Who’s for the game, the biggest that’s played,
The red crashing game of a fight?
Who’ll grip and tackle the job unafraid?
And who thinks he’d rather sit tight?
Who’ll toe the line for the signal to ‘Go!’?
Who’ll give his country a hand?
Who wants a turn to himself in the show?
And who wants a seat in the stand?
Who knows it won’t be a picnic – not much-
Yet eagerly shoulders a gun?
Who would much rather come back with a crutch
Than lie low and be out of the fun?
Come along, lads –
But you’ll come on all right –
For there’s only one course to pursue,
Your country is up to her neck in a fight,
And she’s looking and calling for you.
Notes
Why not bring your discussion here http://oldpoetry.com/board/topic/1424
There is a lot of controversy about this World War 1 poem. Please try to consider it in the light of national feelings in the UK at the time when it was written. It is unfair to judge it out of context.
Try to use the comments space for a critique of the poetry and use the forum threads to discuss your own feelings on war.
Why not start with http://oldpoetry.com/board/topic/1424
Leave a guest comment (subject to review)
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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Analysis
From guest Tickle (contact)
Currently we are studying this topic and I have found this site and comments very interesting - thankyou. Through in depth analysis and research you can discover that years later, Dulce was a direct response to Jessie Pope's recruitment stimulus. This and many other advertisments sent men to their deaths, so it can hardly be refferred to as poetry or any kind of beautiful verse. However, the persuasive techniques and extended metaphor partucularly show Jessie Pope's knowledge of literature. As said in another very useful comment, she was respected as a poet before the propaganda of her 'Who's for the Game?' was discovered. I hope students like myself will find this information useful and be inspired by english, once again I would like the thank the editors and all those who hae commented.
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MOD MESSAGE
Thank You for the message
Jim
Oldpoetry Research Team -
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From guest Summi (contact)
Umm, well apparently i heard that Wilfred Owen hated this lady for she was trying to persuade people to go and fight, and Wilfred Owen knew what war was like and he wrote the poem 'DULCE ET DECORUM EST' in reply to this poem to Jessie Pope -
This poem is good in its own way, and was clearly an effective way of recruiting people to the war effort but let's face it: this is propaganda. Pope was employed by the government to churn out rallying poems that completely downplayed the horrors of war and the death that went hand-in-hand with a battle of this magnitude. Though she was well-respected before the war began, this poem, along with others that played up the apparent "heroism" of war, caused many to lose this respect for her. However, she was just doing her job and may not have in fact believed in what she was saying (though this does not redeem her). The way that she plays to the audiences weaknesses - a male not wanting to be seen as a coward and perhaps longing for the chance to fight for his country - is extremely clever, but there is too much of an emphasis on the untrue here. "Who would rather come back with a crutch / Than lie low and be out of the fun?" - Pope is suggesting that the worst that can happen here is a broken leg, when the reality is far more grim. She was indeed a talented poet but her motivation was misplaced and that is what makes this poem what it is.
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Hmmmph
From guest smithereen (contact)
So... we should despise Henry V, Lord of the Rings, Beowulf, etc. for being pro-war? -
Does she know what she in on about?
From guest Hannah (contact)
Although she definately wasn't a realistic poet she shows the contextual perspective of the time and that for one is invaluable. The essence of poetry is self-expression of ideals that the poem believes at the time, if we simply discounted poetry because we didn't agree... why there'd never be a book of poetry on the shelf anywhere! So I think that Jessie Pope is a valued insight of the time and of her personal perspective, both as a woman and as a British patriotic citizen. -
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It's nice to see someone who appreciates Popes point of view even if people in the present day do not agree with her.
However you do raise some interesting points.
Is there any such thing as a "realistic" poet? and if so "Who would we class as a "realsitic" poet?
