News at Eleven: Wars have always been brutal events wreaking

death and agony. Poetry, since ancient times, has been used to glorify its heroic deeds. It has also been used as a medium to portray the horrors within. Tyrtaeus's 7th century poems were recited for centuries by Spartans. Furius Bibaculus, an officer in Caesar's army, wrote an epic on the Gallic Wars. The Iliad, Homer's epic poem, is about the ten year siege of Troy during the Trojan War and Achilles' atrocities on the living and dead.

Soldiers and civilians alike are expected to endure scenes of violence and suffering and remain indifferent.

from The News International: War Poetry

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