... out some of the horrific aspects of soldiery and war. Although Sebastian Faulks uses fictional characters he is able to construct a realistic view of trench warfare and life within the First World War. The novel is based around a central character called Stephen Wraysford and concentrates on his journey through the war. Birdsong is also populated with characters that represent different parts of society during the war period. Poems of the Great War is an anthology of poems written from 1914 to 1918. It contains a variety of different poems and poets that cover the changing attitudes towards war. From the positive reaction to war at the start to the disenchant felt by the soldiers at the end of the war. The major difference between the novel and the poems are that the poems are a primary source, most of them were written during the war. Due to the fact that ...

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