As the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia, the outbreak of World War 1 started. Australia claimed their support for Great Britain. Thousands of Australian men flooded in to get conscripted to go to war. The war was seen as an adventure, patriotic and a way to prove their bravery. The initial reaction to the war from the Australian boys was to enlist and prove that they are made of steel and are men. War was romantic, and it was considered a heroic act. As time passed, war could no longer be viewed as romantic . It was ugly, it was brutal, and it was senseless. Little did the men know what was ahead of them and their perception was the romantic side of World War 1.
Patriotism was spread throughout Australia and everyone had a sense of helping their mother country and join the war. Men enlisted to become soldiers and women joined the war and became nurses to help one's brother. Men were seen as 'cowards' if they didn't join the army. This is when the white feather was introduced. It was placed on your door by women who shamed the man who didn't enlist for the war.
Rupert Brooke, 1914,
The Soldier
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
This poem shows the Romantic perspective of war. Rupert Brooke uses sensory imagery that sculpts our thoughts and beliefs of the war. Rupert uses words such as 'gentleness' and phrases such as 'In hearts at peace, under an English heaven." the poem is about dying at war and Rupert romanticises about dying for your country and being under an English heaven. He uses all of these ideas and phrases to create a romantic sense of dying for one's country.
Rupert expresses the devotion and support to one's country. He creates this mad sense of patriotism using words such as "laughter, gentleness and love." We know from experience that one does not "laugh" at war, or feel "love" at war, neither be "gentle" at war. The boys are men made of steel. Rupert's outlook on the war would have been different if he had actually been to war.
In the original movie, "All Quite on the Western Front," the movie starts with music playing with soldiers marching and boys running to enlist. We are introduced to a class of young boys being told to enlist in the war by their teacher, Kantorek. This opening scene is famous for its it romantic view of the war.
Patriotism was spread throughout Australia and everyone had a sense of helping their mother country and join the war. Men enlisted to become soldiers and women joined the war and became nurses to help one's brother. Men were seen as 'cowards' if they didn't join the army. This is when the white feather was introduced. It was placed on your door by women who shamed the man who didn't enlist for the war.
Rupert Brooke, 1914,
The Soldier
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
This poem shows the Romantic perspective of war. Rupert Brooke uses sensory imagery that sculpts our thoughts and beliefs of the war. Rupert uses words such as 'gentleness' and phrases such as 'In hearts at peace, under an English heaven." the poem is about dying at war and Rupert romanticises about dying for your country and being under an English heaven. He uses all of these ideas and phrases to create a romantic sense of dying for one's country.
Rupert expresses the devotion and support to one's country. He creates this mad sense of patriotism using words such as "laughter, gentleness and love." We know from experience that one does not "laugh" at war, or feel "love" at war, neither be "gentle" at war. The boys are men made of steel. Rupert's outlook on the war would have been different if he had actually been to war.
In the original movie, "All Quite on the Western Front," the movie starts with music playing with soldiers marching and boys running to enlist. We are introduced to a class of young boys being told to enlist in the war by their teacher, Kantorek. This opening scene is famous for its it romantic view of the war.