
In the year 1914, a war began when a Serbian nationalist murdered the archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. European countries began to fight alongside their allies, further involving other countries around the world, creating the First World War. This war lasted for four years, ending in the year 1918 when Germany surrendered. People were able to express their opinion about the war rather freely due to its gruesome capacity. Two perspectives of World War I are presented and supported through the literary works of Rupert Brooke and Siegfried Sassoon, where Brooke details the glorified patriot and Sassoon conveys the protestant soldier. Brooke's poem of devotion to England and Sassoon's letter of disapproval of the War's changing purpose suggest that war, in general, is necessary for humanity to progress because of its importance to participating countries and their soldiers.

For many soldiers who entered the War, their only goal was to make sure they made a difference and upheld all that their home country stood for in the fight. The author Rupert Brooke was not a soldier during World War I, however he favored the fight, stood for England, and expressed his opinion through poetry. In his sonnet, "The Soldier" the speaker (an English soldier) praises England with being able to shed away all evil (9) among many other doting descriptions. Devoting oneself to another being, a motherland for example, gives that person a sense of purpose. The soldier Brooke writes about addresses the readers with his wish that "If I should die, think only this of me: / That if there's some corner of a foreign field / That is forever England" (1-3) which shows the character's loyalty to the country. This soldier wants to prove his loyalty by portraying his potential grave as equivalent with how one would view England itself: only in positive light, "an English heaven." (14). Another analysis of this allegiance is that it is "equivalent to a son's love for his mother; but more than an ordinary son [because] he can give his life to her" ("The Soldier: Rupert Brooke").* The significance of making your allegiance known is that it creates a sense of patriotism and when there is a multitude of people making this same decision, to fight for one's country, the country can be seen as an honorable place. A country's image in the world is translucent to their inner workings; a form of progressiveness in that country is then noted when its people show their pride. This form is basic confidence, which leads to more involvement with the government, politics, people, and overall well-being of the country in order to display a successful image to the world. Winston Churchill, an English political leader during World War I, was a popular figure, someone that many people looked up to for support of their opinions of the war. When Brooke passed away Winston Churchill is accredited with making Brooke become a famous war poet when he said, "these lines expressed the 'sorrow of youth about to die'" (Bristow), where "these lines" refer to the opening lines in the first stanza of Brooke's sonnet. Regardless of the degree of fame either man possessed, it was their influence that allowed for people to come together and begin that shift towards a more united belief system and constant purpose in the War.

The opposing side to acceptance of war is all of the critique of the multipurpose manor of the fight. Siegierd Sassoon was a soldier (and poet), also from England, who fought on the front line for the majority of his time in the War. In Andy McSmith's in-depth description of Sassoon, he provides that Sassoon was both a fine young poet and a war hero as he was "persistent [in his] venturing into no-man's-land to raid the German trenches" (McSmith). As a soldier, he felt he was not actually that involved with the true reason for why the country was participating and was mostly upset with the war's overall circumstances. In Sassoon's letter to his commanding officer titled "A Soldier's Declaration" Sassoon made his opinions known and essentially quit the force. In his opening argument, Sassoon acknowledges that the War had changed from one of "defence and liberation" to one of "aggression and conquest." However he blames the authorities in the military leadership for having to see the corruption take effect on his fellow troops because they "have the power to end it" (Sassoon). Little did he know, his letter posed a huge threat to war politics as officers on the front and the War Office thought he was "mad" to publicize his unpopular opposing opinion, as it was popular to support the War. Sassoon pointing out the flaws with the political circumstances allowed for people to ask questions about the purpose of the War that they wouldn't have thought to ask if he hadn't written his objection so thoroughly. One of his final points is that he is not only writing that letter for himself, but for others who are suffering as well as to inform blind supporters of the War that there is suffering occurring. Such a message holds so much power for change and that is what began to happen. People were able to question the motives of the War on behalf of whichever country they came from in order to assure they were supporting and believing the "right" ideals. Pointing out the flaws in something as dense as a world war is crucial if progress is to be made towards achieving a consistent fundamental argument as to why a country should be fighting in that war. When populations come together and ask questions, the first step toward reform is complete, they only then have to collaborate and debate on the best answers and then implement the positive changes. 

These two World War I themed pieces of literature give two different perspectives of an Englishman's fight. Rupert Brooke glorifies a soldier dying for England while Siegierd Sassoon, who was a soldier himself, steps back to identify the issues with the purpose behind the fight. Both, however, share a significant similarity: without complete commitment or questioning of authorities, no progress toward a positive change could be made. During World War I, a country was identified based on the strength its soldiers were showing and the soldiers were identified based on the politics the country was exhibiting. The circumstances of the War changed when advocates of countries and soldiers began to question and solidify their support for the War and what was to come afterward. Humanity as a whole was affected by World War I and through all of the events, deaths, and implications, the world's population came out with progress on their mind.

