All Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque

The text “All Quiet On The Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque undoubtedly destroys the pre 1914 ‘Romanticized’ assumptions and perceptions of war where fighting was considered as Heroic and Noble. The composer effectively emphasizes, and reinforces the effects of the front on a typical soldier throughout the text who was ultimately encouraged to enlist without having any knowledge of the effects that the battlefield would have on him and his fellow peers. In Juxtaposition to this, “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke is a poem which attempts to promote the romanticised view of war through positive connotations of the battlefield and by alluding to the Nobility and sacrifice of the duty, in order to convince more people to enlist in the war and

Set during the midst of World War One, this text mocks and ridicules those at home who held the typical pre 1914 romanticized view of war where they believed fighting in the war was Noble and Heroic for individuals, in order to do this, those at home interpreted the life of a typical soldier who experienced feelings of disillusionment and the brutality of the battlefield. The reality of the war, in the text “All quiet on the western front” can be clearly exhibited when the main character Paul Baumer states “Our first experience of heavy artillery fire showed us our mistake, and the view of life that their teaching had given us fell to pieces under that bombardment”. The creative use of military jargon “artillery fire” and “bombardment” effectively portrays the power of war to not only destroy lives physically but psychologically as well for those who survive the attacks. Additionally, this first-hand experience of the front undoubtedly destroys the pre war assumptions made about fighting being “Noble” by emphasising the disillusionment of war from a soldier's perspective. Furthermore, the brutality of war can be explored when Paul states “But on the very last day, we were taken by surprise by long-range shelling from the

Before, the mass destruction took place in world war one, many soldiers were taught to believe, like in the poem “The Soldier” that enlisting and fighting in the war for their country, was a noble and patriotic act. However, this “Romantic” perception of war was quickly turned into a sense of disillusionment and brutality as the soldiers were confronted with the difficult truths about the reality of the battlefield which are evident in the text “all quiet on the western front”. In “The Soldier” Brooke continuously implies that it is a noble act to fight for one’s country. This is supported by the line “a pulse in the eternal mind, no less”. The clear use of an illusion “eternal mind” suggests that soldiers who go and fight for their country are immortal in life as they go to heaven if they fall. This essentially encourages more readers to enlist because their decision will be considered noble as the poem manipulates them to believe they are going to heaven. Furthermore, this idealized perception of war where it is considered a noble act to enlist can be further explored when the poem claims “That there’s some corner of a foreign field that is forever England”. The clever use of alliteration