The War Poets an Anthology

by Michael Wylie (Compiler)

An anthology of 80 poems by famous poets, many of whom saw the war first hand, including Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sasoon, and W. B. Yeats.

Genres: Poetry, History, Nonfiction, Literature

141 pages, Hardcover

First published September 23, 2000

Reviews

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like these war poems, even I couldn't comprehend several of them. Reading many of them aloud have given me a better understanding, under which terrible circomstances many of these lines have been written.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading these poems written by World War I poets. Sadly, most of them died during the war as very young men. I have to point out a few favorites: "After the Salvo" by Herbert Asquith, "Operations Calling!" by David Bourne, "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae, "In Memoriam" bye E. A. Mackintosh, "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen. Two other poems that are not in this book, but are worth reading are: "When you see Millions of the Mouthless Dead" by Charles Sorley and "The Owl" by Edward Thomas.

[Krishnapriya Kamalakshan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When there is a war outside, there is always a war inside too. Emotions bombarding the mind need an outlet and what can be best suited than poetry?

[Dark-Draco · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of poems written about and while being part of war - mainly centered around the 1st and 2nd World War. Some of the poets are very well-known, others more obscure. The poems themselves are quite haunting, but I was struck by the sense of humour many of them displayed as well.

'The Great Lover' by Rupert Brooke - I loved the rhythms and the sentiment - that the love of things and life is what he wants to be remembered for.

'Dulce Et Decorum Est' by Wilfred Owen is a more sombre and heart-breaking poem - the futility of a young soldier drowning in gas because he can't get his mask on quickly enough.

'An Irishman foresees his death' by WB YEats is probably the one I know the best and it is still a 'favourite'. The sense of freedom in the 'clouds above' coupled with the prison of fighting a war he doesn't understand against enemies he doesn't hate, has always been a sharp image to me.

In all, the poems here are a stark reminder of the day to day, grimness of war. The Anthology should probably have been called 'Anti-War Poems' though. But well worth reading.

[Karen Horsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful pocket sized book of poetry.

When I started writing my own poetry, I wanted to read some of the great poets of the past. The War Poets came immediately to mind as I have a recollection of studying them at school. I came across this little book in an English Heritage gift shop and was immediately taken with the feel of the book and the quality of the print and paper... things that may not rank highly in other people's criteria when selecting a book but which make this edition really lovely.

The great war poets; Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, and Rupert Brooke are included. Alongside poets who are new to me, such as Isaac Rosenberg and Edward Thomas, and poets that I hadn't realised had written war poetry, Rudyard Kipling and W.B. Yeats.

The 80+ poems in this book provide a fantastic starting point for anyone interested in reading War Poetry.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful collection of poetry- including poems by one of my favourite poets, Wilfred Owen.
These poems have so much feeling behind them and they can really put you in the writers shoes, what they must have been going through.

[Catalin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not worth it!

[Jeff Tonks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some epic and well loved poetry on the folly of war and its impacts on those who served.