Truth, Not Romanticism: World War I in 'The First Casualty' and the Poetry of Rosenberg and Sorely Jennifer Davies 12th Grade

Arguably, Ben Elton, Isaac Rosenberg, and Charles Sorely all present a vivid image of the brutal reality of both the grotesque physical and the resounding psychological effects of war, far different from the romanticism that pro-war poets of the time would present in their work. In Dead Man’s Dump, Rosenberg explores the chaos and destruction of war, creating a manic and abominable image of his mind after spending two years on the Western Front, dying in 1918. It was later discovered in his letters that he wrote “I will not leave a corner of my consciousness covered up”, reflecting how he felt compelled to portray his truthful account of trench warfare rather than to comply to the propagandic ideals of the government. Sorely explores the harrowing psychological effects of war and reflects upon the horrors he witnessed that haunted him until his dying breath in the Battle of Loos, 1915. He was the son of a moral philosopher, which is perhaps why he felt so compelled to write about the truth of his experiences and to give voice to the soldiers who had sacrificed themselves - his poem was found in his kitbag after his death, ironic as he joined the ghostly “pale battalions” that haunted him so.

Elton too presents the brutally...