The First World War forever shattered the global perspective on tragedy. Pain, at least to many ideologies, has a purpose. To sacrifice one’s life for another is noble; to suffer for a cause is celebrated; heroes get happy endings. The Great War trampled many of these ideals, for the level of destruction did not seem to match at all the nobility of the cause or the joy of victory. It was a senseless conflict of all the young men of the world killing and torturing each other with no real reason than rather bland words like patriotism. This tested the faith of the world audience as well- if God has a purpose in everything, what was the purpose of this?
Poetry helped that generation express their sense of confusion. While some may argue that to dwell on the worst of humanity is pessimistic, I think it’s important to show the limits of mankind. It’s important to see what God allows to happen, process our emotions, and comprehend Him on a higher level of faith.
The Poetry Reading for the First World War at BYU showcased some of the best poetry. One person read Flanders Fields- more hopeful than most. McCrae wrote, admonishing faith and hope, “The torch; be yours to hold it high/If ye break faith with us who die/We shall not sleep, through poppies grow/In Flanders fields.”
My favorite is “The Hollow Men”, by T.S. Eliot. It is the most visceral reminder for me of what the soldiers felt. These are the most painful words I’ve read in poetry.
"Life is very long
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
For thine is
Life is
For thine is the
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but with a whimper."
https://images.8tracks.com/cover/i/000/547/501/hollow_men-5908.jpg?rect=0,105,500,500&q=98&fm=jpg&fit=max
"All the young men of the world, killing and torturing each other." This is what I saw in the movie "All Quiet on the Western Front." A quote from that movie states, "Just boys...want to play, laugh, just stay alive." War seems to take these innocent boys, promising to turn them into heroes, but in reality, just breaking them, leaving the living ones in a mess; some for the rest of their existence.
ReplyDeleteI really wanted to go to the poetry reading but it overlapped with another class so thank you for bringing your experience to the blog. When I think back on the great Wars, I think in some weird way I'm grateful that these soldiers had some sort of outlet, though I'm sure it didn't help them much. I think literature is a great way to express one's feelings of confusion towards an a traumatic event like war.
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