War and its Aftermath

War and its Aftermath

The 20th century was a time of enormous upheaval for Britain, mainly due to two devastating World Wars. These conflicts didn't just change maps; they changed how people thought, felt, and lived. British writers captured these experiences, showing the human cost of war and the struggle to make sense of a rapidly changing world. Their stories and poems offer a window into what it was like to live through such turbulent times, reflecting the nation's journey through conflict, loss, and the challenge of rebuilding.

The First World War (1914-1918) was a brutal shock. Before it, many stories about war were heroic and adventurous. But the writers who experienced this war, especially the soldiers in the trenches, wrote about its true horror and sadness. They described the mud, the fear, and the senseless loss of life, often in very direct and powerful poems. This literature showed a loss of innocence and a deep questioning of old beliefs about glory and duty, marking a major shift in how war was portrayed.

In the years between the wars (1919-1939) and during the Second World War (1939-1945), literature continued to reflect a sense of unease. Writers explored social problems, the anxieties of ordinary people, and the fear of another war. When the Second World War came, it affected everyone, not just soldiers. Authors wrote about life on the home front – the bombings (the Blitz), rationing, and how people coped. Stories and poems from this era show the bravery and suffering of civilians as well as soldiers, and the moral questions raised by total war.

After 1945, Britain faced new challenges: rebuilding a damaged country, the end of its empire, and the tensions of the Cold War. Literature from this period often focused on these issues. Some books showed the difficulties of everyday life and frustration with the way things were. Others looked back at the wars, trying to understand their lasting impact on individuals and society. Writers also began to explore new social changes, including the experiences of immigrants, creating a richer and more diverse picture of British life in the later 20th century, all under the long shadow of the preceding conflicts.

War Poets

British war poetry is a powerful and distinct tradition, most famously forged in the trenches of the First World War. Before this conflict, war in poetry was often romanticised, a subject of heroic deeds and patriotic fervour. However, the unprecedented scale of slaughter and the grim reality of industrialised warfare between 1914 and 1918 shattered these illusions. A generation of young men, often well-educated and initially idealistic, experienced the brutal truth of combat firsthand. Their response was to create a new kind of poetry, one that sought to bear witness to the horror, the pity, and the profound disillusionment of their experiences, forever changing the landscape of war literature.

Among the most significant voices to emerge from the Great War were soldier-poets like Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. Owen, famously, stated his subject was "War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity." His poems, such as "Dulce et Decorum Est" and "Anthem for Doomed Youth," vividly depict the gruesome realities of gas attacks, shell shock, and the physical suffering of soldiers, directly challenging the propagandist notion that it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country. Sassoon, on the other hand, often employed a bitter, satirical tone to critique the incompetence of the military leadership and the patriotic complacency of those on the home front. His poems, like "The General," are sharp, concise, and full of righteous anger, reflecting his own protests against the war's continuation.

While Owen and Sassoon are central figures, they were part of a broader chorus of voices. Poets like Isaac Rosenberg, who wrote with a unique modernist sensibility about the trenches before his death in action, and Ivor Gurney, a poet and composer whose work was deeply affected by his wartime experiences and later mental illness, also offered profound insights. It's also important to remember the initial patriotic wave, exemplified by Rupert Brooke's "The Soldier," written in 1914, which captured the early idealism that would soon be extinguished by the realities of prolonged conflict. The war also deeply impacted women, and while figures like Vera Brittain are more known for their prose memoirs, their poetry also conveyed the grief and loss experienced on the home front and in auxiliary roles.

The Second World War produced its own cohort of war poets, though perhaps with a different tone. The illusions shattered by the First World War meant that few entered this new conflict with the same naivety. Poets like Keith Douglas, who served in North Africa and was killed shortly after D-Day, wrote with a cool, detached clarity about the business of killing, seeing himself as a reporter of its grim truths. Alun Lewis, another significant voice who died on active service in Burma, explored themes of exile, love, and the search for meaning amidst chaos. The experience of "total war," particularly the Blitz, also inspired poetry from civilians like Edith Sitwell ("Still Falls the Rain"), capturing the fear and resilience of a nation under aerial bombardment.

The legacy of these British war poets, particularly those from the First World War, is immense. They not only documented the human cost of conflict with unflinching honesty but also reshaped the language and purpose of poetry itself, demonstrating its power to confront uncomfortable truths and challenge prevailing narratives. Their work continues to be read and studied, offering stark reminders of the realities of war and serving as a testament to the human need to articulate suffering, protest injustice, and seek understanding in times of extreme adversity. This tradition of bearing witness through verse has influenced subsequent generations of poets writing about conflict and its enduring impact.

