Which TWO common themes of war literature are reflected in these excerpts?

1. My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est

Pro patria mori.

(Wilfred Owen, "Dulce Et Decorum Est")

2. You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye

Who cheer when soldier lads march by,

Sneak home and pray you'll never know

The hell where youth and laughter go.

(Siegfried Sassoon, "Suicide in the Trenches")

(A) bitterness at the massive loss of life caused by war

(B) anger at the ignorance of civilians and leaders at home

(C) the innocence and ignorance of enlisted soldiers

(D) anger at the government for lying to enlisted youth

(E) the pain of those left at home waiting for the soldiers

Question

English

Ortega

29 June, 20:08

Which TWO common themes of war literature are reflected in these excerpts?

1. My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est

Pro patria mori.

(Wilfred Owen, "Dulce Et Decorum Est")

2. You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye

Who cheer when soldier lads march by,

Sneak home and pray you'll never know

The hell where youth and laughter go.

(Siegfried Sassoon, "Suicide in the Trenches")

(A) bitterness at the massive loss of life caused by war

(B) anger at the ignorance of civilians and leaders at home

(C) the innocence and ignorance of enlisted soldiers

(D) anger at the government for lying to enlisted youth

(E) the pain of those left at home waiting for the soldiers

+1

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Tommy Simon · Answer 1

In the first excerpt we can discern the anger at the government for lying to enlisted youth (answer d). The message of the poem is that if anyone could see the atrocities of war and the suffering of the warriors, he should never lie to young boys who think it is glorious to fight for your country.

The theme that is evident in the second excerpt is anger at the ignorance of civilians and leaders at home, who would never cheer and applaud when the troops are marching if they knew the reality of war that they are going to face.