War in Poetry
War is imposed. The situation to go to war is made by those who have something to lose in the political realm. If war were a decision made on an individual level it would be a mere fight. The Leviathan, as referred to by Thomas Hobbes, or system to which we all belong, denies individuality. There are individuals that lead movements or even make pivotal decisions, but they are simply social figureheads and not individuals in the governmental sense. Poetic skepticism acts as the tool by which poets illustrate the appalling nature of war. Regardless of being members of the Leviathan, poets maintain their emotional individuality and subsequently present a situation in a new light. Fame is often seen to be associated with the figureheads instigating the wars. This acts as a method of their own promotional arrogance but the beneficial aspects go no further than this. It is the commoner, or worker that endures the harsh realities of war and the poet is their spokesperson. Examples of the poetic skepticism concerning war can be seen in Bertolt Brecht’s “A Worker Reads History”, William Butler Yeats’ “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death”, Siegfried Sassoon’s “Does it Matter?” and Randall Jarrell’s “Death of the Ball Turret Gunner”.
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Approximate Word count = 882
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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