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
There is a lot of controversy about this 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.
Leave a guest comment (subject to review)
Comments
1 - 7 of 7
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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." -
<
Your 'comments' - 18 to date are not suitable or appropriate. You are copy/pasting the whole page as a comment , also plagiarising others' comments in order to gain 'points' which will do you no good on Oldpoetry whatsoever. Please regard this as a warning and if it continues you will be banned from access to Oldpoetry.
Von
Oldpoetry -
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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maths
From guest micheal hopkins (contact)
i think this poem is awesome its totally rad 2 the max dnt u fink i love it ive read it 43 times and cant get enough of it -
jessie pope
From guest hannah (contact)
i am also doing this poem and i find it rather hard, but i do disagree with it-.- -
Essay
From guest Robertz (contact)
I'm comparing this poem with wilfred owens 'Dulce et Decorum Est'. Has anyone got any suggestions on how Wilfred Owen's discription of soldiers is different from Jessie Pope's? -
yr 9
From guest ryan (contact)
i'm doing this poem this year as well as counter attack i have to do an essay -.- :( -
Yr 9
From guest Karimah..X (contact)
Also doing this poem this yr. Quite interesting don't you think? -
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From guest Poem girl (contact)
Hi i'm in yr 9 to, and we are doing this aswell, it is quite interesting learning about the war. -
wha?
From guest joel schwartz (contact)
im staggered that half of the people in this forum are essaying this for gcse? im in yr 9 and im being made tho do this. whyy? -
From guest Alex (contact)
Also doing it for GCSE. I don't think that someone who has never really experienced war at all should write a poem like this. However it is pretty impressive that she was a writer for a national paper at the time considering that she was a woman and the general view of what women should be doing at the time. -
This poem is often viewed as being in praise of war when in fact the poet is simply using irony to describe the jingoistic attitude as shown in the newspapers of the day. In this era of sarcasm and irony I feel it is rather sad that some people cannot recognise such an important fact about this poem.
Sassoon, Owen, Brookes all had their way of treating the horror from a soldiers viewpoint. Pope is dealing with the horrific side from a feminine, civilian viewpoint. Think how she must have felt living through such times when the papers were exhorting men to volunteer (for death), singers were crooning songs about it being all over by Christmas and idiots going around brandishing white feathers. Don't be misguided into thinking the writer believed in the so called glory of war.
After all
Who would much rather come back with a crutch
Than lie low and be out of the fun?
I doubt there are many who would. Including Jessie Pope. -
hmmmm
From guest jonno (contact)
i think its completely wrong the way jessie pope describes war as a game she should realise how serious it is and how highly respected the men are that go and come back from war !! War is sick and should be banned in our world whats the point in killing terrorists when at the same time they are training millions more to do one thing and thats kill!! -
poem
From guest Freddy Mcfry (contact)
"From guest Brian Kempson (contact)
im doing this poem for my GCSE too, im comparing it to 'Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori' by Wilfred Owen and i must say that i disagree with this poem, it glorifys war and fools people into going out to fight "
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not very nice
From guest Brian Kempson (contact)
im doing this poem for my GCSE too, im comparing it to 'Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori' by Wilfred Owen and i must say that i disagree with this poem, it glorifys war and fools people into going out to fight -
it does its job
From guest jess rivett (contact)
im doing this poem for my GCSEs, iv just finished the essay, it does it's job, but i don't like what they did, people like her made young boys, go out to war, they died before their years -
poem
From guest toptotty (contact)
this poem is truelly ensipering i think it is a good veiw of war poetry. it really makes you think! i am going to print this out and put it im my room to read every night. i hope there are more poems on this kinda thin i will have a search. -
Propaganda at its worst
From guest Seb (contact)
Jessie pope was a person who can be epitomized in Wilfred Owen's poem the send off, 'mock what women meant'. This woman was a person who made money from encouraging the flower of Britain's youth to go to their deaths. Owen was correct when he described how shallow many women's patriotism was. Woman are responsible for many deaths in world war 1, through the white feather programme. Put simply, she wrote a number of poems which idolized a war which meant horrible death. Two contrasts are her poems, and wilfred Owen's 'Dulce et Decorum Est'. Look at Pope's idea of death, and then Owen's. -
What's new
From guest Mike McCormack (contact)
Ahem. this is easy for us to criticise now as it is quite clearly it is absurb. However is it not, merely in a precurser of all the jargon we are bombarded with each day on British and American Television.We are still victims of absurb propaganda. -
A funny poem!
