Literature of the Great War

Poetry of World War I …115

Erich Maria Remarque …131

Ernest Hemingway …145

World War I stimulated some of the greatest writing of the twentieth century. Not only did it produce a great outpouring of poetry during the course of the fighting, but it also spawned several war novels that now have a place among the great books of the world. Most of the "war poets," as they were known, came from England, which sent a great number of highly educated men into war with its volunteer army. Among the most famous of these poets are Rupert Brooke (1887–1915), Wilfred Owen (1893–1918), and Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967). American poet Alan Seeger (1888–1916) also contributed an important volume of poetry about the war. Each of these poets is represented in the section on war poetry that follows.

Writers who expressed their thoughts about the war through fiction came from many countries. Though there are many great novels and memoirs written about the war, included here are excerpts from two of the greatest: All Quiet on the Western Front by German novelist Erich Maria Remarque (1898–1970), and A Farewell to Arms by American novelist Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961). Both of these novels were published a decade after the end of the war; both address the impact that the war had on the world. (Both books have been made into movies several times; All Quiet on the Western Front won an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1930.)

World War I had a huge influence on the way people thought of the world, and that impact is clearly visible in the literature of the war. Before the war, people in England, France, Germany, and the United States (as well as other combatant countries) generally trusted in their governments and believed that it was an honor to die for one's country. There was also a widely held view that society was progressing and that the rise of modern society would bring an end to misery and warfare. World War I ended most such dreams of human progress; people were bitterly disappointed that technological and economic progress did not mean social and political progress. In fact, technology had only been used to increase the scale of killing.

Novelists and poets alike responded to the war by creating works that ponder the deeper meanings of the war and its effects on men and women. These writers suggested that men and women had become alienated, or distanced, from the ideas of honor and glory that had motivated the generations that came before them. Postwar writers felt that the modern experience was something altogether new, and through their writing they tried to understand what ideals a person could hold in the midst of world conflict. These writers were part of a literary movement called Modernism, which was the dominant literary mode for the next fifty years, until roughly the 1960s.

Literature poses questions about the war that are raised by few other sources. Generals think about troop movements and strategy, politicians think about peace treaties and social programs, but writers ponder deep questions about the meaning of life. As you read the sections that follow, think of the questions raised by these works. What did the experience of combat do to people? How did the stories of war glory and honor match up with the actual experience of combat? Was there, in fact, any glory to war? These are some of the questions posed by the war poets quoted in the first section of this chapter, Poetry of World War I. Hemingway and Remarque explore different topics. Both seem to ask, How is an individual to behave in a world gone mad? To whom does one owe loyalty? To whom must one be true? Above all else, these novelists and poets force one to consider how people are to retain their humanity in the midst of the chaos and horror of modern warfare.