War seems to be ingrained in human nature and even to be regarded as something noble to which

man is inspired by his love of honour, without selfish motives – Immanuel Kant
To what extent do the poems you have studied challenge or affirm this perspective?

Composers acknowledge war as an inherent attribute of human nature but through their works Commented [Hh1]: While composers acknowdge…, their
personal experiences can shape different perspectives on
presents differing perspectives on the necessity of war that is shaped through their own the necessity of war
experiences. Immanuel Kant’s belief conveys humanity’s glorification of war which stems from the Commented [Hh2]: That “…quote a snippet of stimulus”

purported “nobility” of war. Rupert Brooke’s ‘The Soldier’ (1914) reaffirms Kant’s virtue of
selflessness by exploring the patriotic and romantic ideologies ingrained in war. In contrast, both
Wilfred Owen’s ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ (1920) and Bruce Dawe’s ‘Homecoming’ (1968) criticises the
dehumanising and oppressive nature of war by exposing the horrifying atrocities experienced first
hand by soldiers. Whilst both composerso represent the idea that war is ingrained in human nature,
they question the assumed nobility of war. but presents contrasting opinions of the nobility of it all

Rupert Brooke’s ‘The Soldier’ underpins the romantic glorification of war to reflect the universal
theme of nobility and honour attesting to Kant’s perspective. Written during the years leading up to
WW1, Brooke’s themes of love and nature reflected the enthusiasm and idealism of which Britain Commented [Hh3]: This and that
Use it sparingly
entered the war with. In the opening lines, Brooke develops a degree of immediac that ‘if I should
die, think only this of me’, where the imperative tone establishes the composer’s romantic attitude
towards death in battle. Death is inevitably a daunting aspect of the human experience, yet Brooke
passionately regards this journey to the afterlife ‘Hearts at peace, under an English heaven’ without
fear because it is justified by the glorious cause for which he died. Brooke introduces a symbolic
allusion to nature through the metaphor ,’In that rich earth a richer dust concealed’, in which the
‘dust’ refers to the soldier whose death in nobility is justified for the betterment of the mother land ;
a ‘richer’ cause. He focuses on the beauty and richness of the nature growing from the decomposing
bodies, which ironically serves to divvert the readers attention away from the gruesome reality of
their deaths. Further, Brooke invokes patriotic idealism through the personification of ‘A dust
whom England, bore , shaped and made aware’ as a maternal figure responsible for the creation and
life of these soldiers.. He emphasises the organic relationship between the soldier and his mother
land, stressing the ideals of patriotism to fight and die gloriously for the country that gave birth to
them. Thus, Brooke explicates the honourable and noble ideals associated with war, appealing to the
patriotism that motivates man to fight for his country.

In ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, Owen portrays the suffering and dehumanisation of young soldiers to
denounce the widespread glorication of war. Drawing upon Owen’s personal experience at the war
front , the poem was a response to Jessie Pope’s jingoistic war poetry , whch advocated the notion
that war was a glorious and honourable cause. Owen parodies the ancient poet Horace in his ironic
title, ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, meaning ‘it is fine and honourable to die for one’s country’ as it is used
to heavily contrast the unglorified suffering and death that Owen has witnessed in war. The soldiers’ Commented [Hh4]: Technique is allusion to Horace, irony
through the contrast
torment is portrayed through the use of simile that present the soldiers ‘bent double like old You need to rephrase and rewrite th sentence
beggars’ and ‘like hags’ which subverts the masculinity of these men by revealing their derelict
physical state. Owen expatiates the inhumane conditions experienced by the soldiers whom ‘all Commented [Hh5]: Through the grotesque imagery of
soldier’s “bent double like old beggars”, Owe captures the
went lame; all blind’, where the repetition of ‘all’ hyperbolically highlights the extreme exhaustion soldier’s torment, revealing their derelict physical state.
and deprivation that the soldiers have endured. The short, truncated clauses ‘Gas! Gas! Quick,
boys!’ develops a heighten sense of panic and movement that juxtaposes the sluggish, geriatric tone
of ‘like old beggars’, prompting the readers to recognise the vulnerability of the soldiers as they are
unable avoid death. The culmination of present participle, ‘yelling out … stumbling…. Guttering, Commented [Hh6]: Shit technique

choking, drowning’, places emphasis on the overwhelming continuity of this experience, further
reinforcing the loss of youth that is catalysed by the psychological impacts of war. Hence, Owen
condemns theglorification of war by presenting a starkly horrifying and personal insight of the
battlefield. math of war.

Dawe in ‘Homecoming’ echoes Owen’s indictment of war by examining the futile and dehumanising
aspects of warthis seems very similar to above topic sentence. Reflecting his experience in RAAF, he
constructus a specifically Australian context where the soldiers have been fighting in Vietnam and
the dead bodies are being flown home. Although there are references to the Vietnam War, the
moral outrage of the inhumane and harsh nature of war remains an universal theme. This sentence
is not needed The irony in the title ‘Homecoming’ highlights the shocking reality of dead soldiers
returning home from Vietnam to grieving families. You need to explain irony. The word homecoming
carries connotations of hope and relief which is shattered by the reality that the soldiers are dead
and they are returning home to griving familiesThe word homecoming typically implies a celebrative
or commemorative occasion and evokes a sense of anticipation for the return of a loved one. Yeah
integrate this above to explain irony However, Dawe uses it ironically because there is nothing joyful
or exuberant about the arrival and mourning of a nameless dead body. Don’t spend too many
sentences on homecomingThrough the use of anaphora, ’they’re picking them up …they’re bring
them in…they’re zipping them up’, Dawe establishes the cold, mechanical processing of dead
innocent soldiers treated like expendables stored away in ‘green plastic bags’. The present participle
of the verbs ‘bringing’, ‘zipping’, ‘picking’ and ‘tagging’ undermines the lack of sanctity given to these
soldiers as the repetitive cycle creates a sense of detachment and a and bindifference towards the
suffering and a and bloss of the soldiers at war . Dawe foregrounds the loss of identity and
indiscriminate slaughter of young soldiers in the war through the listing of stereotypes in curly-
heads, kinky-hairs, crew-cuts, balding non-coms’, to establish the ideathat war strips an individual of
their identity regardless of race, class or background. tends beyond the battlefield and detriments
the personal sphere (domestic world) The personification of ‘Telegrams [that] tremble like leaves
from a wintering tree’ exemplifies the grief experienced by those who have to receive these notices.
The telegrams ‘tremble’ under the burden of having to deliver the bad news to families, vanquishing
any hope of loved ones returning alive. Dawe’s use of imagery to draw relations between the
telegrams and leaves falling from a ‘wintering tree’ conjures a powerful image of war’s devastating
toll on the lives of thousands of men. Thus, Dawe appeals to the social conscience of the masses
and by exposing the destructive and dehumanising aspects of war, he effectively denigrates the
honour and love in war and striptoo many ands in this sentences away its façade of glorification.

War is fundamentally ingrained in human nature but to be considered noble is a transgression of

human morality. Rupert Brooke’s ‘The Soldier’ conveys the beauty and glory of dying for war while
Wilfred Owen ’s ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and Bruce Dawe’s ‘Homecoming’ provides the shocking
reality that shatters the disillusioned glorification of war. Through the exploration of different
experiences that shape the perspectives of war, composers both affirm and challenge Kant’s
perspective.