On war poetry: wılfred owen vs. Mehmet akif ersoy

Abstract

"War" means bargaining many innocent lives away in an outrageous bloodbath for the benefit of God-knows-whom for the ones who truly and closely have experienced it in the battlefield and it means sacrificing a few with a just cause for the good of many for the ones who have watched it in home fronts. These are the perspectives of English war poet Wilfred Owen and Turkish war poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy respectively. Owen actively participated in World War I (1914-1918) and witnessed the savagery and atrocity of the war on the hot battle ground fighting for his life, which made him realize the disparity between what is won and what is lost and question for what cause they fight. On the other hand, Ersoy was a political and religious figure during the Turkish Independence War (1919-1922), but he never actively fought in a battle. Thus, his ideas about the war remained more idealistic and hopeful about the future. Their ideas and beliefs are reflected in their poems concerning the important war of their times. Wilfred Owen sarcastically criticizes the false assumptions and empty promises that are given to the soldiers on the battlefield in his poems such as "Dulce et Decorum Est" and reflects the brutal and apathetic side of the war. Whereas, Ersoy in his poems such as Çanakkale Şehitleri'ne (To the Martyrs of Çanakkale) and "Cenk Marşı" (Combat Anthem) encourages people to fight for their nation and supports the idea of glorious death and divine cause which is the very thing that Owen criticizes. Key words: Mehmet Akif Ersoy, Wilfred Owen, war poetry