Disillusionment and Cynicism

World War I began with high expectations and many illusions about the glory of war. It continued to be propagandized, by governments on both sides, in highly inflated patriotic language that was increasingly at odds with the horrific experience of the troops on the front lines. The result was that many soldiers began to reject patriotic slogans with the sort of disgust which Owen records in his poem.

King George V inspecting an ideal trench.

The reality of the trenches, Le Barque 1917.

A body in "no-man's-land," the space between the trenches of the two opposing armies.