Poem and analysis

"The General" by Siegfried Sassoon

“Good-morning, good-morning!” the General said

When we met him last week on our way to the line.

Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of 'em dead,

And we're cursing his staff for incompetent swine.

“He's a cheery old card,” grunted Harry to Jack

As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.

But he did for them both by his plan of attack.

Analysis

Siegfried Sassoon's "The General" masterfully uses stark contrasts and bitter irony to condemn the detachment and incompetence of military leadership during the First World War. The General's "Good-morning; good-morning!" and his smile initially seem affable, but this surface cheerfulness is immediately juxtaposed with the grim reality: "Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of 'em dead." This highlights a chilling disconnect between the General's perception of the war – or the face he presents – and the fatal consequences for his men. The soldiers' language reveals their true feelings; while some might grudgingly acknowledge him as a "'cheery old card,'" this is undercut by the narrator's stark assessment that "we're cursing his staff for incompetent swine," reflecting a deep-seated resentment and understanding of where the blame lies for their comrades' deaths.

The poem's devastating impact is sealed by its final, abrupt line: "But he did for them both by his plan of attack." This bald statement, delivered with a chilling lack of embellishment, underscores the General's ultimate responsibility for the soldiers' deaths. The simplicity of the line amplifies the tragedy and the poet's controlled fury. Sassoon powerfully employs irony throughout; the General's cheerful greeting becomes a grotesque mockery in light of the ensuing slaughter. The poem thus becomes a searing commentary on the true cost of war, where flawed plans devised by detached leaders lead directly to the loss of life, exposing a fatal gap between those in command and those who pay the ultimate price.

Discussion

Why do you think British poets wanted to show the horrors of war in their writing? 

Activity: Discussing the impact of war on individuals and society

Objective:

To explore and discuss how 20th-century British literature reveals the profound and varied effects of war, both on individual people and on British society as a whole.

Time Allotment: 

• Individual Reflection: 5 minutes

• Small Group Discussion: 20 minutes

• Whole Class Sharing: 15 minutes

Instructions:

Part 1: Individual Reflection (5 minutes)

• Quietly think about the British wartime and post-war literature we have discussed or you have read (poems, excerpts from novels, plays, etc.).

• On a piece of paper, jot down a few initial thoughts on the following:

  • One example of how war affected an individual character or person in a piece of literature.

  • One example of how war seemed to change or impact society in Britain, as shown in the literature.

Part 2: Small Group Discussion (20minutes)

• Form small groups of 3-4 students.

• Share your individual reflections with your group members.

• As a group, discuss the following questions, using examples from the literature to support your points:

• Focus on Individuals:

  1. What are some of the main ways British writers showed war changing people emotionally or mentally (e.g., their outlook, their feelings, their sense of self)?

  2. How did literature portray the different experiences of war for various individuals (e.g., soldiers on the front line, civilians during the Blitz, women taking on new roles)?

  3. In the texts you recall, how did individuals try to cope with or make sense of what they went through during or after a war?

• Focus on Society:
  4. What significant changes to British society (e.g., social classes, family structures, attitudes towards authority) seemed to be highlighted by writers as results of the wars?
  5. How did the literature capture the general mood or atmosphere in Britain during wartime and in the years that followed? Was it all doom and gloom, or were other feelings shown?
  6. Did the literature suggest that the wars changed how Britain saw itself or its role in the wider world? If so, how?
  
  

• Try to identify 2-3 key insights or strong examples for both the individual and societal impacts that your group can share later. Nominate a spokesperson if you wish.

Part 3: Whole Class Sharing & Synthesis (15 minutes)

• Each group's spokesperson (or members of the group) will briefly share their key insights and examples with the whole class.

• As a class, we will then discuss:

  • Common themes or striking differences in how literature presented war's impact.

  • Why you think British writers were so focused on these particular impacts.

  • What these literary portrayals help us understand about 20th-century Britain and the human experience of conflict more broadly.

What to Aim For:

By the end of this activity, you should have a clearer understanding of the complex ways war shaped individuals and society in 20th-century Britain, as reflected in its literature, and be able to discuss these with supporting examples.

Further reading

Barker, Pat. Regeneration. Plume, 1993.

    This historical novel, the first in Barker's acclaimed trilogy, is set primarily during the First World War. It explores the psychological trauma of trench warfare through the experiences of real-life figures like Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, alongside fictional characters, at Craiglockhart War Hospital. Barker delves into the ethical dilemmas faced by doctors treating shell-shocked soldiers, questioning the very purpose of "regenerating" men only to send them back to the horrors of the front line. The novel provides a powerful late-century perspective on the enduring mental scars of war, the nature of masculinity, and the complexities of memory and recovery, showing the long aftermath of conflict.

