Objectives
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1. Given a war poem, students will be able to find, list and discuss the poetic devices used by the poet in creating his or her war poem.
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2. Students will create their own war poems
Background
There are certain concerns that take students of this generation out of their neighborhoods and to some degree out of their country. One of these concerns is the possibility of nuclear war. Another is the drought and resulting starvation in Ethiopia. And, more recently, there have been acts of terrorism that have occurred in various parts of the world. Students are not hesitant to discuss and reveal their feelings with regard to these concerns. However, many of the students are at a loss to understand the impact these issues have had on people in other parts of the world. What better way can students become familiar with the thoughts of other cultures except through the poetry written by the poets of that country? If you consider that modern poetry is anything written from World War I to the present time, there is a wealth of war poetry written by American, English, South American,and Russian poets. One characteristic of modern poetry that sets it apart from romantic poetry is the international thrust of its subject matter. Romantic poetry tends to focus on the individual and his singular experiences while the modern poet tends to want to write poems that identify and describe experiences outside of his or her own experiences. War was an international theme that concerned poets from all nations. Michael Hamburger, German poet, translator, and author, in his book
Truth of Poetr
y devotes an entire chapter to the discussion of poems and their poets from numerous nations. These poems were written about World War I, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Some of the poets were active participants in the war, some like T. S. Eliot had no war experiences, and some like Wilfred Owen died in battle. Regardless of the poets’ involvement or noninvolvement in war, their poems reflect the inhumanity of war.
Strategy
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1. Divide students in groups of four or five. Give each group a war poem.
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2. Each group is to select a recorder and a student to give the group presentation. Make sure a different member of the group is assigned to each task.
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3. Each group is then given a sheet of paper listing the specific items to be applied to the review of their poem. Such items as:
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a. figures of speech
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b. rhyme scheme
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c. form
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d. meter
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e. background information on poet (ie. war correspondent, never fought, in active combat, killed in action, etc)
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f. overall group impression of the poem
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4. allow one class period for the group to discuss and record its impression of the poem
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5. Then ask each group to read its poem to the class and present its analysis of the poem to the class. Class discussion should follow each presentation.
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6. Then ask each student to write a war poem which they can begin in class and complete at home.
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7. The following day ask students to volunteer to read their poems. Class discussion should then focus on the similarities and differences in the focus, intent, and form of war poetry the students’ poetry and the poems studied and presented by each group.
SUGGESTED FOR USE WITH LESSON: 1 WAR POEMS
“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”
by Dylan Thomas
“Do Not Weep”
by Stephen Crane
“Freedom to Kill” and “Flowers and Bullets” by Yevgeny Yevtushenko
