How Does Brooke Present Conflict In Poetry

World War I is known as one of the greatest wars in history. Many soldiers in World War I expressed their thoughts and feelings in poetry. Two famous poems are ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen and ‘The Soldier; by Rupert Brooke. Both men present the theme of conflict in their poetry however the poems are the complete opposite of one another. Although they both present conflict they both have very different views on the subject. Owen presents conflict as nothing but pure horror and thinks that it should not be witnessed by innocent eyes. However Brooke presents conflict as something that is patriotic. He thinks it’s his duty to repay his country with his life; therefore conflict is something you should be prepared to experience. ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ shows the real truth about war. It makes us aware of the true horrors that people experienced and shows us that conflict is a horrific thing. The use of the simile “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks” gives us, the reader, an image of people that are not big, strong and brave soldiers. We imagine soldiers as heroes and even though they appear to be weak and struggling,
He is trying to give the reader a simple message through the words of his poem. “The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.” These two lines are the most powerful out of the entire poem. Owen is trying to tell us that it is not sweet and beautiful to die for ones country, it is a lie! Throughout the poem Owen presents a world of horror where men that we know as heroes, are treated worse than animals. He is saying that conflict changed them and they couldn’t escape it. The message that Owen gives is simple and very blunt. They have experienced horrors that we can never imagine and he doesn’t want any to experience what he