Nationalisme i engelsk krigsdigtning

We all want to belive in our country and be proud of it. It is a feeling of nationalism which gives us dignity, courage and hope, especially in tough times. It is like a suvival instinct that kicks in, and gives us love for our bloodrelated and hate for everyone else. This mechanism has played a part in almost every war we humans have fought. We can definately see that in world war one. There were over 37 million casualties overall. This is a very good example of what happens when our national ego and love for ourselves gets too big, when all we have left for others is hate. An example of nationalism in world war one can be seen in England, being a country which has always been very nationalistic and they certainly were in World War 1 as well. We can see that in their poetry. There are two very famous nationalistic poems, it is “Who is for the game” written by Jessie Pope and “The soldier” by Rupert Brooke. They talk about the greatness of their country and of what an achievement it is to fight for England.

“Who is for the game” is a poem written in 1916 two years after the war broke out. It is a pro-war poem where Jessie Pope is encouraging young men to join the war. She speaks of war in a very light way, and she does not mention the horrors of the war, only good things. She uses a “game” as a metaphor for the war, and she does that right from the start. “Who’s for the game, the biggest that's played”. This is a very smart method of persuasion, because when you think of a game you do not think of death and sorrow. You think of fun things and friends when you think of a game. She also says, “Who’ll grip and tackle” and “Who’ll toe the line”. Jessie also compare the war to a show” Who wants a turn to himself in the show?” That is also a rhetorical question, and she uses those questions a lot especially in the two first stanzas. The effect of this is that it forces the reader to answer the question. She uses pathos as a mode of persuasion. She speaks to the young men’s feelings of responsibility, and she promises them fun. She also says that they are cowards if they do not go and that they in a way have no self-respect. The structure of the poem is regular abab, and that makes it very easy to follow.