Who's For The Game By Jessie Pope Language Techniques

‘Your country is up to her neck in a fight, And she’s looking and calling for you.’ This quote is from Jessie Pope’s pro-war poem, ‘Who’s for the game’. Poems like this and other propaganda at the time of World War 1 had built a facade that glorified war and overlooked the casualties caused by it. The poem ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ (written by Wilfred Owen), however, contested these views, uncovering these lies and revealing the true horrors of war to the public. In a direct response to Jessie Pope, coming from his own personal experiences, Owen conveys the message: war is not an exciting adventure but an extremely horrific and painful experience, with the use of several language techniques implemented throughout the poem, such as metaphor, personification

The quote ‘drunk with fatigue’ does a great job of expressing this. This is a metaphor, as we’re comparing the mental state of the soldiers to that of being drunk. Moreover, saying they’re drunk with ‘fatigue’ is a hyperbole, exaggerating the effect of their fatigue. This is a clever use of language techniques and is highly effective. It suggests the soldiers are so tired, it’s like they’re drunk. When you’re drunk you’re unaware, disoriented and sluggish. This reveals the magnitude of their fatigue; it has caused the soldiers to be unaware, disoriented, and sluggish. The metaphor ‘men marched asleep’ adds to this effect. Marching is usually an organised activity, in which people are attentive. Suggesting they’re marching asleep suggests they need to push really hard just to perform everyday tasks, let alone fighting. It also shows how they’re almost forced to do this; this is not what they signed up for. This can be linked to the propaganda, which advertised the war as a great adventure; a fun experience in which you can hang out with friends whilst becoming ‘heroes’, however the true reality is far from that, and the soldiers are now regretting their choices. The mood is not energetic and patriotic as advertised, but grieving, desperate and suffering. The metaphors and hyperbole used here create this effect, uncovering the true mood in the

Owen witnessed the death of a soldier who did not manage to fit his “clumsy helmet” during a sudden gas attack on their way back to their rest. In a first person narration, Owen uses a metaphor “As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.” to describe this horrendous event - the “green sea” is the poisonous, green chlorine gas. It suffocates you by filling your lungs up with fluid. Using this simile, comparing his state to ‘drowning’ suggests he can’t breathe and shows how the gas is fast spreading and filling the trenches. This is just one example of the painful and horrific deaths soldiers experience but also witness - which is the cause of the PTSD soldiers have. It is such an awful sight, it scars you emotionally. Another language feature that supports this is the descriptive language “If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace” and “In all my dreams before my helpless sight”. These two lines are crucial in creating this effect, as they directly address the PTSD they experience. Owen refers to his personal experiences, informing us of the ‘smothering dreams’ he had. Smothering means to suffocate and is overwhelming. This suggests the dreams were very intense and overwhelming. This highlights the severity of the PTSD they experience. In the second line, saying ‘before my helpless sight’ shows how Owen couldn’t do anything to help his friends, and also addresses the guilt many