Home Archived Favourite First World War poems Back Favourite First World War poems Jerome Monahan asks writers and historians to select the First World War poem which has made the deepest impression on them 17th January 2003, 12:00am Jerome Monahan Share Favourite First World War poems https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/favourite-first-world-war-poems Copy Link Michael Morpurgo, children’s authorJohn McCrae ”In Flanders Fields”The poem was written early in the war by the Canadian surgeon John McCrae, having witnessed the death of one of his students in battle. Published in Punch, it became hugely popular, establishing the link between poppies and remembrance. My granddaughter Eloise learned the poem at school and I heard her speak it. She did it without any sentimentality and it really brought home the waste involved in that conflict.Brian Bond, emeritus professor of military history, Kings College LondonIsaac Rosenberg ”Returning, we hear the larks”This is filled with wonderful imagery and a sense of misery and joy. Despite the dangers, for a time larks sing and above the troops’ heads there is beauty rather than the threat of death.Paul Dowswell, author of History Through Poetry of the First World War (Hodder)August Stramm ”Sturmangriff” (“Charge”)This poem captures some of the delirious fear felt by soldiers in the moments when they had to leave the relative safety of their trench and advance towards the enemy. Its stark style (constructed almost entirely from single word lines) contrasts tellingly with the romantic heroism of the early war poets. It is also a reminder that there were some 2000 published poets and writers in the First World War on both sides.John Cooksey, historian, battlefield guide and editor of Battlefields ReviewEdward Thomas ”This is No Case of Petty Right and Wrong”For students brought up on a diet of Owen and Sassoon, Thomas’s poem is a sensitive examination of why he fought and how he joined up, not because he hated the Germans but that there was something quintessentially English he felt deserved defending.Jon Stallworthy, author of the book accompanying the Anthem for Doomed Youth exhibition (Constable)Edward Thomas ”As the team’s head brass”Thomas is important because he wrote about the effect of the war at home and the decline of a traditional rural way of life that it brought about. There is reference in the poem to lovers disappearing into the wood - Thomas was a married man with a family, older at 37 than most at the Front - and so the poem is also a reflection on the impact of loss on women and children too. Want to keep reading for free? Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters. Register Log in Keep reading for just £1 per month You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get: Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content Exclusive subscriber-only stories Award-winning email newsletters Subscribe now Read more Leadership - Be the head who hits the headlines Jerome Monahan • 3rd January 2014 Leadership - Be the head who hits the headlines Jerome Monahan • 3rd January 2014 My Left-field Lesson - Under construction Jerome Monahan • 15th November 2013 My Left-field Lesson - Under construction Jerome Monahan • 15th November 2013 Recent Most read Most shared Ofsted inspections: everything you need to know Analysis 20 September 2024 ‘Thin reform proposals’ not enough for ‘creaking’ education system Analysis 20 September 2024 Labour’s education policy: what schools can expect News 20 September 2024 Schools must not use Ofsted logos for this year’s judgements News 17 September 2024 Teacher pay scales 2024-25: what will your salary look like? Analysis 29 July 2024 How to fix the primary maths curriculum Teaching & Learning 18 September 2024 DfE urged to review curriculum panel over Oak links News 18 September 2024 Call for Ofsted ‘transparency’ over board minutes News 17 September 2024 How to fix the primary maths curriculum Teaching & Learning 18 September 2024
