'Who's+for+the+Game'+Essay+Notes

Jessie Pope (1868 - 1941) was an English poet, writer and journalist best known for her patriotic motivational poems published during World War I. Jessie Pope wrote 'Who's for the Game' to encourage young men into joining the British army. She wrote it as she believed one hundred percent in the war and the government propaganda. She was very patriotic and wanted to use her writing skills to help the country.

Jessie Pope wrote the poem the way she did she because she did not want to discourage men from going into battle. But she was very arrogant as she sat in her house in England having no idea of what really happened during the war. In my opinion Jessie Pope, was very much responsible for the jingoist feel in Britain at the time that lead to so many men being lost in WW1. She uses propaganda to almost intimidate men ‘Who’ll grip and tackle the job unafraid?’. In this quote she coerces the men of Britain, to say if their not a big enough man, of course some men are going to disagree with her belief and therefore slyly are forced into it. The poem made war sound like a fun sport game shown in this quotation "Who's for the game, the biggest that's played” she is referring to the great war that was present at the time as if it was a sport or a hobby. Making people wanting to recruit themselves and getting involved, not necessarily fighting . Quite arrogant and maybe insulting but it was good enough if Jessie Pope was persuading them.

Through out the poem, to the start to the end she asks questions, “Who’ll toe the line for the signal to ‘Go!’?” it stays in our mind and makes us think about the powerful question, this is known as a rhetorical question. As a result to this, more men think that ‘fighting for their country sounds like a good Idea as it sounds like they need me.’ The sentence; ‘Who would much rather come back with a crutch, Than lie low and be out of the fun?’ is influential and leading, really saying to us, that coming back with victory or glory and a proud family to come home to whether your country won or not is better then not fighting at all. Who knows, your country could of needed you to win?

(note: This is a student essay)