"Poetry in Chaos: Yeats, War, and Modern Crises"

This blog is written as a task assigned by the head of the Department of English (MKBU), Prof. and Dr. Dilip Barad Sir. Here is the link to the professor's research article for background reading: Click here.

1. Compare the treatment of war in On Being Asked for a War Poem with other war poems by Wilfred Owen or Siegfried Sassoon.

Comparing the Treatment of War in Yeats, Owen, and Sassoon

 

Introduction

The theme of war has occupied a complex space in literature, especially in poetry. World War I, in particular, gave rise to diverse poetic responses—ranging from political silence to graphic realism and biting satire. In this context, W. B. Yeats' On Being Asked for a War Poem offers a starkly different treatment of war compared to Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est and Siegfried Sassoon’s The Hero.

While Yeats chooses to remain silent, Owen exposes the gruesome realities of the battlefield, and Sassoon critiques the hypocrisy surrounding the glorification of death. This blog explores how these poets treated the same subject—war—in three remarkably different ways.

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 Yeats’ Poetic Silence – War as an Unfit Subject for Poetry

W. B. Yeats’ On Being Asked for a War Poem was composed during World War I in response to a request from Henry James. Instead of complying with the common trend of war poetry, Yeats takes a philosophical step back:

"I think it better that in times like these / A poet’s mouth be silent."

Here, Yeats refuses to participate in wartime propaganda. He believes that poetry should not involve itself in the immediate violence and confusion of war. The closing line—“We have no gift to set a statesman right”—clearly suggests that poets are not politicians or moral preachers.

Yeats’ choice is not a lack of empathy, but a deliberate distancing from political chaos. His view of poetry as a timeless art contrasts strongly with the more immediate, emotional responses seen in the poetry of Owen and Sassoon.

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 Wilfred Owen – The Graphic Realism of Battlefield Horror

In Dulce et Decorum Est, Wilfred Owen responds to the patriotic ideal that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. Drawing from his own traumatic experiences on the battlefield, Owen creates an image of soldiers who are broken, disoriented, and dehumanized:

"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks..."

The vivid gas attack scene:

"He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning..."

serves as a direct confrontation with readers who still cling to idealistic notions of war. Owen exposes the brutal truth and labels the phrase “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” as “the old Lie.”

Unlike Yeats, Owen believes poets must speak, especially when the truth is hidden by propaganda. His poetry becomes an act of remembrance and resistance.

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 Siegfried Sassoon – Satire and Moral Condemnation in The Hero

Siegfried Sassoon offers yet another powerful voice. In The Hero, the poem opens with a military officer delivering noble-sounding condolences to a mother:

“‘He was a good chap, though worlds too brave to live.’”

But in the final line, Sassoon shatters this mask of heroism:

“‘He was blown to bits. And that’s all.’”

The emotional climax reveals the harsh truth behind the comforting lies often told to bereaved families. The poem becomes a scathing critique of the military institution and societal glorification of meaningless sacrifice.

Sassoon’s tone is sarcastic and ironic, unlike Owen’s pitying realism or Yeats’ philosophical reserve. Yet like Owen, Sassoon feels it is the moral duty of poets to expose falsehood.

 Personal Reflection – Multiple Truths of War

Comparing these three poets, it becomes clear that each represents a unique lens:

Yeats distances poetry from war, preferring silence and timelessness.

Owen uses realism and emotional imagery to depict suffering and loss.

Sassoon uses satire to expose the system that glorifies death while hiding its brutality.

From my perspective, none of these poets is wrong. Yeats teaches us the value of restraint and artistic purity. Owen reminds us of the duty to testify, especially when truth is manipulated. Sassoon urges us to question those who construct the narrative of war from the comfort of safety.

In a time where media often filters the horrors of war, these poetic voices still resonate. Poetry can be silent. It can be raw. It can be angry. But above all, it must remain honest.

 So to summing up War poetry is not just a literary genre—it is a mirror of humanity under pressure. W. B. Yeats, Wilfred Owen, and Siegfried Sassoon each hold a different mirror. When we read them side by side, we don’t just see war—we see choices: to speak or to stay silent, to protest or to preserve, to mourn or to mock.

