First World War: Poems from the Front

This anthology from the Imperial War Museum provides a new approach, focusing on the best poems by the poets who were actually on the front line. It includes the most famous poets – Owen, Sassoon, Brooke – in greater than usual depth, plus rising stars such as Gurney and Blunden.

The First World War saw all participant nations raise huge armies; many of these new soldiers were literate. Ordering them into the frontline and the experiences of the trenches, mud and death saw many of these soldiers respond to their experiences with poetry. Some of these poems still resonate today.