Douglas, Keith. The Complete Poems. Edited by Desmond Graham, Faber and Faber, 2008.

    A key poet of the Second World War, Keith Douglas wrote with a stark, unsentimental, and chillingly detached honesty about his experiences in the North African campaign before his death in Normandy in 1944. His poetry is marked by its precise imagery, intellectual rigour, and a mature, almost journalistic, perspective on the mechanics of war and the proximity of death. Works like "Vergissmeinnicht" and "How to Kill" exemplify his refusal of romanticism and his direct confrontation with the brutal realities of combat, offering a distinct voice from a conflict that followed the profound disillusionment of the First World War.

Fussell, Paul. The Great War and Modern Memory. Oxford University Press, 1975.

    This seminal work of literary criticism argues that the First World War fundamentally reshaped Western consciousness and literary expression. Fussell meticulously analyses how the unprecedented experiences of trench warfare generated a new ironic sensibility and a set of enduring myths, tropes, and symbols that permeate modern literature and thought. He examines the work of soldier-poets like Owen and Sassoon, alongside memoirs and other cultural artefacts, to demonstrate how the war became a defining reference point for understanding irony, disillusionment, and the disjunction between official rhetoric and lived reality, profoundly influencing subsequent artistic representations of conflict.

Hynes, Samuel. A War Imagined: The First World War and English Culture. Bodley Head, 1990.

    Hynes provides a comprehensive cultural history of the First World War's impact on England, tracing its representation and imaginative processing before, during, and after the conflict. The book examines a wide array of sources, including literature (poetry, novels, memoirs), propaganda, journalism, and personal diaries, to explore how the war was perceived and mythologised by different segments of society. Hynes charts the shift from initial patriotic fervour to widespread disillusionment and the various ways English culture attempted to comprehend and memorialise the immense trauma and societal changes wrought by the war, making it a crucial study of the interplay between historical event and cultural imagination.

Khan, Nosheen. Women's Poetry of the First World War. Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1989.

    This important academic study brings to the fore the often-overlooked contributions of women poets during the First World War. Khan analyses a range of voices, exploring how women wrote about their diverse wartime experiences—as nurses, munitions workers, grieving mothers, wives, and sisters, or as active pacifists. The book challenges the traditional male-centric canon of war poetry, revealing the unique perspectives, themes (such as loss, waiting, patriotic sacrifice, and critiques of war), and forms employed by women. It highlights their engagement with the public discourse on war and their crucial role in shaping a fuller understanding of the conflict's social and emotional impact.

Owen, Wilfred. The Poems of Wilfred Owen. Edited by Jon Stallworthy, Chatto & Windus, 1990.

    This collection represents some of the most poignant and influential poetry from the First World War. Owen, who was killed in action shortly before the Armistice, wrote with unflinching honesty about the brutal realities of trench warfare, starkly contrasting with earlier, more romanticised depictions of combat. Poems like "Dulce et Decorum Est" and "Anthem for Doomed Youth" expose the physical suffering, psychological trauma ("shell shock"), and profound disillusionment experienced by soldiers. His work is characterised by its technical skill, visceral imagery, and deep compassion, profoundly shaping subsequent understanding of war's horrors.

Sassoon, Siegfried. The War Poems. Faber and Faber, 1983.

    Siegfried Sassoon, an officer decorated for bravery, became one of the most forceful poetic voices of protest against the First World War. This collection gathers his sharp, satirical, and often brutally realistic poems that decry the horrors of trench warfare, the incompetence of the military leadership, and the complacent patriotism of the home front. Works like "The General," "Counter-Attack," and "‘They’" powerfully convey his outrage and disillusionment. Sassoon's poetry was instrumental in changing public perceptions of the war and remains a stark testament to the soldier's experience and the moral courage required to speak truth to power.

Woolf, Virginia. Mrs Dalloway. Hogarth Press, 1925.

    Published in 1925, this modernist novel is set in London on a single day in the aftermath of the First World War. While the narrative follows Clarissa Dalloway as she prepares for a party, a parallel storyline focuses on Septimus Warren Smith, a war veteran suffering from severe shell shock (now PTSD). Woolf intricately weaves Septimus's psychological torment and social alienation into the fabric of post-war society, highlighting the unseen scars of the conflict and the inadequacy of societal responses to trauma. The novel subtly explores themes of memory, loss, the fragility of sanity, and the profound ways the war continued to shape individual consciousness and societal norms even years after its conclusion.