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triable either way
From guest dani (contact)
I don't think a person can have a fixed opinion either way. On one hand she was not a trench poet or front line solider like Owen,Sassoon or Graves so had no real experience or understanding on the brutality of war but we must understand that Owen and Sassoon were both highly misogynistic but i agree that it is a recruiting poem and seems like propaganda may have influenced it -
This poem is so un-informed
From guest Ruth (contact)
I cannot stand this peom, how can she be so light hearted about war? Dulce Et Decorum Est is one of the best poems I have ever read in contrast to this drivel. I mean, just the fact her work was regularly published in The Daily Mail reeks of the Big Brother country we are making the transition into. Just awful. -
Great poem
From guest Joe (contact)
This is a fantastic poem because it shows how people's attitudes to war were. This woman didn't know about the death tolls and is a piece of history. We shouldn't be debating whether she is evil or not, we should be thanking her for preserving this amazing piece of history! Because of this poem, we are able to see how people were brainwashed with propaganda! -
But how was she supposed to know that?
Don't forget, Jessie Pope was not a frontline soldier, or nurse, or reporter. She would not have witnessed any of this first-hand. In a country STILL awash in pro-war propaganda, Jessie Pope was more than likely as brainwashed as the rest of the country. Sure, we'd lost a lot of men by then, and sure other people had published anti-war poems and accounts, but they were still very much in the minority, and pooh-poohed by government officials as rubbish. First-hand accounts of the front were heavily censored, and not widely published. Pro-war accounts were carefully selected to adorn the morning newspaper, telling everybody that the war was going well and we were doing a good job.
So yeah, Pope was probably naive, but she was by no means the only one. If anything, she was just another victim of the same sort of propaganda she was employed to write. Gullible -yes. Evil - no. -
jessie pope
From guest amy smith (contact)
i think there is a perfectly valid reason for disliking this poem and the way it handles the war. by 1916 there had been huge british losses and many poems dealing with the realism of warfare and the horror of the trenches had already been written. pope's poem is insensitive propaganda, i respect that she was employed by the government and so it was her job to churn out this trash but i stil think she was ignorant in portraying the war as a 'game'. this idea is satirised by the musical/film 'oh what a lovely war' and anyone studying WW1 lit should watch it, it completely rips apart propaganda like this. -
From guest Mark Twain (contact)
Well firstly the poems rhetoric plays on the idea of inclusion i.e by asking Who, Who throughout. It is typical of mass propaganda of similar poetry of the time in order to enlist young men, and its rhythm is jingoistic. -
HELP!
From guest Masina (contact)
hello guys Im doing a persoanal response on this poem using evidence(quotes) from this poem and describing it to what I think about it... I dont know what to say but is there anyone out there that can help... THNX! -
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http://oldpoetry.com/board/topic/1424
This poem is one of the most argued about on the system as you can see by the comments below this (and there were a lot more we didn't have space for).
http://oldpoetry.com/board/topic/1424
If you cannot think of anything to say please read the comments below AND read the forum topic above AND read Owen's Dulce et decorum est.
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dulce et decorum
From guest ben (contact)
This poem is exactly opposite to Dulce et decorum est by wilfred owen and i agree with his point of view. i know peoples opinions of the war were very different at the start of the war, but this poem lies to the young men presenting war as a harmless, glorius activity- a game. -
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'Dulce et Decorum Est' was actually written as a response to this poem, as Owen found Pope's lack of realism and her ignorance on the subject of losses in war to be insensitive and distasteful. You're right about it being the complete opposite to Pope's work because that's how it was intended! Pope wrote propaganda, whereas Owen's poetry was always gritty and honest. In my opinion, this makes him the better poet.
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wow
From guest ella (contact)
my name is ella this poem is so amazing. i love it. wow. makes me love life. -
It was her duty
From guest Dani (contact)
It was Pope's duty to make propaganda for the war. I don't agree with her poems but in some ways perhaps she was unaware of the terrors of war herself.
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This might help http://oldpoetry.com/board/topic/1424 -
how can you hate her
From guest ryan (contact)
jessie was just doing her job and that was to get men into the war. there wasn't many people alive at that point who realised that the war was alredy killing millions. the army were very good at disgusing the truth. also it wasnt only that was using the guilt trick it was the whole country that were intimidating young men to lay down there lives. futhermore the most stupid thing you could possibly say is that she didnt no what really happend. well ofcourse she didnt, no-one did. you have to remember that we no the facts and close to everything that happend in that war, but they knew vague details that were fed through to the public. if she knew all the details about that war and still wrote it then what aselfish cow but she didnt and thats how you have to look at it. i hate what the poem tried to do but i dont hate her. i think we should forgive her and respect those who layed down there lives for our freedom.
