Bring out the impact of world wars on english literature
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Answer:
The Impact of the First World War: Britain & Literature
“There was no really good true war book during the entire four years of the war. The only true writing that came through during the war was in poetry. One reason for this is that poets are not arrested as quickly as prose writers”
– Ernest Hemingway, in “Men at War”
British Troops in Trench
Introduction
The Great War, which took place between 1914-1918, shook the very foundations of the Western world, causing a societal upheaval that left immediate and lasting impressions on every aspect of society and culture. Great Britain, as one of the primary belligerents of the conflict, was no exception; and experienced a wave of social and artistic change as a direct result of the war. One of the most heavily impacted cultural arenas to be touched by the war was literature. Literature during the Great War often reflects upon and bitingly criticizes the horrors of war, as well as the changes society was undergoing and provides a drastic transition between pre and post war work. Many social, political, and economic shifts occurred during the war, and any of the writers of the time felt the need to speak out against the flaws they saw in their society, sometimes even while fighting for their lives in the trenches. The new style of war allowed soldiers an unprecedented amount of time to ponder the battles which they fought; not only in the literal sense, but battles of the mind and spirit which were of no shortage in the hellish conditions that they endured. Literature became a common way for the British soldiers to approach the reality of the war, whether to express dissent against it, or to simply understand it.
Women and men alike turned to writing as a means of emotional outlet. Back in Britain, the social order was being rocked by the war taking place across the channel, with women becoming key economic supporters in the absence of men and men suffering the physical and psychological stress of war. Women were forced to adopt a role that was traditionally considered masculine, taking on industrial work in factories in order to provide for their children, as well as assuming a leading role in the maintenance of the family. As a result many women began to speak out, discussing their view on the war and the impact it was placing on their families. Writers and poets of the Great War attempted to distinguish how this war was different than anything the world had seen before, both the manner in which it was fought and the changing attitude toward the purpose of the conflict, and it was a task shared by all of society, both those on the battlefield and back at home.