Question

What 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")



bitterness at the massive loss of life caused by war



anger at the ignorance of civilians and leaders at home



the innocence and ignorance of enlisted soldiers



anger at the government for lying to enlisted youth



the pain of those left at home waiting for the soldiers

can be more than one answer

Answer 1

• Anger at the ignorance of civilians and leaders at home.
• The innocence and ignorance of enlisted soldiers.

In these excerpts, both of these themes are expressed. The fact that people at home are ignorant of the reality of war is obvious in the first excerpt as the author talks to the stranger telling the old lie of how great it is to die for your country. In the second excerpt, this is shown by how the author addresses the "smug-faced crowds."

The second theme is discussed in the first excerpt when the author talks about the "children ardent for some desperate glory." In the second excerpt, it is reflected by talking about the "youth and laughter" of the soldiers.

Answer 2

The right answer for the question that is being asked and shown above is that: "the pain of those left at home waiting for the soldiers; the innocence and ignorance of enlisted soldiers." These are the common themes of war literature are reflected in these excerpts