How to answer ANY Power & Conflict Question on War & Conflict

Hi there,

The theme of war and conflict is arguably the most popular theme in Power & Conflict – even the anthology title contains the word “conflict”! What does that mean?

It means you absolutely MUST have some solid points you can write about if you are asked to answer a question on how war or conflict is shown in any of the “war” poem. Here are three top points that can go in ANY essay on war and conflict in Power & Conflict poetry:

1️⃣ War brings only LOSS and it’s FUTILE:

War and conflict is shown as destructive and pointless. It destroys everything and we actually gain nothing from it. Most of the poets question if any conflict is worth the human cost.

2️⃣ NATURE is greater than man-made conflict:

It’s important to also consider how nature is conveyed in conflict and war – lots of the war poems are filled with references to nature. Why is this? Poets do this deliberately to show nature as a greater force than all of mankind’s battles.

3️⃣ War brings PSYCHOLOGICAL trauma:

War damages minds, not just bodies. Many of the poems explore the mental scars of conflict – not only on the soldiers but also their families. It’s really important to highlight that the impact of war stretches just beyond physical body damage, but also the haunting mental consequences of conflict and war.

PRO POINT FOR GRADE 9:

🌟 Tension between PATRIOTISM and PROPAGANDA:

Some (not all!) of the poems – especially Owen’s “Exposure”, Hughes’ “Bayonet Charge” and Lord Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade” explore this tension between soldiers following orders blindly and dying for their country versus them actually questioning these orders and commands.

Whilst poets like Lord Tennyson really celebrate loyalty to country and soldiers dying for their country, Owen and Hughes seem more critical. They show the soldiers as misled by propaganda and their lives being unnecessarily wasted by pointless wars.

PS: I am running Power & Conflict Poetry HALF TERM class on 30 October going over a GCSE model answer plus you’ll get a 3-page cheat sheet for your mocks: https://www.firstratetutors.com/october-literature