From guest ME (contact)
1. The first metaphor Pope uses in the poem is: ‘The biggest that’s played’ This suggests the nature of the war is big but it doesn’t suggest if there is any blood and guts in war. All it tells us is that it is big but it doesn’t tell us about the blood and guts that you get in a war. This enforces the reader to join and enlist in the war, because the lad does not know what actually happens. So he will join the war and then find out! 2. She extends the metaphor in the following lines by writing: ‘The red crashing game of a fight? Who’ll grip and tackle the job unafraid? And who thinks he’d rather sit tight?’ The sentence, ‘The red crashing game of a fight?’ tells us that it is a ‘crashing’ game which means that it is going to be loud and very violent but in a game way, not a fight. The game she is describing is rugby because it is a game of strong men and there is a lot of crashes. 3. There are two different types of men being juxtaposed in this poem and the different types of men are being juxtaposed in the poem. They are: a) A brave man who is not scared of going to the war (which should be the reader!) b) A weak man who is not brave enough to fight for his country and usually would sit back and watch the war like a spectator. Jesse Pope uses a lot of examples such as in the start she said: ‘Who’ll grip and tackle the job unafraid? And who thinks he’d rather sit tight?’ The man reading this would obviously want to be a brave man and so she wrote ‘Who’ll grip and tackle the job unafraid’ and the lad would think he is a man and not a coward. The language she uses for these two types of men is very positive for the brave man and negative for the feeble, weak lad. 4. Pope does use he language very carefully because she has to try and persuade the young men of England to join or enlist in the war so that England don’t lose and she persuades the men by using colloquial English, which is used when you talk to your friends. She uses sentences like: ‘Come along lads- But you’ll come on all right!’ These types of lines when the reader reads it will feel as if it isn’t a dangerous fight because they might have never been in a fight before so they wouldn’t have known. The words don’t look powerful but the way she uses them is strong, for example: ‘Who’ll toe the line for the signal to ‘Go!’ Who'll give their country a hand?’ These are rhetoric questions which are answered by the question with out even thinking what is it! 5. Pope’s overall message is to force the lads of England to join the war and fight for their country so that she (the country) does not lose. My response to the poem is that I find this poem very effective in a way because the words used are organised and well put together. It tries to embolden the young men and it describes the war as a game which is rugby. Rugby needs people who are strong and fearless and same people are used at war. I liked the idea of the two different men being juxtaposed and it is made stronger by the 4-3 rhythm which is very strong! The questions are well put together and make a lot a lot of sense. Overall in my point of view it is a great poem! -
A good comparison
From guest Joe (contact)
This a great poem to compare with Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce et Decorum est'. It shows the reality of war opposing the political/propaganda one. Both great poems. And I do agree with those who believe Jessie Pope using a sarcastic and satirical approach, surely no one is that deluded about war? -
what a lovely poem
From guest henry eva (contact)
My name is Henry Eva and i love this poem. im really lame and read this every night. It a bad ass poem! -
From guest jess (contact)
I don't think Jessie Popes poem encouraged people to go to war at all. As from my point of view it sounds sarcastic, like its preetending to be propoganda. I think its a good poem. -
Both sides
From guest Helen (contact)
i agree that on the one hand she did encourage young men to go and fight glazing over some of the true facts, BUT if it wasnt for people like Pope and only the terrible facts came back from the wars surely no-one would join and how could the allies have won the war as a whole if there was no body to fight? -
to natasha july 7
From guest emma (contact)
i totally agree with your point of view. i dont think many people seem to realise the time she was writing in was a lot different to today. before i realy start... i think most of you need to get a more mature head on and do your research on her background before commenting on her work... thats what you'll learn when you come to do A level english literature, it requires you to actually research the poet before you analyse their work so you can have a real valid point!!!! there was a definite sense of heroism at the time that came with joining the war. secondly, and i know its sexist BUT ITS TRUE, women, like jesse, hadn't a clue of what was going on in the real world, she made money by writting poetry so there was no need for her to go out and get a 'man's' job to support herself and her family. also to go with this point; letters home were sensored so all she would have known is the "good" side of the war (if there was one). plus communications werent as good as they are these days. something happens in iraq and we know about it 10 minutes after its happened but it would take days... months even for somthing to be reported and even then it would be altered so no one knew the real details of the war. if you read 'socks' which was written two years later you can see how her style has changed slightly.. she is still encouraging people to go to war but it's asthough she knows something isnt right, like she's trying to distract herself from the reality of it all. -
It's Sick!!
