Q. Discuss the impact of World Wars (I and II) on English literature during the Modern Age. How did these events influence the themes and styles of writers of the age?
World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945 were devastating conflicts that changed the course of history. These wars also left a deep impact on English literature.
Writers of the time described the destruction, fear, and confusion brought by these wars. Many works reflected the suffering of soldiers and civilians and raised questions about life, morality, and human nature.
These events also pushed writers to experiment with new styles and ways of storytelling to match the chaos of the world.
Literature During and After World War I
World War I was one of the first large-scale conflicts to involve many countries and millions of people. It was fought mainly in Europe, with vast battles taking place in the trenches of France and Belgium.
Soldiers lived in harsh conditions, often enduring mud, disease, and constant fear of attack. New technologies like machine guns, tanks, and poison gas made the war especially deadly.
By the time it ended in 1918, millions of people had died, and entire towns and regions were destroyed. The war not only left soldiers physically injured but also caused deep emotional and psychological scars.
Terms like “shell shock” (now known as PTSD) emerged to describe the mental toll on those who survived the horrors of battle. Civilians, too, faced grief, loss, and hardship, as food shortages and bombings disrupted daily life.
War Poetry
The poetry of World War I remains some of the most direct and powerful writing from this time. Poets like Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, who served as soldiers, wrote about the horrors of trench warfare. They described the mud, the gas attacks, and the constant fear of death.
Wilfred Owen: Owen’s famous poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” painted a grim picture of war. He described soldiers struggling through mud and being attacked with poison gas.
The poem ends by calling the belief that it is sweet and noble to die for one’s country a lie. His other works, like “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, showed how young men were sent to die with little thought for their lives.
Siegfried Sassoon: Sassoon also criticized the idea that war was glorious. In poems like “Counter-Attack”, he used detailed and harsh images to show the suffering of soldiers. His works often expressed anger at the leaders who sent men to die while staying safe themselves.
Novels About World War I
Some novelists focused on how the war changed people’s lives. They wrote about the emotional wounds that soldiers carried and how families and relationships were affected.
Rebecca West: In her novel The Return of the Soldier, Rebecca West tells the story of a soldier who comes home with memory loss.
He cannot remember the war or even parts of his life before it. The novel shows how war breaks not only bodies but also minds and families.
Ford Madox Ford: Ford Madox Ford’s series of novels, Parade’s End, is considered one of the most significant works about World War I. The series is made up of four books:
- Some Do Not(1924)
- No More Parades (1925)
- A Man Could Stand Up (1926)
- The Last Post (1928)
The story centers on Christopher Tietjens, a government worker known for his strong morals and sense of duty. During World War I, Tietjens enlists as a soldier, and the war becomes a major part of his life. Alongside his experiences in the war, the novels also focus on his struggles.
New Writing Styles
The chaos of war made many writers feel that traditional ways of storytelling could not capture the truth of their experiences. Some authors experimented with new techniques to show the confusion and emotional impact of war.
Virginia Woolf: In Mrs. Dalloway, Woolf tells the story of a single day in the life of a woman preparing for a party. Through stream-of-consciousness writing, Woolf shows the thoughts of different characters, including a soldier suffering from shell shock.
T. S. Eliot: Eliot’s long poem The Waste Land was published after World War I. It described a world that felt broken and lifeless, much like Europe after the war.
The poem uses a fragmented style and references many different cultures and histories, reflecting the disordered state of the world.
Literature During and After World War II
World War II was even more destructive than the first. It involved nearly every part of the world and caused massive loss of life.
New horrors, such as the Holocaust and the use of atomic bombs, left people questioning humanity itself. Writers after World War II often focused on fear, survival, and the lasting effects of war.
Novels About World War II
Many writers used fiction to comment on the events of the war and the changes it brought to the world.
George Orwell: Orwell’s books reflected the fears of dictatorship and propaganda that grew after World War II. In 1984, he imagined a world where a government controls every aspect of people’s lives, even their thoughts.
Orwell also wrote Animal Farm, a story about farm animals that represented the rise of authoritarian regimes, including those that came to power during and after the war.
William Golding: Golding’s Lord of the Flies tells the story of a group of boys stranded on an island. The boys start as friends but soon turn violent and cruel. The novel reflected fears that the violence of war could easily become a part of everyday life.
Graham Greene: Greene’s novels often showed people struggling with fear and moral questions during wartime. In The Heart of the Matter, he tells the story of a British officer in Africa who faces personal dilemmas while trying to do his duty.
Greene’s works showed how war could change people’s beliefs about right and wrong.
Anne Frank: Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl became one of the most important books about the Holocaust. Anne, a Jewish teenager, wrote about her life in hiding from the Nazis.
Her diary showed the everyday fears and hopes of people caught in the war and remains a powerful reminder of its human cost.
Dystopian Fiction
Dystopian Fiction is a genre of fiction (short story) that imagines a future where society is unfair, oppressive, or facing serious problems. These stories usually show how people struggle to survive or fight against bad conditions.
The destruction and fear caused by World War II led some writers to imagine dark futures. These stories warned about the dangers of unchecked power, war, and technology.
Aldous Huxley: Although written before World War II, Huxley’s Brave New World became popular after the war. It described a future where people are controlled by technology and conditioning, reflecting the fear of losing individuality.
Poetry and Plays
Poetry and plays after World War II also reflected the confusion and fear caused by the war.
W. H. Auden: Auden’s poem “September 1, 1939” described the feelings of sadness and uncertainty as the world entered another war. His works often reflected the struggles of ordinary people in difficult times.
Samuel Beckett: Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot became famous after World War II. It showed two men waiting for someone who never arrived. The play reflected the sense of uncertainty and loss of purpose that many felt after the war.
Common Themes in Literature from Both Wars
Fear and Pain: Writers described the physical pain of soldiers and the emotional pain of families waiting for loved ones. Many works showed how war affected everyone, not just those on the battlefield.
Doubt and Change: Both wars made people question ideas they once believed in, like the idea that war is honorable or that progress always leads to good outcomes. Writers showed characters who struggled with these doubts.
Human Behavior: Many books and poems ask why people fight and hurt each other. Others focused on how people survive and find hope even in the worst times.
New Styles: Writers broke traditional rules of storytelling to better reflect the chaos of war. They used fragmented narratives, stream-of-consciousness techniques, and symbolism to show how the world felt broken.
Simple Language: Some writers, like Ernest Hemingway, used short sentences and plain words. His book A Farewell to Arms, about a soldier and a nurse during World War I, used simple language to show the emotions of war.
Dark Futures: After World War II, some writers imagined dystopian futures. These stories showed the dangers of war, technology, and total control, warning people about what could happen if history repeated itself.
