Fall in and Who’s for the game? Essay -- English Literature

Fall in and Who’s for the game? These two examples of poems are typical of the war propaganda of the period, they are propaganda posters to make normal people get up, tell their friends and to join the army, navy or RAF. They try to embarrass people who like to be masculine and question their masculinity; this makes them prove to people that they are a man so they go to fight in the war. The poem teases unmasculine men and tries to make them feel bad for not going to fight. Harold Begbie exclaims that all the MEN who fight in the war will be praised in the street, women will love them (which is not true if they are severely handicapped), everyone will ignore you if you don’t go and everyone who does will be heroes. Men hate getting ignored by women therefore they will want to join up Jessie Pope’s idea of a game makes the reader feel as if war is a football ball match or a great sporting event. Going with the LADS makes it feel like there is comradery and a good time to be had with cool people, there’s no mention of any death, killing people, blood or any oth...