Introduction to Great War Poetry

Brainstorming, Images, Song and Poem Analysis

Prior Knowledge and Discussion What do you already know about World War One?

World War One Background Info Fought during 1914-1918 between the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire – sort of) and the Allied Powers (Britain, France, Russia)

U.S. joined in 1917 Russian soldiers died at a rate of 22 men for ever one American man

Trench warfare created extremely bloody battles and long stalemates

9 million men were killed and 21 million were injured

World War One Background Info

World War One Background Info

World War One Background Info New weaponry made WW1 the most violent and bloody war- the first “modern war”

Barbed wire, machine guns, airplanes, and poison gas decimated both sides

The war was fought as a “total war”, meaning countries put all their resources into fighting

World War One Background Info After the war, many soldiers were very affected by the violence they saw

They were diagnosed as “shell-shocked” at first, which later became “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder”

Many of the returning soldiers felt disillusioned by society and the world

They started writing, and were known as “The Lost Generation” because they felt disconnected and disaffected

WWI Propaganda

WWI Propaganda

WWI Propaganda

WWI Propaganda

Images of War

Images of War

Images of War

Images of War

Images of War

Poem and Song Comparison We will complete three compare and contrast activities during which we will listen to three modern songs and read three WWI-era poems.

Fill out the discussion guide as we go through each pair of songs and poems

You will use these as a basis for a Venn Diagram that you will create to wrap up our study of World War One poetry

Song Links http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DboMAghWcA “Hero of War”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp1NbbTzaSA “Mama”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PibXTko6VC4 “Hand Held High”