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If you want to discuss Pope's motivation this might be a better place.
http://oldpoetry.com/board/topic/1424 -
From guest aviva (contact)
pope never experienced the horrors of war, unlike Owen. Altough she clearly has talent as a poet she was unable to grasp the full concept of war. This is the "Old Lie" that Owen talks about, and he knows only too well. -
Praise to the poem
From Zander Meiring (who likes men)
Im doing an essay on this poem
HELP IM GAY HEEEELP! -
I think we're thinking too hard
From guest Jessica (contact)
1) The poem reflects the mood at the time 2) It is as ridiculous to dislike the poem for being pro-war as it is to dislike 'Hearts of Oak'(1759) or the St Crispin's day speech from Henry V. 3) It is, however, ok to dislike the poem for its own reasons. I, for example, find it uninspiring. -
it's jessie pope... of coruse we all dont like the poem
From guest Anne (contact)
some point... she i writting in 1916 by then people new that the war had a high death rate but the government needed to do anything they could to get people to think that war was a good thing inorder to course havoc its not a great poem but it serves a purpose its a propoganda poem its a peice of history showing one line of view we tend to only see the bad bits of war, rightly so , because we know what the repercussions were but we have to understand that these views alongside many other outdated views were those of the time.. and lastly women places in society was less than satisfactory ... if she hadnt writen these types of pope she wouldn't be as well known... futhermore poem like this are not unusual pre war take for the fallen we tend to use it as a reading on remeberence day but its all for the glory and honnour of war, we should be proud to die for our country rubbish... -
From guest bobby (contact)
i think the poem is good in the scence of when it was written but today i pesonaly think its a bit harsh if i may say to force somone into war. -
The difference between truth and idealism: Comparing Jessie Pope and Wilfred Owen's approach to writing about warfare
From guest Kirstiann (contact)
Jessie Pope wrote "Who's for the Game?" to promote the nationalist agenda. Though her poem was written before the addition of gas in combat her interest is actively jingoistic. She is not serious about educating her audience she is glorifying an illusion to recruit soldiers. It is apparent that she is whitewashing the realities a soldier would face to ignite the fantasy; her poem is not meant to pity, but rather provoke and exploit the minds of young men. In Wilfred Owen's poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" he scolds Pope's brazen approach to patriotism and war (the poem is actually dedicated to her). Having been an eye witness to the horrors of death by asphyxiation he describes the "guttering, choking" demise of a fellow comrade in the trenches. Utilizing Horace's quote for emphasis he pleads with Pope, "My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori." The latin translates to "It is sweet and fitting to die for ones country." Regardless of Pope's lyrical talent Owen is far superior in the fact that he chooses to promote truth via his poetic talent rather then romantic idealism. -
From guest mia (contact)
remember that Pope was a government employed propagandist, and that this was written during the anticipatory period or the war, when the home front still promoted the view that the war would be over by christmas. WWI was stylized by the use of tench warfare. Personally I prefer Owen and Sassoon but Pope's lexis of game exemplifies the preconception of the time - that the war would be brief and a positive experience. -
From guest Wlk (contact)
Jessie Pope was employed by the government of the time to write these poems and they tie in perfectly with the national spirit of the time. Just look at the figures, Wilfred Owen's poems were published less frequently and bought fewer times than the positive propagandist poets of the time. Will we look back with such hatred at the publicists that have come up with the latest set of TV adverts with the slogan 'The Army, be the best'?
MOD MESSAGE
Why not check-out this Forum thread here at Oldpoetry.
http://oldpoetry.com/board/topic/1424 -
bad as nazis? Give over.
From guest gem (contact)
woah, she's clearly not as bad as the nazi's! How was she meant to know about how bad the war would be in hindsight? Be reasonable people. She didn't plan the war!
Also, many people are saying that it's a bad poem. The mere fact that it was such a successful recruitment poem is a direct contradiction. The colloquiel language and quick pase is not because of inability for anything more, but because it was appropraite to the target audience. In fact, it's a very clever poem.
Yes, the notion behind it is wrong and cruel, but that doesn't detract from it's effectiveness. I hate it, but you simply can't say it's bad.
