World War I and World War II can be defined as gruesome and deadly by some and reasonable or necessary by others. Trench Warfare was a popular military tactic used in World War I. It consisted of soldiers sitting in a zig zagged trench shooting at another trench all day without any movement. The soldiers were well protected but if they were to move they would be immediately exposed. It was also very time consuming because trench warfare was a defense method so both sides were a dead-lock. Weapons were used that nowadays are deemed lethal and unprecedented. When it was said, and done there were millions of deaths from both sides. HistoryNet states “World War I is known for the extensive system of trenches…. Lethal new technologies were unleashed” which supports this information (HistoryNet WW1). World War II started not too long after the first world war. Instead of Trench Warfare, the new fighting style was called “Blitzkrieg” it was used mostly by the Germans and was a quick and fast attack strategy instead of the Trench defense tactic. HistoryNet supports this information with the quote “This new style of warfare became known as blitzkrieg (…. the Germans actually used the term blitzkrieg to refer to a war of short duration.... combined-arms tactics of rapid maneuver)” (HistoryNet WW2). Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen is a poem written after World war I that is used to express the harsh realities of war that many do not comprehend. The title is translated to “It is sweet and proper to die for one’s country”. The author says this in a satirical/sarcastic way for he does not believe dying in war is sweet and proper. The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner by Randall Jarrell is a poem written after/ towards the end of World War II and can be compared to Wilfred Owen’s poem because of the same theme that they express. They both depict the negatives of the war and how majority of the people do not see the brutality of war and how it solves nothing. Between the wars in the poems, their difference of military tactics and purpose did not change the fact that nobody gains from war.

Jarrell and Owen both depict war as a waste. War consists of death and doesn’t really solve problems. One could understand that if sides can’t agree peacefully over an extensive period of time war can be necessary. The repercussions of war are what seems to be the problem. The outcome of war consists of deaths of millions of innocent people. Willing citizens go to another country and live off poor food, little water and brutal conditions of gun fire and tension. They both have two different examples of the showing that the harsh realities of war but the purpose and message behind their writing is what they agree on. When Wilfred Owen states “Drunk with fatigue” (Owen 7) it is one of many powerful expressions that he uses to show how brutal war can be. This quote signifies that soldiers can be so tired and weak that they are impaired. It shows that bullets are not the only thing that can hurt them but also the long and tiring situations that they live in. They can be walking across land for days on end with little water or be cooped up in a building for days waiting for backup. Throughout both poems, they both attempt to show all of the sides of war and especially the ones that people back home do not understand. Although Jarrell’s work is very short a lot can be taken from it. He uses the line “And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze” (Jarrell 2) to show a condition of a wounded soldier that is about to die. He proceeds to explain that this soldier is stuck in a planes turret and knows he is going to die. He is cold and alone on his death bed. It is very depressing to see someone die like this, and nobody would want to go out like this. Jarrell’s purpose is similar to Owens if not exactly the same; he wants to show the reader that war is a hardship like no other. A soldier could die at any point and is putting his life on the line so others can be safe. These authors realize that people do not appreciate these people enough who protect the everyday citizens. War is all the same whether it is the Civil War or World War II. It never changes and it doesn’t matter how the war is fought. Each war conducts the same outcome each time which is death to plenty and utter destruction. 

Both authors may have had similar purposes and themes of their respective poems but they used different examples to express their purpose. In Owens poem, it contains a story of World War I soldiers. These soldiers endured the trench warfare and used different weapons. Trench warfare was a defensive strategy so deaths didn’t occur often but when they did it was multiple due to everybody being held up in the cramped trench. Owen shows this by saying “Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!” (Owen 9) to show that these soldiers need to be ready at all times because attacks can come anytime and anywhere. Owen idea of showing all this is to get the public to realize war is not something to glorify. It is a poor way of dealing with problems. In Jarrell’s poem, it contains the story of the death of a soldier during World War II. He is stuck in the turret pit of a downed plane bleeding out. It is depressing because he knows he is dying and is all alone. He has to die alone and mentally go out in peace. He doesn’t even get to say goodbye to his family or finish any open personal conflicts that the soldier may have. Jarrell has the soldier awake “I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters” (Jarrell 4) only to have the soldier realize he is going to die then he dies. He does this because he wants the reader to understand that in a blink of an idea a soldier could die. It can happen at any second and in the most inhumane way possible. World War II used less chemical weapons and more nuclear weapons and air fire. It also used different military strategies like Blitzkrieg. Blitzkrieg is German for lightning war which means that it is fast and quick. It is an offensive strategy used by the Axis powers to go quick and surprisingly so the defense does not have time to recover. The quickness of these attacks can be expressed by this statement “In May 1940, Germany shocked the world by rapidly invading and defeating the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France and a British Expeditionary Force that was aiding the French. Operations began May 10 with attacks on Holland and ended June 25” (HistoryNet WW2). This quote shows how the Germans had invaded and conquered multiple countries in the span of two months. This quote from the article can also show how effective the tactic was. Regardless of military strategy, the wars had the same outcome. It resolved the conflict but at the cost of millions of lives on both sides along with the emotional distress to their families. Whether they were fighting for land or for the genocide of a race it was based around the same conclusion that war is awful and is not the ideal way to solve problems. It does not matter what the war contains for the outcome is always the same. The differences between the poems are very important because it shows that it is not just one war, or one instance that war is brutal. It is all aspects of any type of war with any tactics that war is unnecessary and should only be used as a last option only. Anybody who does not have a firsthand experience of how dreadful and brutal war is cannot speak in wars favor.

Wars always end the same. They end with a victor and a loser. The victor and the loser have a lot in common. The victor and loser both lose millions of innocent lives, spend an extensive amount of money to support their fight and ultimately hurt their country. These cons occur for both sides over something that could be solved peacefully. Violence is never needed and the cons outweigh the positives. It does not matter what strategy is used or how many countries are involved or the alliances that are formed. Jarrell and Owen wanted to show that there is more to war than what is advertised. It is not needed to solve a conflict. The people that advocate war are not the same people that have to do the fighting, the long tours, and endure the conflict. They are not the chess pieces fighting they are the people moving the pieces and if those people stepped in the shoes of those fighting and understood how unnecessary it was they would not be as for it as they were before. These writers both wanted to express the idea that it is not sweet and proper to die for one’s country. It is sick and inhumane to die fighting in such conditions. It is important that these two be compared because together they are so much more powerful using two examples of idea instead of just one. 
