Isaac Rosenberg 1890 - 1918
Isaac Rosenberg's best poetry resulted from his war
experience. He enlisted in 1915 and was killed in action in 1918, thus
suffering life in the trenches and the nightmare of military attacks. His
poetry is highly originally in rhythm and diction. Like Owen's, it conveys the
horror of war through crude, realistic details but it is also filled with pity
and human sympathy. His work poetry is more intimate and private, more symbolic
and imaginative than that of his fellow poets.
Texts:
●Break of Day in the Trenches
Dawn breaks on the front, without idyllic or romantic
overtones, though at the beginning of this poem Isaac Rosenberg would like to
believe that it is the same eternal dawn of all times. When the soldier poet
reaches out for a poppy growing on the edge of the trench, a rat leaps over his
hand. He feels the irony of the situation. Strong, clever, civilised men are
stuck in the trenches, this rat is free to cross the fields between the
enemies' lines, and perhaps it will touch a German's hand soon. Probably the rat
will see the terror in the men's eyes, and it will feel their hearts beating.
The poem closes on the poppy metaphor once more: only the poppy behind the
poet's ear is safe for the time being.
