For The Fallen
The First World War, or the Great War, was a war that spread globally. It began the 28th July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. Robert Binyon’s most famous poem is, For The Fallen, was written just after the beginning of the first world war, after England had taken many casualties from the German Army. Binyon himself had been too old to enlist in the war; however he did assist the Red Cross and still felt the blow of death from war with the deaths of his brother-in-law and multiple friends. The Fallen is about the continuous deaths during war and that everyone mourns for them, whether they be proud of their sacrifices or terrified for their own loved ones. Throughout his poem, Robert Binyon successfully represents war as an event full of death, in particular the death of the younger generations, those who are at the frontline. Today, I will discuss how Binyon’s clever use of mood, structure and personification positions his readers to connect with the poem and accept his representation of war.
If we look at the poem we can see how Binyon’s use of mood and structure helps in positioning the audience, that war is disastrous and surrounded with death. By cleverly using mood he has managed to prove his point through creating a sombre and unhappy feel to the poem. Along with the clever way in which this poet has used structure by creating even stanzas that created an even feel to the poem he has clearly shown how he feels about war. Binyon manages to perfectly show his readers how he feels about war, and how he wishes them to feel as well.
Firstly, let’s look at how Binyon has used personification to assist in his portrayal of war. Personification has been used in the beginning of the poem. If we look at line two of the first stanza, we can clearly see an example of this in the line, English mourns for her dead across the sea. Binyon has used this particular device as a way to show how the whole of England feels about the deaths of these people. By using personification, Binyon can create sadness about the poem that affects the reader when they read it. As this particular line focuses on the sad part of the poem, it can make the reader feel emotional and upset that so many have died. Binyon has also used this specific device to affect as it can make the reader visualise just how many people must have died, knowing that a whole country was mourning for the deaths of these soldiers. Through the use of personification Binyon has clearly shown how war is an event full of death and sorrow.
Now we will have a look at how Binyon used antithesis to support the representation of war that he has constructed. If we look at line one of the second stanza, we can clearly see an example of