From guest Supporter of the Iraq Soldiers plea to come home!!! (contact)
Fine she needed money and was paid for her poetry, but if she new what had been happening surely she couldnt have written this with the intent for more soldiers to enlist. You only have to look at people like George Bush and the supporters of the Iraq war to see how naive people can be, senseless amounts of men and women both American and English have died out there and I'm sure the soldiers of every war where ever their from would agree that the horrors that are seen are far worse than anyone can imagine and that people like Jessie Pope don't deserve to have ever even written about the subject. -
to vikki, about the comment of june 30
From guest Grace (contact)
(edited) Jessie Pope was a naive writer, who, although she was indeed paid to write poems, seems to have no idea of the reality of war. there was plenty of other literature coming out at the time talking of the horrors of war, yet, as noted by 'vonnie' she calls 'shouldering a gun' fun! even at the time, surely this would be somthing of a n insult to those who did 'come back with a crutch', to have their experiences compared with a mere game. also, vikki, there was very little to no bombing of britain in WWI. they have obviously not taught you enough at GCSE to at least get the war that you are talking about right. true, Jessie Pope has been 'slagged off' by many people - but after reading some of her poems, i feel it is with good reason! -
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to vikki
From guest Natasha (contact)
Firstly, I want to say that we would all be 'speeking german thats if they didnt kill all first in a fit of ethnic clensing' is irelevant,as this poem was written in WWI, when Germany weren't targeting Britain or trying to ethically cleanse Europe. That was Hitler in WWII. Seondly, I think that Jessie Pope naively sent many young men with their lives ahead of them to war, but she didn't realise she was doing so. This poem was written in 1915, when the popular consensus in Britain was that the war was heroic and noble, and the soldiers wouldn't be in any danger at all, as they were so superior to the Germans.She was merely encouraging the popular opinion that those who went to war were courageous, and those who stayed at home were cowardly. P.S. I'm doing GCSE too, and your comments have benn really useful. -
From guest Amey (contact)
I shall slag her off as much as i please. This women might have been paid but she chose money over people, her own people! Of course money was short in those days but i know one thing is for sure i would prefer to have a clean conscious than to have the worry of all those young men dieing every second at the front line and in every other battle there was. Thanks to her young men which literally were boys enlisted and the GOVERMENT didnt put a stop to it !!!! Shame On You !!!! -
stop slagging her off
From guest vikki (contact)
she was PAID to write it at a time when nobody had any money, youd do it too. Does she honestly like war? no is the answer, she had family who died too, but if it were not for her poems then it is likely we would have lost the war and all be speeking german thats if they didnt kill all first in a fit of ethnic clensing. Before you saw you hate it think of such things, how many more people would have died from bombing if she didnt encourage people to join the effort? Its been slagged off by almost every war poet from here to the heavens so stop commenting on it if your doing gcse war poetry as they dont teach you enough to make a fair comment. -
"Than lie low and be out of the fun?"
this poem annoys me so much - this particular line alone makes my angry. How dare she call it 'fun'. Was it 'fun' to get killed' to be horribly maimed, blinded and crippled? to have heads turned away as these injured soldiers came home - home to what?
