Essay Questions

In what context was the poem "In Flanders Field'’ written?

The poem was written in May, 1915, by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae who, at that time, was station in Ypres, Belgium, and took part in the Second Battle of Ypres. During that battle, more than 5.900 Canadian soldiers lost their lives, including Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, a good friend with John McCrae. The poem was written on the day after Alexis Helmer was buried and when John McCrae was being moved to another place on the battlefield. The death of Alexis Helmer prompted John McCrae to write the now famous poem dealing with losses caused by the war, the pain caused by the war and the ways in which the surviving soldiers tried to cope with the death of their comrades. The poem remains to this day an extremely popular one, being carved in many resting places for fallen soldiers or near memorials for those who had perished during wars.

Explain the title of the poem "The Anxious Dead’’.

The poem "The Anxious Dead’’ is another poem written during the First World War while the narrator was fighting in the battlefields in Europe. The narrator focuses on those who died while fighting in the war and who had passed on and are now in heavens. The narrator describes the souls of the dead as finding it impossible to find rest, thus calling the souls as being anxious. The narrator addresses a plead to the nations still fighting to cease their fighting to allow the dead to find their peace. Another way through which the dead can find peace is by finding which nations had won the battles carried in Europe. This is a way through which the narrator transmits his hope that those who died did not perish in vain and links the capability of the souls to rest with the powers representing good wining.

What is the link between poverty and war in the poem "The Warrior’’?

The link between poverty and serving in the war is mentioned in the first lines of the poem "The Warrior’’. Poverty is not presented as being the reason why war started, but rather the reason why many people decide to go and fight in wars. In the beginning of the war, while many men decided to fight in the war because they wanted to fight for what was good, this quickly changed as the military offered an attractive age to those who decide to fight in the war. In fact, the dangerous the position a person had in the war, the bigger the wage they received. The soldiers were also assured their families would be financially compensated should they die in battle thus attracting many men coming from poverty. Thus, the link between war and poverty was created by the attractive wages given by the military to the soldiers willing to serve.