Remembering the Battlefield Poets of World War I

100 years ago on April 6 1917 the United States entered World War I Perhaps the greatest legacy of the war to end all wars was that the widespread destruction and massive loss of life forever changed the way we as a society look at war Prior to the conflict war was seen by many as an exciting adventure a way to test one s mettle and find glory These romantic notions were lost in the mechanized trench warfare of the Western Front The stark reality of the war s brutal nature affected everyone who participated and this was captured in the poetry written by the soldiers of the era Following in the tradition of earlier war poets they attempted to express what they witnessed and felt in verse The grief and loss they experienced can still be felt when we read their words today As Wilfred Owen wrote in the Preface to his poems My subject is War and the pity of War The Poetry is in the pity

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