In the end, poetry does not end wars—but it helps us remember why they should never be repeated.

 

2. Write a modernist-inspired poem reflecting on a contemporary global crisis, drawing on Yeats’s themes and techniques. [Generate with the help of Gen AIlike ChatGPT or Google Gemini or Meta WhatsApp or Microsoft Co-pilot].

“After the Fire”

A Modernist Poem on Climate Crisis, Inspired by W. B. Yeats

Things fall apart, not with a bang but a silent melt—

Icebergs whisper elegies to a sky that forgets its color.

The falcon cannot hear the drone;

Signal lost in a heatwave sky—

Algorithms mutter,

Forecasts blink red,

And somewhere, a seed turns to ash

before ever knowing spring.

What beast, scaled with soot and silicon,

Slouches toward Davos to be born?

A conference of the clever,

A congress of delay.

We scroll through extinction,

Thumbs wet with data and doom,

While oceans rise like angry prayers,

Drowning the altars of our comfort.

This is no age of heroes—

Only hashtags and carbon breath,

Glass towers reflecting our vanities

As forests fall in silent convulsions.

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the age of consequence is come—

Yet still we vote for convenience,

Wrap plastic around time,

And sell futures on burning stock.

The centre cannot hold—

Because we sold it

To the highest bidder.

 Key  Elements:

Mythical Allusions: “What beast…slouches…” echoes The Second Coming’s sphinx-like imagery.

Symbolism: “Seed turns to ash,” “oceans rise like angry prayers” offer dense, poetic symbols of irreversible damage and lost hope.

Disillusionment & Crisis: Like Yeats, the speaker views the world as unraveling due to human hubris and moral decline.

Modernist Technique: Juxtaposition of old prophecy and new tech (“Algorithms mutter,” “hashtags and carbon breath”) mimics the disorientation of modernity.

 

What the Poem Is About:

 

This poem reflects on the climate crisis—one of the most urgent and terrifying issues of our time. It explores how humanity is ignoring the signs of environmental destruction and continuing with life as usual, even though the planet is suffering.
Just like Yeats wrote The Second Coming during a time of global instability (World War I, political chaos), this poem captures our own age of collapse—but with a modern twist: technology, social media, political inaction, and corporate greed.

Should Poetry Stay Apolitical? A Reflection on Yeats’s On Being Asked for a War Poem

 Introduction: Setting the Stage
When W. B. Yeats was asked to write a poem about World War I, he responded with the brief but impactful piece “On Being Asked for a War Poem”. Instead of glorifying war or protesting it, he offered a quiet refusal:

“I think it better that in times like these
A poet’s mouth be silent, for in truth
We have no gift to set a statesman right.”

This poetic silence was Yeats’s way of saying that poets should not involve themselves in political matters—especially war. But is this right? Should poets really stay out of politics and war?
Let’s explore both sides of this argument.

Yeats's Perspective: Poetry and Silence
Yeats believed that poetry is about beauty, truth, and the eternal—not about temporary political conflicts. His view came from a belief that:
Poets are not equipped to influence policy or politics.
Poetry should transcend current affairs, not get trapped in them.
Political poetry can reduce art into propaganda.
So, for Yeats, writing about war would be like stepping into a world that poetry does not belong to.

Counter-Arguments: When Silence Becomes Complicity
But not all poets agreed. In fact, many powerful war poets—like Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon—challenged Yeats’s silence with poems that exposed the horrors of war.
For example:
Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” attacks the patriotic lies told to young soldiers.
Sassoon’s “The Hero” criticizes military leadership and the glorification of death.
These poets believed that poetry could:
Give voice to the voiceless (like soldiers dying in trenches).
Challenge lies, propaganda, and injustice.
Be a form of witnessing and resistance.
So, in their view, Yeats’s poetic silence could be seen not as noble—but as avoiding responsibility.

 Literature as Engagement: More Than Just Art

Throughout history, poets and writers have often engaged with political issues:
Pablo Neruda wrote against fascism.
Langston Hughes wrote during the Harlem Renaissance to speak about race.
Kamala Das, Maya Angelou, and others wrote about gender and oppression.

