War Poets

Each poet had their own way in describing their experience in the war. Isaac Rosenberg was especially descriptive in Louse Hunting. Rosenberg can be humorous at times, but I did not find this poem comical. This poem was actually pretty disturbing. I imagined soldiers suddenly waking up and discovering that they are infested with lice. Rosenberg left me with the impression that the lice were so bad that there was no way to stop or control them. The soldiers were now fighting a war against the lice, which would ultimately drive them absolutely mad.

After reading Dead Man's Dump I could visualize a battlefield where there is nothing but dead bodies. Surrounding the dead bodies were a few survivors waiting for the wagon to save them. You can see the wagon driving over all the dead bodies looking for any survivors. Rosenberg goes in great detail to describe this horrific scene. "A man's brains splattered on a stretcher-bearer's face." This gives the reader a vivid picture of just how awful it was. Just as the wagon reaches the survivor he takes his last breath. I knew this would be how it ended. This is the most descriptive poems I have read. I found a video on youtube of Rosenberg reading his poem. It's pretty chilling! YouTube - Isaac Rosenberg "Dead man's dump" Poem animation WW1