MOD MESSAGE
Why not check-out this Forum thread here at Oldpoetry.
http://oldpoetry.com/board/topic/1424 -
:)
From guest sarah xxx (contact)
i dont like the poem because it tries to make people go into war by making them guilty!!! -
Erm ...
From guest Saffy (contact)
She isn't being ironic, whoever said that. Her poems were published in newspapers as recruitment poems. -
Why are people defending her?
From guest cal (contact)
The poem is very mediocre and does she think she has the right to guilt men into submitting their lives to war? If she had no first hand experience to the true hell of the frontline then how can she possibly concieve the idea that war is fun and like a football game. She was responsible for hundreds of deaths and her poems weren't even that good. In my opinion she is as bad as the nazi's ! ps she was probably a very nice person.. just a very poor poet.. -
From guest Yaz (contact)
This poem is well written and has its good points but when you think about what she's telling the young men to do, it makes you think... she doesn't have the right to say that. Shes just jumping on the bandwagon and i think its wrong how she compared 'war' to a football game. -
What?
From guest Katie (contact)
Now let's not jump to conclusions, Jessie Pope was an amazing poet, adding ironic twists to the feelings and pressures of war. You can read any of her other poetry and know that she is being ironic. Don't take it so seriously. It lacks 'contrast' because the contrast should be obvious to the reader. -
From guest JD (contact)
Can anyone comment on the lack of contrast in this poem? its very hard (for essay) -
Still awful
From guest Lucy (contact)
I admit that it's almost impossible to ignore 20/20 hindsight, or to avoid comparing Pope to Owen. However, can we still judge Pope on her lack of talent? Simple, nursery rhyme-like poetry can take on power if it is satirical or ironic. When it is simply urging people to join up, with great sincerity and optimism, it is simple and unsophisticated poetry. Pope is truly mediocre as a poet. Owen and Sassoon portrayed war with nuance and grim detail -- love for their men, disgust at the war, but also its occasional strange attraction. -
what a hypocrytical poem
From guest Jessica Aldridge (contact)
this poem is completely full of untruths. war is not fun, war is not a game. she never saw what war was really ike, so her opinion holds no value whatsoever. -
Calm Down
From guest Adam (contact)
You all should just calm down (well the angry ones at least) I'm sure you'd all want to help your country in some way if there was a war and a huge threat to all those you loved, I myself am not from the UK but i see it from both sides, yes it does seem like she has no idea, but remember that before WW1 they hadn't seen the realities of war, they all thought it would just be "go there, kill the enemy, come home" She was just doing her part by doing what she thought was best. By the way I'm not saying what she thought was best was right, but you all know how bad war can be, they didn't. -
Berry
From guest Kerry (contact)
This was written by an inidividual who clearly had no idea of what actually happened in battle. Like the soldiers who enlisted she believed that it was a gallant and noble duty to serve king and country and was swept along by the Propoganda as many thousands were. So many fought for our freedom and we should remember what they went through to get it. -
hold up!!
From guest lisa (contact)
if jessie didnt know about the war, can we blame her? yes i feel angrey to the fact of that she lied to the men of her country. sent them out without any egotism. but even though men had died, they are still heros and will always be. jessie pope filled her propaganda poem with encouragement stating that the war is a game! and that they will only end up with minor inguries! this is obviously lies, only because we know what went on in the war, they hadent a clue to what was going to happen, or the conditions they would have to live in! -
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RACHEL
From guest RACHEL P (contact)
she was trying to incourage the man to fight and if she didn't then germany might have won the war -
try to understand
From guest lily (contact)
I get where everyone with the negitive comments are coming from but try not to blame Jessie Pope too much, it's not like she had actually been to the front line and actually seen it she was just writing on behalf of other people's opinions. I believe she had no bad intentions when writing her poems and was simply only trying to recruit soldiers to save her country. She may even have actually believed that war was just a game because not alot of people told of what war actually was so many thought it was just like this poem. So don't think of miss pope as a bad person(or poet) think of her as misguided. -
Class Work
From guest Aisha (contact)
I think that this poem is very deatiled and if you understand it it woul help you alot in life and you could learn alot from it. This is what i am learin in english poetry right now! I love this poem it is one of my favourites. -
Spelling.
