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"To Lucasta, Going to the Warres” (Richard Lovelace)
Richard Lovelace (1617-1657), an English poet and Royalist (a supporter of the King) published this poem during the English Civil War (1642-1651). "To Lucasta" romanticizes war, through Lovelace's referencing war as his "new mistress" and describing the honour fighting will bring him.The romanticization of war exists when the conflict is separate from the lives of the people;Lovelace's glorification of war represents a clear distinction between life and war during the
English Civil War. -
"The French Revolution as it Appeared to Enthusiasts at its Commencement" (William Wordsworth)
William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was an English Romantic poet, often enamoured with nationalist movements. While his poem "The French Revolution" was not published until 1809, it was most likely written around the time of his visit to France in 1791, three years into the French Revolution (1789-1799), when the French people overthrew the monarchy and established a Republic. This poem, like Lovelace's, continues the trend of glorifying revolution and violence, as Wordsworth calls France a "country -
"Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte" (Lord Byron)
Lord Byron (1788-1824), like William Wordsworth, was an English Romantic poet. His "Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte" was written shortly after Napoleon's abdication in April, 1814. Byron, who once admired Napoleon, both glorifies and condemns Napoleon's actions in this poem: while he first refers to Napoleon as "but yesterday a king," as well mentioning his "thousand thrones," Byron also refers to Napoleon's past actions as "evil deeds." Byron seems to view Napoleon's abdication as a failure. -
"The Boy on the Barricade" (Victor Hugo)
Victor Hugo (1802-1885), a French poet and novelist, wrote "The Boy on the Barricade" in 1871, about the Paris Commune, after the crushing of the barricades by the French army, near the end of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). This poem, like Byron's, has a mixture of glorification and realism. The violence that occurred during the Commune is not omitted (referencing the the boy’s “gouts of guilty gore"), but there is still a glorification of the struggle ("purest blood of patriot more”). -
"Here Dead We Lie" (A.E. Housman)
A.E. Housman (1859-1936) was an English scholar and poet. His short poem, "Here Dead We Lie," is reflective of the lack of glorification in poetry about the First World War (1914-1918). This short poem commemorates fallen soldiers who did not have a choice in participating in warfare or death ("Life, to be sure,/ Is nothing much to lose"). This poem was published in 1914. The lack of glorification suggests the realism of the war for citizens like Housman, not just soldiers. -
"Frozen Jews" (Avrom Sutzkever)
Avrom Sutzkever (1913-2010), born in what is now Belarus, was a Yiddish poet who wrote during the Second World War about the horrors of the Holocaust. In his poem, "Frozen Jews," Sutzkever tries to relay the horrific treatment of Jewish people during the Holocaust. From his opening line ("Have you seen, in fields of snow, frozen Jews, row on row?"), there is no sign of glorifying any aspect of the Second World War, a war which truly affected every aspect of a person's life.
