Context
At this time, young men were restless as in 1914 there hadn’t been a major war in a century. The Edwardian era was actually very dull and boring; also the extreme ranges of wealth and poverty. People wanted something exciting to make life more interesting. And then ‘The Great War’ came along, in 1914 it seemed an adventure, and a chance to impress the ladies!
Therefore the poems didn’t say you were going to die, they just said it was going to be a fun adventure and you wouldn’t be badly hurt.
Content
The poem ‘Who’s for the Game’ is very different from the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’. In the way that ‘Who’s for the Game’ was written to make people sign up to go war, whereas ‘In Flanders Fields’ was written in memory of those who died during the war. In ‘Who’s for the Game’ Pope wrote,
“Who would much rather come back with a crutch
Than lie low and be out of the fun?”.
Pope wrote this to make you want to go to war as it would be fun, also Pope assures you that you will not die, and you will only come back with minor injuries, he then explains that it is worth it because you are going to have so much fun. On contrary to this ‘In Flanders Fields’ is very much the opposite, as it is telling the reader about the reality of the war. McCrae wrote;
‘We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.’
McCrae writes using the first person saying ‘We are the dead’ meaning that many many soldiers were killed, soldiers that he fought alongside of. Then he goes on to explain your senses (e.g to feel) and explains human qualities. McCrae after says ‘Now we lie In Flanders fields’ making you think about the thousands upon thousands of missing soldiers who were lost and are now buried in Flanders fields.
Imagery
In verse 2 of ‘Who’s for the game’ Pope uses the image of a show as the war, she wrote;
‘Who wants a turn to himself in the show?
And who wants a seat in the stand?’
This...