There are in fact many different conspiracies towards how World War One began, as there are many events that have potential towards being a part of the wars build up. A majority of people strongly believe that the assassination of the archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, was the reason the war began, but during this blog post I am here to prove otherwise. As the assassination of Franz Ferdinand was indeed a key event within the history of World War One, it was not the main reason the war began.
Due to the major alliances formed, the strong ideas of nationalism, and the threat of country’s emerging as major powers due to strong feelings of militarism, are all key events that led to the reason World War One began. I have created a poem to describe and prove my point in a more enjoyable way. The use of rhyme and clever wording will hopefully be able to enhance and summarize these events in a more engaging way, to ultimately present my argument more clearly.
MORE THAN JUST ONE
An original poem written by Alanah Dulong
World War One
The ONE of all WARS
The FIRST WAR for the WORLD
but.
Did this conflict start with just ONE.
Started with just ONE
The archduke was KILLED
Austria was NOT thrilled
Conflicts began at their own will
BUT was this just the SPARK
That kept us outsiders in the dark
Leaving ONLY just a mark…
AND
that the WORLD WAR
Has more meaning to its core
Starting due to so much MORE
than just ONE…
MORE THAN JUST ONE.
Countries were pressured to fight
ALLIANCES bound them together so tight
All heading to their plight
Where an political agreement was made
Between two or more NATIONS all at each other’s aid
Containing economic as well as military based elements you could say
Supporting each other financially, through the supply of materials, mobilization, and declaration of war
Investment, or loans, trade agreements, and so much more
Giving each nation a chance to soar
But during 1914
TWO MAJOR POWERS of EUROPE were only seen
The TRIPLE ALLIANCE AND ENTENTE were key
Two opposing groups in relation
Changing the war that was meant to be between only TWO nations
Into a war including ALL
Making the war more than just ONE
More than a war
but one for the WORLD that begun
Where ALLIANCES brought more countries into play
Which made this war what it is known as today
But there is more…
MORE THAN JUST ONE
NATIONALISTIC feelings grew
Stronger than anyone even knew
Most especially in EUROPE too
This extreme form of patriotism filled the air
Filling newspapers with rumours of rival nations that just weren’t fair
Europeans were proud of their nations cultural, economic, and military supremacy being their only care
Nationalism became almost a part of pop culture too
But politicians, diplomats, and people of HIGH STATUS acted as if they had no clue
Not STOPPING the madness but instead ENCOURAGING it to continue
This uncontrollable overconfidence in ones nation became out of hand
As everyone thought they lived on the best land
In retrospect believing that RIVAL NATIONS were scheming and deceitful in demand
Citizens were CONVINCED they were being threatened by their rivals
Soon forcing them to pull out their own rifles
As one nation was positive that they would be victorious, repeating as a cycle
Nationalism made the war seem almost ESSENTIAL
Convincing nations that in battle they would have so much potential
But this all ended up being very consequential
As it was CRUCIAL towards the start of World War One
But their is still more to come
Of how it begun…
MORE THAN JUST ONE
Militarism was introduced
And was heavily used
By several EUROPEAN nations too
Governments dominated by MILITARY LEADERS
Affecting policy, shaping culture, and public opinion creating these believers
Initiating talk of war, and posing the military leaders as heroes making citizens act as their cheerleaders
Promoting WAR over negotiation during international disputes
Strong navies and armies needed to pull through
As each homeland needed to protect imperial and trade interests, managing threats from rivals too
Having a STRONG military was equivalent too a STRONG measure of national and imperial POWER
As militarism impacted the wars growth like a flower
Promoting violence and which nations were cowards
Making the war more than just ONE
These concepts fed the FIRE that was the World War
Consuming nations, rising conflicts, and violent thoughts all a part of its core
All a part of what made this war so much more
THAN JUST ONE
This feeding fire was lit
By the assassination of the archduke that was the spark that started it
But all of these events were true
Towards being the build up to what made the war pursue
World War One
The ONE of all WARS
The FIRST WAR for the WORLD
Started by MORE THAN JUST ONE
Over all, I thoroughly enjoyed the process of creating this poem, as it allowed me to write freely and learn about key aspects of the war such as, the alliances, nationalism, and militarism in a creative way. I was able to gain a better understanding of this information, due to having to change everything into my own words, and point of view, while having it flow nicely in a poetic way. The poem gives the argument and information I gathered about World War One a deeper meaning almost, as I chose to capitalize words that have more of a concept throughout the poem, and the use of repetition throughout the poem intensifies and promotes my argument; that there was more than one reason World War One began.
There were many different directions I could have went with this assignment in order to answer my own thesis statement, and the over all discussion question of why World War One began. For example, I could have presented my information in the format of a comic, video, or even interpreted dance (which was very tempting to consider doing), but over all I felt as if writing a poem was my best option. Poems just allow more freedom while writing as you can really say anything you like. It is almost like painting a picture using words, and growing up I always enjoyed writing poems. Within the proces of writing this particular poem it was sometimes difficult trying to find words to rhyme with one another, or to make the phrases flow nicely with one another, but in the end I was able to troubleshoot these problems creating a decent poem. All in all, considering that poetry is something I enjoy and take pride in doing, I created a poem, and was able to learn a lot about World War One during the process.
Bibliography:
http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/worldwar1/a/World-War-One-The-Major-Alliances.htm
http://alphahistory.com/worldwar1/nationalism/
http://alphahistory.com/worldwar1/militarism/