War Poems – Interesting Literature

The Meaning and Origin of ‘They Shall Not Grow Old As We That Are Left Grow Old’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old’: this is a familiar quotation to many people, but where does it come from? The answer lies in one of the most famous and yet most obscure poems of the First World War. Laurence Binyon’s ‘For the Fallen’ (1914) is one of the most widely quoted poems of the First World War, and yet how well does anyone know it? Could anyone quote any other lines from it apart from the stanza from which that line, ‘They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old’, is taken?

A Short Analysis of Wilfred Owen’s ‘The Last Laugh’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘The Last Laugh’ is a poem by Wilfred Owen (1893-1918), drafted in February 1918 (as ‘Last Words’) but only first published after Owen’s death in November 1918, one week before the Armistice. Although not his most famous poem by any means, ‘The Last Laugh’ is one of his most stark and direct. Before we move to an analysis of the poem, here it is:

A Short Analysis of Siegfried Sassoon’s ‘The General’

‘The General’ is one of the most famous poems written by Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967). After Wilfred Owen, Sassoon was probably the most celebrated – and perhaps the most gifted – English poet to write about his experiences in the First World War. But where Owen writes about ‘the pity of war’, Sassoon gives us another emotion: anger.

A Short Analysis of Siegfried Sassoon’s ‘They’

Many of the war poems of Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) take aim at authority figures, older and more powerful men such as generals and majors who hold the fates of the younger generation in their hands. ‘They’, one of Sassoon’s most famous poems, focuses on religious authority, embodied in the poem by the Bishop. You can read Sassoon’s ‘They’ here before proceeding to our summary and analysis below.

10 Classic Wilfred Owen Poems Everyone Should Read

The best poems of Wilfred Owen selected by Dr Oliver Tearle

Previously, we’ve selected ten of the best poems about the First World War; but of all the English poets to write about that conflict, one name towers above the rest: Wilfred Owen (1893-1918). Here’s our pick of Wilfred Owen’s ten best poems.