Owen was an English teacher before the war broke out in the summer of 1914. Over the next four years, he won a prize for bravery and was sent to hospital with shell shockA mental illness that was common in soldiers who had been through traumatic events in the war. It is now called post-traumatic stress disorder..
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Bullets and bravery as war poet remembered
Owen was an English teacher before the war broke out in the summer of 1914. Over the next four years, he won a prize for bravery and was sent to hospital with shell shockA mental illness that was common in soldiers who had been through traumatic events in the war. It is now called post-traumatic stress disorder..
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Word Watch
Sadly, Owen did not live to see peace. He was killed in action on November 4, 1918, just a week before the war ended.
During wartime, many newspapers printed patrioticShowing love and pride for your country. poems to boost moraleCheerfulness and enthusiasm, especially in a time of suffering. among the British.
"Stand up and meet the war. The HunA word the British used for German soldiers during World War One. is at the gate!" wrote Rudyard KiplingAn English novelist who wrote The Jungle Book. in one, calling soldiers to action.
Owen's poetry, in contrast, vividly showed the horrors of life in the trenches. In The Spring Offensive, he compared the "the hot blast and fury" of the battlefield to hell and attacked the "immemorialVery old or ancient. shames" of war.
Is poetry the best way to understand war?
Poetry does not give us much information. History books are far better for teaching us about the causes, events and outcomes of war, which is truly useful knowledge. Besides, many poems use complicated or old-fashioned language that makes it harder to understand what is going on. Give me a war documentary any day.
Of course. Nothing else allows us to experience war so vividly. In The Spring Offensive, we can feel the soldiers' fear as they wait to go over the top and see the carnage surrounding them during battle. You can read about battle plans and politics elsewhere, but poetry tells us how these grand plans affected real people. We can stand beside them.
The Spring Offensive: In March 1918, the Germans launched a series of attacks as they tried to break through Allied soldiers in France.
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Keywords
Shell shock - A mental illness that was common in soldiers who had been through traumatic events in the war. It is now called post-traumatic stress disorder.
Patriotic - Showing love and pride for your country.
Morale - Cheerfulness and enthusiasm, especially in a time of suffering.
Hun - A word the British used for German soldiers during World War One.
Rudyard Kipling - An English novelist who wrote The Jungle Book.
Immemorial - Very old or ancient.
Bullets and bravery as war poet remembered
Glossary
Shell shock - A mental illness that was common in soldiers who had been through traumatic events in the war. It is now called post-traumatic stress disorder.
Patriotic - Showing love and pride for your country.
Morale - Cheerfulness and enthusiasm, especially in a time of suffering.
Hun - A word the British used for German soldiers during World War One.
Rudyard Kipling - An English novelist who wrote The Jungle Book.
Immemorial - Very old or ancient.