Poetic Visions of the War

Read the two wartime poems below. While both poems were written by men who fought in and died in the war, “In Flanders Field” was written earlier in the war and “Futility” was written near the war’s end. As you read, consider the mood in each poem.

In Flanders Fields (1915)

by John McCrae, Canadian

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Futility (1918)

by Wilfred Owen, British

Move him into the sun –
Gently its touch awoke him once,
At home, whispering of fields unsown.
Always it woke him, even in France,
Until this morning and this snow.
If anything might rouse him now
The kind old sun will know.
Think how it wakes the seeds, –
Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.
Are limbs, so dear-achieved, are sides,
Full-nerved – still warm – too hard to stir?
Was it for this the clay grew tall?
– O what made fatuous sunbeams toil
To break earth’s sleep at all?

Take Notes

How does the mood differ between the two poems? Write down your ideas in the notes box below.

Poetic Visions of the War

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