Life and Death

One of the reasons "In Flanders Fields" has endured in the English literary canon is due to its consistent juxtaposition of life and death in a compressed 15-line poem. This juxaposition becomes the defining characteristic of the poem, and in so doing, also becomes the defining characteristic of war itself. As the poem begins, the speaker opens with an image associated with life, vibrancy, and vitality: "In Flanders fields the poppies blow" (1). This opening line might call to mind a serene and tranquil landscape rife with energy and beauty. However, the next line immediately transforms the initial image to a more grotesque reality, saying "Between the crosses, row on row" (2). That the two lines are enjambed – meaning there is no form of punctuation that separates them – suggests the close proximity of the flowers and the makeshift graves. In other words, the enjambment dramatizes the...