
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 and 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. In "The Soldier" Brooke details an English soldier devoted to the fight for his country and suggests that this way of life is glorious and should be sought after and achieved by all. Sassoon conveys a similar view of a soldier's life in the beginning of "The Hero" however the tone quickly changes with the thoughts of a disgruntled officer which allows Sassoon to express that war should not be a glorified subject. 

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 (Brooke 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. The base line for progressiveness is confidence of the people, which leads to more involvement with the government, politics, relations, and the overall well-being of the country, and results in the display of a successful image to the world. Winston Churchill, an English political leader and popular figure during World War I, was 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. Brooke contributed to the positive outlook on being a soldier and fighting for one's country that the majority held during World War I.

The opposing side to acceptance of war is all of the critique of the multipurpose manor of the fight. Sassoon hints that there is a double standard with the way that people view soldiering and war in most of his literary works. In his poem, "The Hero" a soldier named Jack has passed away at war and an officer is delivering the message to his mother. The first stanza describes how the mother feels pride toward her fallen son. The second stanza outlines that the officer did his best to promote that her son was a good soldier, being careful what he said to not disrupt her grievance. The main point of this poem comes in the third stanza where the officer's true thoughts are revealed. His tone is full of distaste as he calls Jack a "cold-footed, useless swine" (Sassoon 13). The stark difference between the officer's thoughts and his actions depict the contradictory circumstances many faced throughout wartime. There was so much positive support for the War that any opposition was not necessarily addressed and the person(s) holding this opinion were regarded as misinformed or ignorant. Siegfried Sassoon was a soldier though. 

Also from England, he 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 of positive reinforcement. 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" (Sassoon). 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). Sassoon pointing out the flaws with the political circumstances allowed for more people to come out and 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 in the process of changing a view of a supported argument. Sassoon provides the counter argument as to why war should not be glorified, due to the gruesome circumstances and the double standards many faced.

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 Siegfried Sassoon, who was a soldier himself, steps back to identify the issues with the purpose behind the fight producing the rebuttal to Brooke's glorification of war. Both, however, share a significant similarity: without either 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. The argument that becomes evident then is that war, in general, is necessary for humanity to make progress as a global society.