From guest Shannon (contact)
I understand this is a forum/comment board but I find it inpossible to take any of these arguements seriously when they are written so awfully. I think Jessie Pope was perhaps trying to be helpful to the english side by recruiting soldiers, but instead came across as rather insensitive to the suffering war vertans. -
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would you?
From guest renee (contact)
ebi if you could take a second to think before you wrote those harsh comments you would see that she was trying to incourage the man to fight and if she didn't then germany might have won the war so there is no need for world war 2 peoples lives would be saved but you forgot that then we will would all be speaking german and if germany then went for more empire there would be no one to stop them. even if she does disgust you then look away because she didn't know how bad things were going during the war all the goverment told them was that every thing is under control, the people of britian were completely cut of from every thing the soilors couldn't even send letters home which weren't monitered all they could do is hope but with out the properganda so many men would be hiding under their blankets. if you were in that place would you just want to sit around not knowing what was going on but knowing that the germans are coming for YOU! but you could do something though you can help in courage them to fight for their friends fight for their families fight for the childern fight for their towns fight for theircountry so when they would return they would be heros to everyone and will know that they fought for their country and they stood up for whats right and no one not anybody in the world can take that away from them even if they died in the process they are still heros to every one thats why we remember every one still on the 11th of the 11th at 11 o'clock we count our selves lucky that we are here and we are not separated because of our colour of our skin or hair or eyes or reiligon or gender. we are all people with hearts to love and brains to think before we say. so just think again what you would have done in her place at her age. she tried to help to do her bit for her country, would you? -
cruelty
From guest ebi (contact)
has jessie even been to war like properly.
how dare she write such crude verses of unjust circumstances.
she is not even fit to becalled a poet.
she disgusts me.
is she a robot or does she even possess a mind of her own -
It is so easy to write with the benefit of hindsight and say what should and should not have happened.
Like many millions of patriotic people Jessie Pope supported a war against what was seen as a tyrannical opponent. She was not allowed to fight so she did what she could for the war effort as she saw it at the time.
She plainly says that Britain was "up to her neck" in the war but she asked a valid question
"Who wants a turn to himself in the show?
And who wants a seat in the stand?"
With all the casualties in the first two years there was hardly a town or village that hadn't suffered so the country wasn't as ignorant of the situation as some readers seem to think.
Jessie Pope, using the only weapons available to her (words) was "doing her bit" and if the poetry on view here is anything to go by she did it well. -
From guest anonymous (contact)
if kerry's right then jessie pope was a liar and sent men to their death's. -
who's for the game
From guest anonymous (contact)
i honestly think this poem is ignorant and foolish she may have been writing it for a newspaper but its still complete crap. We all know how the war really was and even then, young men knew the dangers and that the war was nothing like she compared it to. This makes me seriously angry. How could she be so stupid!!?? If it did work and men were ignorant enough to follow it, it was a lie and she sent most to their deaths. I may not know her, but i seriously hate her. This was written 2 years after the beginning of the war and consequently, she was either ignorant or a liar. Which is worse? -
From guest Kerry (contact)
Actually, Roshan, you've got it wrong. She wrote this poem and many others for newspapers as a form of recruitment so why would she say that the war was bad? It was her job to line up all the young men to be sent off to France or Belgium to slaughtered like cattle! -
Jessie Pope
From guest Roshan (contact)
I think that she got wrapped up in the times with the national patriotism. Some may say she should of looked deeper but for someone living in Englan the war was a million miles away -
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From guest guest (: (contact)
This poem helps to explain the reason Wilfred Owen originally titled "Dulce et Decorum est", "to Jessie Pope". She gloryfies something she knows nothing of. interesting poem though, no wonder it caused so much contreversy. -
homework
From guest chs (contact)
Compare Wilfred Owen’s poem Dulce et Decorum est with Jessie Pope’s who’s for the Game? How do both poets represent the First World War? Focus on the poet’s attitude and use of poetic techniques in portraying warfare
MOD MESSAGE
Who is this comment aimed at? I think it would be better in the Questions Forum! -
Boldon School
From guest jess (contact)
Ehh Bois!!!!
