Compare the ways poets present the experience of soldiers in ‘Come on Come Back’ and one other poem from Conflict. (36 marks)

‘Come on come back’ is about a girl soldier surviving war, having lost her memory. It is set in the future and is about how conflict will continue into the future impacting upon soldiers’ lives. Through the use of nature imagery and setting ‘Mametz Wood’ also uses nature imagery to show the effects of conflict. It is about how farmers today are unearthing the bodies of soldiers. Written in a reflective tone, the poem suggests sadness and anger.

Both poems share the themes of nature, death and the negative effects of conflict and both are antiwar. Throughout both poems they use nature imagery. In ‘Come on, Come Back’ the lake is a metaphor for Vaudevue’s mind, for example, “the waters on either side of the moony tract are as black as her mind”. This simile infers emptiness as we associate black with something dark and hollow. This suggests that an effect of war is that the horror that Vaudevue remembers  have changed her life forever and ehas made her memory ‘a secret from her’. This suggests a possible aim of artilleries to wipe the memory and steal your identity. Life will never be the same for the soldier again. This presents to the reader that war has a long lasting effect.

Similarly, ‘Mametz Wood’ uses nature imagery to describe the fragility of life and to contrast nature with humans. This is presented when it says a “broken bird’s egg of a skull”.  This  not only links the soldier to nature , as life is a part of birth, living and death, but it allows the audience to imagine how delicate the bones and skeletons of the soldiers are, since a birds egg is dainty and precious. As a bird’s egg brings new life this could also infer that the lives of soldiers were short lived and wasted as there were only young when they died. This, once again, shows how lives are wasted through war and reminds the reader how fragile life is.

The structure of ‘Come on, Come Back’ links to the confusion as the use of enjambement throughout and irregular stanzas reflects Vaudevue’s confusion and her lack of awareness. The longer line lengths could be reflecting her desperately searching for her mind, or it could be reflecting the ripples of the water of the lake through the alternate short and long line lengths. Additionally, the personification and juxtaposition used in ‘seizing her in an icy amorous embrace’ infers that death is friendly and welcomed by Vaudevue as the horror that she is left with from war is unbearable. The poem’s lack of clear rhythm pattern allows the audience to share her confusion and lack of understanding.

Conversely, Mametz Wood uses the third person and time connectives to highlight the effects of war still today. For instance, “for years afterwards” highlights the even today the effects of war is still being felt and that even now the real truth about the tragedy of war is being understood. It is written in the third person which gives a sense of detachment from the bodies. However, this also highlights how the poet feels angry that these heroic soldiers have died for us and been forgotten. Moreover,  the structure of the lines could reflect the lines of bodies in the field which will allow the audience a horrible insight into what the farmers were seeing.

The metaphor of the water , on which lies “a ribbon of white”, not only has connotations of innocence that we tend to associate white, but also purity and femininity which could suggest that war takes away people’s innocence and leaves them blank with no memory or recollection of their past life. As this “ribbon of moonlight” is encompassed by “icy waters.. black as her mind” it suggests that she was trapped by war and the only way of escape was through dying. Finally, as Vaudevue died through nature, instead of conflict this could suggest that in fact it will be nature that will cause pain, loss and suffering in the future.

On the other hand, in ‘Mametz Wood’ the land is personified as a protector of the soldiers and their secrets as it is described as “the earth stands sentinel”. This not only suggests that the land is protecting the soldiers from the horrors of war, but it could also suggest the land is adamant in ensuring that the soldiers aren’t forgotten. The earth is sending a message to the reader that the past will not be forgotten and made a secret of, that the soldiers deserve the recognition for what they have done in war.

Both poems highlight that the same monstrous events of war will be repeated if the past is not learn from and acknowledged. In ‘Come on, Come Back’ this is seen through the fictitious war references, reminiscent of WW2, such as the ‘memel conference’ and ‘ML5’ which suggest that history will repeat itself in the future and the effects of war will be just as bad if we don’t learn our lesson. This is also referred to in ‘Mametz Wood’ “for years afterwards.”

Overall, both use nature imagery to reflect the effects of war. In ‘Come on, Come Back’ this is confusion, helplessness and loss of identity, whereas in ‘Mametz Wood’ this is the fragility of life, the short lived and wasted lives of the young and how the past must not be forgotten.