Jessie Pope had no idea what was going on and if she did she chose to ignore it, what an idiotic view she had. The final 2 lines are the only ones that make any sense at all.
Vonnie -
owen
From guest Owen (contact)
Owen is right to dedicate his poem Dulce Et Decorum Est to her..she influence people to lose their lives.i dont know why people like her poems.. i bet ur teacher is manipulating ur minds.. we dont get anythng from war..nothing.. peace out! -
This Poem
From guest Jem (contact)
We're doing war poetry at school and we're reading this one at the moment It's an interesting veiw on war but her ideas to influence children to join the war wasn't the best Like Wilfred Owen said in his poem Dulce et decorum est -
Helllooooo
From guest Sarah bates (contact)
this poem was absolutely amazing. best one i have ever come across. -
From guest Tom (contact)
Whoever said "sounds like a wartime recruiting ad for some reason", I really hope you're being sarcastic.
If not - you're an idiot.
This is an excellent poem to achieve its aim, but disgusting on all levels. Its persuasive nature would have been excellent at getting men to enlist, and would have re-addressed mens' fear of being seen as a coward and giving a white feather.
Pope is part of the reason people joined the army and died, all to make sure sure they were seen to be doing the right thing (as seen in Owen's 'Disabled': "He thought he'd better join... to pleased his Meg") -
From guest ells (contact)
You know those people thoughout history you would love to give a great big boot in the butt. She is one of them :) Abdul Rahman check out the 'Home Front'. Its a good area of WW1 that connects to her 'poetry'. -
From guest Sch (contact)
The final verse isn't part of this poem, it is the final verse of "The Call", not quite sure why it has appeared here. This poem aggravates me more than anything, sugar-coating what really happened in the Great War, covering up so that people would sign up. War was not a game but slaughter. I just wish she'd have seen what it was really like at the front, she may have produced better poetry like that of Vera Brittain... -
whos for the game
From guest Abdul Rahman (contact)
hello i am currently studying this poem at GCSE level and i was searching for some background infomation and the secord verse shown above is not in my copy -
This poem is all too typical of the kind of patriotic propaganda that is churned out during any war period, be it the Boer War, World War 1 or even our current efforts. The poems don't seem to hold up well even if it's a "just" war such as World War 2.
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Pope has managed to capture the flippancy of the period. The belief that the British had a God given right to interfere anywhere and now that with Him on their side they would be victorious.
This war (1914-1918) was originally going to be "all over by Christmas" 1914 and there was a belief amongst some that it would be no more dangerous than a vigorous rugby game.
The tragic eye-opening events of the next 4 years brought massive dissillusionment to many and was a catalyst in the subsequenr collapse of the empire. But at the time it was written there were many who believed with Pope that "there’s only one course to pursue"
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Hypocritical
From guest R~ (contact)
Jessie Pope = Woman- She'd never even go near the front line in order to see the truth. This naive outlook on war drove many innocent men to their deaths. It's terrible that somebody would even do that, even if it was unknowing. I'm for Owen's 'Dulce et Decorum Est' response to this ugly piece of war propaganda -
Rubbish
From guest Donna (contact)
this poetry is one big advertisment to unknowing mena and boys of that time to join up ranks. 'Dulce et decorum est' by Wilfred Owen is rightly shouting back at her and telling her that she knows nothing and has no right to speak on what she does not know and has not seen and experienced -
woo woo hooo
From guest = IM NOT A GUEST! (contact)
this poem uses alot of emotive propaganda well used -
From guest Nat (contact)
I'm not quite sure what to think of this. It could be seen as patriotic, but it could also be seen as linking with the war propaganda, the whole dolce et decorum aspect of the war. x -
whos for the game
From guest kim tarver (contact)
this poem does a grave disservice to female poets,trying to be taken seriously. good book to read for gcse is pat barkers regeneration. it is a fictional story of the meeting of W Owen @ S. Sassoon, as well as he change in womens role during the war -
ahhh
From guest laura harris (contact
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