a did this well am doing it now for homework in year 9 
n sumones rote sumthing about boldon skl down there n all \/ \/
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Boldon Skwl
From guest Geordie comin 2 get u (contact)
I know that this school does lots of work about it, every year group does this in English, same with many other schools in the area, including primary, :0...NEWCASTLE! -
Lies
From guest Geordie comin 2 get u (contact)
Why r u talking to a Woman who died in 1941 lol, who writes about a 'fun' war when actually millions of people died, and Pope inspired these people to join up and die, although these poems have good descriptive words, its still offensive :] -
This Peom
From guest Unknown (contact)
I have to write 3 paragraphs about this for a exam , this has helped me tho -
school
From guest Alexandra Rose Haymes (contact)
we are doing this for school work its strange bt cool -
Homework
From guest ????? (contact)
Hey i got some homework to do about you and whos for the game lots of questions to answer and parsgraohs to write so i hope ur writing will help
thank you
p.s i know that u r a man jessie
MOD MEMO
O No she wasn't! -
GR
From guest BOB (contact)
I THINK THT THIS POEM IS VERY DEMEANING AND BAD ABOUT WW1 AS SOLDIERS GAVE THERE LIVES FOR BRITIAN -
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Jessie Pope
From guest Emily (contact)
I am studying this poem at school we are looking at how Jessie has made the poem extreme propaganda with her jolly rhythm and rhyme scheme. She glorifies war but would have never really known what it was eally like. I think it is a good poem though as it grabs peoples attentions even if they dont fully agree with what she is saying! -
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Jessie Pope
From guest Bolo (contact)
Jessie Pope talks alot she uses persuasive language and Rhetorical questions to encourage young men to join the war. Wilfred Owen directed his poem directly at Jessie Pope talking about the truth and Horrors of the war he had undergo. -
Jessie pope
From guest Abbie ###### (contact)
jessie pope seems a bit nieve as she has never experienced war but it is a good poem -
Jessie pope
From guest Abbie ###### (contact)
i think that jessie pope is nieve she has no idea what the war was like but the poem is good with a catchy rhyme scheme -
lor
From guest Laura (contact)
"Dulce et decorum est" by Wilfred Owen is a direct response to "who's for the game." Pope's was a common view early in the war and from home which is clearly opposed by Owen's work. I really don't like this poem. -
From guest Jennii (contact)
Shes Is Saying That War Is A Game And Shes Trying To Get People To Join In Saying It Will Be Fun When Really War Is Not Fun When You Read Owens Poem Its Horrible And Tramatic The Imagey And You Would Never Even Think About War With The Way He Desribed It Tbh Owen Had Right To React To Her Poem Because He Had First Hand Experience He Actaully Saw These Terrible Things Where As She Had No Experiance In Any Of The War. -
From guest MoLlY (contact)
Just so you know "dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" (the old lie) means: how sweet and proper it is to die for your country. -
From guest sophie colborn (contact)
The title is an extended metaphor throughout the whole poem, she refers to the war as a “game”, and it is a huge contradiction as war is the complete opposite of a game. The poem is aimed at younger males to recruit, which is why the poet uses slang and informal language to make it seem more light hearted. Referring to the war as a game makes it seem as though it would be fun, it never mentions death or any of the consequences involving war. She uses rugby terms such as “grip” and “tackle” because rugby is seen as a man’s sport, referring to the war as a game of rugby implies that a “player’s” worst injury would be returning on crutches, rather than death. -
From guest katziii (contact)
its not that she was talking about her experiences at war - this poem was published in several newspapers to convince young men to go to war. -
From guest Cheese171 (contact)
hiya
it's a good poem but it's totally inaccurate! Jessie pope is a woman and she wouldn't know what war is like because she never went! Peace out x
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Jesse pope vs wilfred owen.
