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Times and Testimonies Fact File Ch3

Chapter Three discusses the experiences of young writers who enlisted in WWI, initially holding romanticized views of war shaped by propaganda. Upon arrival at the front, they faced the grim realities of trench life, including horrific living conditions and the prevalence of disease and death. To express their experiences, these soldier poets turned to poetry, using it as a means to navigate censorship and convey the stark truths of their situation.

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34 views1 page

Times and Testimonies Fact File Ch3

Chapter Three discusses the experiences of young writers who enlisted in WWI, initially holding romanticized views of war shaped by propaganda. Upon arrival at the front, they faced the grim realities of trench life, including horrific living conditions and the prevalence of disease and death. To express their experiences, these soldier poets turned to poetry, using it as a means to navigate censorship and convey the stark truths of their situation.

Uploaded by

anneboekelman201
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Times and Testimonies fact file |Chapter Three – Trench Life and Testimony

Answering their nation’s call to arms, many gifted and talented writers had enlisted. These
young men, who were generally promoted to the rank of officer because they came from
privileged families, had a very naïve outlook on war and warfare. This outlook had been
fed by a hugely successful propaganda campaign. However this romanticised idea of
heroism and battle was quickly shattered as soon as they arrived at the front, or rather, in
the trenches.

It was the unprecedented number of dead, wounded and mutilated soldiers, the horrific
living conditions and the futility of WWI that incited these soldier poets to express their
ideas about and experiences of trench warfare. They used poetry instead of prose, which
would have been much more exposing and factual, to circumvent censorship as most
poetry rely on the interpretation of their audience.

Although the soldiers tried to make their lives at the front as ‘normal’ as possible by giving
the trenches familiar names, playing popular music and serving tea, the horror of trench
warfare was inescapable. Decaying corpses of friends and fellow soldiers were scattered
around, presenting a horrible sight, but also an unbelievable stench.

Not only the dead stank, the living stank too as the living conditions were really bad. The
conditions at the front, together with bad food gave rise to all sorts of diseases and
inflictions, such as pneumonia, exhaustion, shell shock and trench feet. Apart from that, it
also attracted lots of unwanted visitors, vermin such as rats and lice.

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