during WWI that were written to encourage young men into enlisting for the war.

Question 3

Context:
What were Jessie Pope’s beliefs about war?

Answer 3

Despite the horror and brutality of WWI, many people (including Pope) believed that it was honourable to fight for your country in war.

Question 4

Context:
How does Pope portray war in her poem?

Answer 4

Her poem, which was published in the Daily Mail, downplays the brutality of war, is very jingoistic and attempts to present war as fun and exciting.

Question 5

Context:
Who criticised Jessie Pope about her views of war?

Answer 5

• Her view and representation of war was criticised by Wilfred Owen (a poet who fought in WWI), who wrote poems such as Dulce et Decorum est to contradict Pope and demonstrate the reality of war.
• Pope did not experience the war first hand, so she had no real concept of its brutality.

Question 6

Structure:
How is the poem, ‘Who’s for the Game?’ structured?

Answer 6

Every other line is indented, which reinforces the difference between the two types of men. (Those who will fight and those who don’t.)

Question 7

Rhyme:
What rhyme scheme, if any, is present in ‘Who’s for the Game?’?

Answer 7

Alternating ABAB pattern, reinforcing the distinction between the brave individuals willing to join the army and those who Pope views as cowardly.