From guest charlotte woolhead (contact)
Pope always advertised war asif it was a game that should be played by men, but to be truthful she is a woman and she is totally clueless to what actually happens in war. On the other hand owen is totally against war, and writes deep clever poems from real experiences. One poem he writes 'Dulce et Decorum Est' he actually talks to pope in the forth verse then obviously to the audience too. This becomes more clearly when he quotes 'My friend, you would not tell stories of such high zest to children ardent to some desprate glory, The old lie: dulce et decorum est pro patria mori' which is basically the latin translation for 'the old lie' . Well thats a summery of what i learned in class today
charlotte woolhead 13
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From guest vishal (contact)
i strongly disagree with this poem beacuse jessie pope at that time was naive and didnt see war for what it really was.... -
In Retaliation
From guest Sam (contact)
To those of you, whom, like myself, dislike this poem and the carelessness with which it has been written, I strongly suggest Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce et Decorum est'. Owen wrote the poem purely in retaliation to 'Who's for the Game?', and he addresses Jessie Pope directly in the last verse as, 'My friend ... ... You would not tell with such high zest, To children desperate for some ardent glory, The old lie: Dulce et Decorum est Pro patri mori.' 'Dulce et Decorum est Pro patri mori' is Latin for 'It is a sweet and noble thing to die for your country.' Owen served in the war, unlike Jessie Pope, and so provides a far more shocking and graphic depiction in his poem. Like I said, if you dislike this poem, as I do, then I strongly suggest 'Dulce et Decorum est'. -
i'm sorry, but this poem is complete and utter ......
regardless of the fact she got the message wrong, its the sort of thing a 12 year old could come up with
bleh
xxx -
It's so close to satire, so close to an indictment of war, just an allusion or two stressed and that is what it could mean. Instead it's a shill, a propagandist ploy. It reminds us of that debate, does the end justify the means? Certainly they needed able bodies to fight the war, but is this manner justified. I guess that question intrigues me more than the poem itself, which reads well...which obviously made it all the more effective.
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doing art on this poem at school
From guest Alex (contact)
this poem is very interesting and purvasive poem. because i choose to do it for my art i can open up my imagination to different ways of portraing this on canvers. because of the way it makes you look like a coward telling you you are going to be loney if you don't go to war. it is telling us that because of the rhetorical questions it makes you feel guilty if you don't go. i love this poem becuase they is so much to portray in a peice of art work even though she got it wrong and it was not all fun and games going to war. it is still an amazing poem. -
My essey
From guest Naomie (contact)
this is what i wrote about this poem in my essey: "‘Who’s for the Game?’ By Jessie Pope, was written by a woman during the war. It Suggests that war is a game and that you’ll be massing out on ‘a load of fun’ if they don’t go. This poem is used to persuade men and boys to go to war. It also asks rhetorical questions for example: “Who’ll Give his country a hand?” to make people think and feel guilty if they don’t go. Pope has used metaphors to persuade people that war is ‘a game’, not a battle. She refers the war to a physical sport, for example: ‘Grip and Tackle’. I think that this was a good subject to refer to, because in the early 1900 most men loved a game of rugby or football, which lead to men all over the country signing up. There are 14 different rhetorical questions in this poem. 9 positive and 5 negative. I don’t like the way she uses this, because it makes people eel really bad if they’re scared to go to war and there is nothing wrong with that." -
Help for you from my essay
From guest jess m (contact)
Jessie Pope (1868 - 1941) was an English poet, writer and journalist best known for her patriotic motivational poems published during World War I. 'Who's for the Game' and 'Dulce et Decorum Est' create very different impressions of war. I will be focussing on ‘ who’s for the game? ’. Jessie Pope wrote 'Who's for the Game' to encourage young men into joining the British army. She wrote it as she believed one hundred percent in the war and the government propaganda. She was very patriotic and wanted to use her writing skills to help the country. Jessie Pope wrote the poem the way she did she because she did not want to discourage men from going into battle. But she was very arrogant as she sat in her house in England having no idea of what really happened during the war. In my opinion Jessie Pope, was very much responsible for the jingoist feel in Britain at the time that lead to so many men being lost in WW1. She uses propaganda to almost intimidate men ‘Who’ll grip and tackle the job unafraid?’. In this quote she coerces the men of Britain, to say if their not a big enough man, of course some men are going to disagree with her belief and therefore slyly are forced into it. The poem made war sound like a fun sport game shown in this quotation "Who's for the game, the biggest that's played” she is referring to the great war that was present at the time as if it was a sport or a hobby. Making people wanting to recruit themselves and getting involved, not necessarily fighting . Quite arrogant and maybe insulting but it was good enough if Jessie Pope was persuading them. Through out the poem, to the start to the end she asks questions, “Who’ll toe the line for the signal to ‘Go!’?” it stays in our mind and makes us think about the powerful question, this is known as a rhetorical question. As a result to this, more men think that ‘fighting for their country sounds like a good Idea as it sounds like they need me.’ The sentence; ‘Who would much rather come back with a crutch, Than lie low and be out of the fun?’ is influential and leading, really saying to us, that coming back with victory or glory and a proud family to come home to whether your country won or not is better then not fighting at all. Who knows, your country could of needed you to win? -
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for guest jess m
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/3336-Wilfred-Owen-Dulce-Et-Decorum-Est-Pro-Patria-Mori
I have to correct one statement made in your comment. Jessie Pope did not write Dulce et Decorum it was in fact written by Wilfrid Owen
Von - Oldpoetry
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the poem for project
From guest jamie white (contact)
Jessie pope had no idea about what life at the front was like she just made assumptions like everyone else. In her case they were completely wrongand even when people like wilfred owen and siegfried sassoon wrote their famous poems she ignored all evidence that conflicted with her views.