Their poetry became part of a social movement—not just words on a page.

My Opinion: Poetry Should Speak When It Matters Most
While I understand Yeats’s point—especially his fear of poetry becoming political propaganda—I don’t fully agree with his idea that poetry should stay silent.
In today’s world, where wars, climate crisis, gender violence, and inequality continue to shape lives, poetry can:
Raise awareness
Inspire empathy
Create cultural memory
Silence may feel safe, but sometimes silence supports the status quo.
As a student of literature, I believe that poetry is not just decoration—it’s declaration. It should speak when hearts are broken, when the world is burning, and when truth needs a witness.

Disintegration Through Imagery in Yeats’s “The Second Coming”

 Introduction: A World Falling Apart
W. B. Yeats’s The Second Coming, written in the aftermath of World War I and the Irish Civil War, is a powerful modernist poem that captures the terrifying sense of collapse and chaos in the 20th century. Yeats believed history moved in cycles (gyres), and he thought the world was entering a dark, destructive phase.
The poem’s strength lies in its haunting imagery, which vividly conveys a sense of disintegration—of order, morality, civilization, and even human identity. Let’s explore how Yeats masterfully uses imagery to express this spiritual and social unraveling.

1. The Falcon and the Gyre: Disconnected from Control

“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;”

Yeats begins with a metaphor from falconry, where the bird flies in a spiral (a “gyre”). But here, the gyre is widening too much, and the falcon has lost connection with the falconer—a symbol of humanity losing touch with its moral center or divine guidance.
This image sets the tone of chaos and breakdown—a world spinning out of control.

 2. Crumbling of Civilization and Morality
“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,”

These lines are among the most quoted in modern poetry because of their terrifying simplicity. The center—a symbol of order, stability, perhaps truth or religion—cannot hold anymore. Through this apocalyptic imagery, Yeats suggests a collapse of societal structure, with “anarchy” (complete disorder) rising in its place.
The image of things falling apart is almost visual and physical, like a building collapsing from the inside.

 3. The Bloody Tide: Violence Unleashed
“The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;”

Here, Yeats uses a violent image of a tide filled with blood, flooding the world and drowning innocence. It’s not just physical violence but also moral disintegration—as if goodness itself is being overwhelmed.
This grotesque and apocalyptic sea image reflects the emotional trauma of war, revolution, and the loss of values.

 4. The Beast: A New and Terrifying Birth
“And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”

In the climax, Yeats introduces a mythical monster—a “rough beast”—that emerges from the ruins of civilization. The use of “slouches” creates a disturbing visual of a creature moving slowly, with menace.
It’s a reversal of the Christian image of birth in Bethlehem. Instead of a savior, Yeats’s vision is of a new era of destruction and terror—not progress, but regression into primal violence.

Conclusion: The Role of Poetry in Crisis

Yeats’s poetry, particularly On Being Asked for a War Poem and The Second Coming, offers a powerful reflection on the disintegration of civilization. In his war poem, Yeats argues that poets should remain apolitical, avoiding the temptation to write propaganda. However, poets like Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon counter this view by using their art to confront the horrors of war and challenge societal lies.
The imagery in The Second Coming—with symbols like the “widening gyre” and “blood-dimmed tide”—captures the terrifying collapse of order and the birth of something monstrous, underscoring Yeats’s fear of an imminent apocalypse. This highlights the tension between poetry as a form of reflection and resistance.

In the end, Yeats’s work reflects the debate between silence and action in poetry. While Yeats advocates for a detached stance, modern poets often use their voices to address injustice and inspire change. Poetry’s role, whether quiet or loud, remains a powerful tool to reflect and possibly reshape the world during times of crisis.

References

---. “The Second Coming.” Poetry Foundation, 1920, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43290/the-second-coming.

Owen, Wilfred. “Dulce et Decorum Est.” Poetry Foundation, 1920, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46560/dulce-et-decorum-est.

Yeats, William Butler. “On being asked for a War Poem.” Poetry Foundation, 1916, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57313/on-being-asked-for-a-war-poem.