World War I Poets

Other famous poets during WW1 Siegfried Sassoon Rupert Brooke Philip Larkin Wilfred Gibson

Siegfried Sassoon Born into wealthy family, his innocent childhood contrasts life in the trenches. Soldier in WW1 who was decorated twice for his bravery on the front lines. Nicknamed ‘Mad Jack’. Spoke out against the war in public and was sent to court. After convincing court he was shell shocked he was sent to Craiglockhart War hospital and met Wilfred Owen. Well-known poems: Counter-Attack (1918) Suicide in the trenches the Survivors

Rupert Brooke Was in the navy Knew Latin and Greek Was friends with Winston Churchill and Wilfred Gibson Died in the War of blood poisoning from a mosquito bite Famous poems: 1914: Safety-- The Old Vicarage, Grantchester. "Tiare Tahiti" "The Great Lover." --a poem about the things people love even when under great hardships Sonnets: Nineteen Fourteen--these sonnets expressed hopeful idealism and enthusiasm, Britain had felt before entering the war

Philip Larkin He was born 4 years after WWI ended and grew in post-WWI period. However, he was felt this event unfamiliar and distant. Larkin was influenced by Hardy’s poetry with focusing on personal emotion without pity. Famous poems: MCMXIV

Wilfred Gibson Close friend of Rupert Brooke He worked for a time as a social worker in London’s East End. During WWI, served as a private and written in ordinary soldier’s perspective in war. His war poetry belies on his lack of experience. After armistice, his work focused on poverty of industrial workers and village labourers. Famous Poems: Back Breakfast Message

Bibliography