Brave Men Are These Annotated

Creative Text

I followed their rules. I left my own values in the dust along with the empty shells at training camp and adopted their propaganda. This is what those at home don’t know. Not only did they teach us the physical stipulations of war, but we were indoctrinated with emotional necessities. They told us this creed was how we would survive; how we would win with our impassive army. The posters were in the mess hall, in the bathrooms, in the trenches.

Brave Men Are These…

I

“Their veins run cold. Whom no compassion fleers.”

II

“Some cease feeling. Even themselves or for themselves.”

III

“These who lose imagination.”

I followed this creed when the shells, mud and blood rained down over the trenches. The ringing in my ears from the

Many of his poems had a negative depiction of war that had not previously been as prevalent in war poetry during his time. I was inspired to transform one of his poems to further explore his stance on armed conflict. Insensibility captivated my attention due to the layout of the poem in six stanzas, and the unique nature of his subject. Due to the structure of his poem, I wondered what the effect would be if the bold opening statements in each stanza were taken as “rules” for each soldier to follow. My prose piece turned into an alternate reality, using some quotes from the poem, where soldiers were not told of the honour and excitement as Owen was. Instead the fighting was still glorified, but the soldiers were told that they had to adapt these evidentially negative qualities in order to vanquish. I applied this in that they were told changing these characteristics before fighting would make them better than the others and would thus be the only way to survive. The effect that this could have on a soldier afterwards was interesting to explore. I also took some inspiration from Owen’s poem Anthem For Doomed Youth, where he further highlights the unnecessary nature of war. What I took from this piece was the metaphor described in the first line “What passing bells for those who die as cattle?”. This concept of the soldiers being treated as dispensable farm animals was incorporated into my writing with the description of “a conveyer belt of men” and more importantly in the recount of joining “the herd of men trudging toward the trucks transporting us to the next abattoir.”. I felt that transforming Owen’s themes in this way was an exciting and interesting piece to write, that acknowledged his controversial and passionate influence on war