The poetry of heroism appeals irresistibly to those who don't go to a war, and even more to those whom the war is making enormously wealthy. It's always so.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
In a war situation or where violence and injustice are prevalent, poetry is called upon to be something more than a thing of beauty.
True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.
The poets who have written the best poems about war seem to be the poets whose countries have experienced an invasion or vicious dictatorships.
The Vietnam War and the Iraq war, in different ways, both made me feel like I could not not address them. I'm very doubtful about the usefulness of poetry to do that.
On a normal day, we value heroism because it is uncommon. On Sept. 11, we valued heroism because it was everywhere.
Poetry is partly sympathy, don't you think? If it's any good, it gets people to think about others' points of view.
In the film world, we can all be heroes. In the real world, where heroism can cost you your life or the life of the ones you love, people aren't so willing to make those sacrifices. When they do, they are set apart from the rest of us.
As a rule, all heroism is due to a lack of reflection, and thus it is necessary to maintain a mass of imbeciles. If they once understand themselves the ruling men will be lost.
There is no glory in war, yet from the blackness of its history, there emerge vivid colours of human character and courage. Those who risked their lives to help their friends.
The opportunities for heroism are limited in this kind of world: the most people can do is sometimes not to be as weak as they've been at other times.