In Flanders Fields

“The Pilgrims”, by John McCrae (1919)

McCrae’s poem “The Pilgrims” can be read on both a literal and figurative level. On a literal level, a group of people—probably soldiers—are on a long march, in which they both attempt to support one another and endure the ever-present reminders of hardship and death that surround them. On a more figurative level, the poem functions as an allegory of life itself, with the “pilgrims” of the title reminiscent of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), in which the Christian believer must make his or her way through the world before reaching heaven after death.

“The Soldier”, by Rupert Brooke (1915)

Written in the early days of World War I, Rupert Brooke’s “The Soldier” has become another famous work in the canon of World War I poetry. In this poem, Brooke celebrates English patriotism and depicts death on the battlefield as a heroic sacrifice for his country. Brooke enlisted in the British army himself but died of sepsis in April 1915 while on his way to serve at the front. His poem can serve as a useful companion piece to “In Flanders Field.”

“Futility”, by Wilfred Owen (written 1918; published 1920)

Wilfred Owen’s poem “Futility” was written in 1918 and later appeared in the posthumous 1920 collection Poems. Like McCrae, Owen has become famous for his war poetry, but his attitude and approach to the theme of war is starkly different from McCrae’s. In this poem, Owen uses natural imagery to create a contrast between the beauty of nature and the harsh reality of human warfare: a young soldier’s dead body remains indifferent to the sun’s rays, emphasizing the hopelessness and finality of death. The poem reflects Owen’s deep moral outrage at the mass loss of life and youth caused by World War I, serving as a denunciation of armed conflict instead of encouraging the perpetuation of it, as McCrae’s suggests.