War is a complex and powerful human experience with its physical, emotional and psychological impacts, that has inspired poets for a long period of time.The poems Homecoming by Bruce Dawe and The Soldier by Rupert Brooke, illustrate highly different ideas and perspectives on war.Dawe offers his outlook as a emotionally damaging and brutal enviroment, with Brookes viewpoint focusing on how virtuos and patriotic dying in battle is to a individual and a society.Although both poets share conflicting perspectives, they delve into the serious cost of war, with compelling language techniques that influence the audience’s beliefs and opinions of the sacrifices in conflict.
Poerty can shape our understanding on the cost of war. The opposing perspectives from the soldier by rupert brooke and HOmecoming by bruce dawe both reflect on this idea.The soldier romantises the sacrifce of war, and is shaped by very patriotic ideas. “If i should die, think only this of me: That there;s some corner of a foreign feild that is forever England” this quote illustrates death as honourable and uplifting, through brookes uses of metaphor and euphemism. Creating the image that a soldiers death is glorius and a gift to teh nation. While Dawe’s poem portrays war as imhumane and savage. The line “they’re bringing them home” becomes a haunting display when “home” indicates the return of the dead bodies, rather than the living soliders.The further description of “piled on the hulls of Grants, in trucks in convoys” Dawe highlights the level of mortality in war, as well as the dehumanising nature of it. While Brooke glamourises war, Dawe exposes the physical, but more importantly emotional impact it has on people and society.
Bruce Dawe and Rupert brooke also contrast on their emotional in war. National symbolism and the first person voice, in the soldier, demonstrates and persons individual devotion, as seen in this line “A body of England’s, breathing English air”Shaping death into a meaningful and personal feeling, through the metaphor creating the notion that a soldier is apart or and extension of the country. As opposed by Homecoming, where soliders are all seen as anonymos victims to teh same crime. “The hollow space of the hangar” illustrates the idea of isolation and grief, through brookes impersonal language and auditory imagery. The use of repetion of in the quote “they’re bringing them home” removes individually of death, becoming routine in war. Being a complete junxaposition, where death is represented as empty and lonly. Brookes focus being the pride and intimacy, with Dawes outlines the emotional detachment and number of loss experienced, revealing thegrim but true cost of war.
To sumerise brooke and dawe use techniques in poerty to unpack the cost of war, with largely contrasting perspectives. The patriotic lense of brookes veiwpoint hides the violence and loss of war with ideas like honour and sentiment. Whilst Dawe contronts these outlook with realisim that addresses the impact war has on a persosns emotional and physical wellbeing. These oposing veiws also being demonstrated throught there language techniques, with romantic metaphors, but also blunt imagery and repetition. Both uncovering the deep affects it has on human lives, not only how individuals veiw war, but how society chooses to remeber it.