Pre- war poetry used language and structure that was very pastoral. These poems portrayed the beauty and perfection of nature, and how it was the ideal. At the outbreak of war, the poetry conveyed a very patriotic feeling and the pride that soldiers had to be fighting for their country. Towards the end of the war, the feeling had changed dramatically; the soldiers were disillusioned and resigned to their fate, which they believed was death. Imagery in poems is very important, the use of verbal pictures not only describe what the poet sees, but also to express complex...
hope and the possibly chance of new life coming in the spring.

These poems show that there are strong differing views on the war, they seem to be split between trying to motivate the soldiers, providing a positive side to the fighting, and the harsh and perhaps more truthful picture of the war. The imagery shows a clear portrayal of the poets views and beliefs, and the structure also conveys this. Pastoral imagery is used by the poets trying to motivate the soldiers, or by the poets such as Owen who took this imagery and destroyed it.