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incorrect war view
From guest Sammyantha (contact)
Jessie Pope mad ethe war seem like alot of fun, however Wilfred Owen gave a completely different view. this poem is very misleading and might have been the cause for so many men dieing in the war. -
my thoughts
From guest Hanz (contact)
4 class i am studying dulce et decorum est and i think owens has a right to feel angry at jessie pope -
my thoughts....
From guest Emily (contact)
We have been looking at those two poems in class as well. I think that Jessie Pope and others like her are very much responsible for the jingoist feel in Britain at the time that lead to so many men being lost in WW1. We have to remember that at the time patriotic messages of this kind would have seemed reasonable, as ordinary people would be exposed to them in their everyday lives. Jessie Pope's war poems were a regular sight in the Daily Mail. Her work, which might have been seen as only encouragement actually took advantage of easily influenced young men. I like to think that nowadays people are more wary of what they trust in such important matters. Phillip Larkin’s poem, MCMXIV, demonstrates this loss of innocence. -
Any suggestions, please?????
From guest little kay (contact)
i am doing this poem for my essay, and i am comparing it to Dulce et Decorum Est - the end bit (with such high zest...) i think that this poem is wrong and that although it may have appealed to men at the time, it is silly if it was written now! I need help with a question about this poem, though: "Explain the Structure of the poem". Can anyone help me. I have already written that the stanzas are regular, but what else can i write??????????????????????????? Please help me! thank you. -
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yr `10
From guest ali bahwan (contact)
I am also doing this poem for my GCSE. I think Jessie pope doesnt really know the meaning of war and the terrible things that happens in a war. She thinks war is basicly like a rugby game but unnfortunately, unlike the rugby game the players dont come back alive she is using psychology to rope the young of england into a useless war. Jessie the civillan thinks war is some what like a picnic and asks the young men to join the war a shoulder a gun and invites them to come back with a crutch rather then be seated in the stands. I really feel this poem is absurd when we look at it in 2007. Probably this poem appealed to the youngsters in 1914. -
The idea is JUST WRONG
From guest Jake (contact)
Fighting is not fun, these are propaganda, fooling those innocent lives. There would never be world peace but encouraging war is certainly not the way to go, people were so blind those days. -
Well Obviously this poem
From guest Emily (contact)
i like this poem by jessie pope, i think it is livley and encouraging and once you havve read the first line it brings you on and you want to read the rest. although i like the poem i don't think it should have been written. jessie pope didn't go to war and so she did not know what is was actually like. whereas other poets, such as wilfred owen, have been to war and expienced it at a full and said it is nothing like a picnis as she calls it and nothing like a game of rugby. she is sending men out to firght when it really is a horrile place and lying when she says its fun like a "picnic". if only she knew what it was really like -
To Robertz
From guest Katie (contact)
Compare the end of Ducle Et Decorum Est "My friend you would not tell with such high zest..." to this poem. How it refers to her and her ilk. That got me quite a few marks ;P
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