ladykangaroo: Why? They were soldiers after all and got their own kind of poetry reflecting the spirit of the times and specific circumstances.
Well, I specifically want WWI because, as Piorun says, the agenda is different after that time (and to some extent during). In WW1 we had Poles fighting in 3 armies (at least), often against each other.
I'm not only working with Owen, after all, there's nobody else like Owen even at the time. Sassoon, Graves etc will also be used. What I want to look at is common themes amongst soldiers during that period. In British war poetry there are several shifts in style over the period of the war and I am curious to see if similar things happened
ladykangaroo: If you try to compare German and Polish poetry of that time you have to keep in mind that theatre of war did not reach too far East and Poland was to a large extent excluded from it;
Sorry, I can't agree with that. Poland did not exist as a country for most of the war and all parts were under the control of the three main powers, Austro-Hungary, Germany and Russia. I live in Warmia-Masury (at that time part of Germany) and the area is littered with WW1 cemeteries. Indeed one of the largest battles of the war was the battle of the Masurian lakes (Tannenburg) which happened in the area. Likewise the south has it's share of cemeteries, with campaigns in Galicia etc. One of the most famous books about the war, "Good Soldier Szwejk" is set in that area.
It is precisely the comparison between the Eastern and Western Fronts which I want to examine.
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