“Who's for the Game?” Summary

“Who's for the Game?” Themes

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  War, Bravery, and Patriotism

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Who's for the Game?”

• Lines 1-4

  Who’s for the game, the biggest that’s played,
  The red crashing game of a fight?
  Who’ll grip and tackle the job unafraid?
  And who thinks he’d rather sit tight?

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  Who’ll toe the line for the signal to ‘Go!’?
  Who’ll give his country a hand?
  Who wants a turn to himself in the show?
  And who wants a seat in the stand?

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  Who knows it won’t be a picnic – not much –
  Yet eagerly shoulders a gun?
  Who would much rather come back with a crutch
  Than lie low and be out of the fun?

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-17

  Come along, lads –
  But you’ll come on all right –
  For there’s only one course to pursue,
  Your country is up to her neck in a fight,
  And she’s looking and calling for you.

  

  

  

  

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“Who's for the Game?” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Anaphora

  

  

  

  

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• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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• Caesura

  

  

  

  

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• Extended Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Juxtaposition

  

  

  

  

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• Personification

  

  

  

  

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• Rhetorical Question

  

  

  

  

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“Who's for the Game?” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Toe the line
• Turn
• Shoulders
• Lads
• Up to her neck

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Who's for the Game?”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Who's for the Game?” Speaker

“Who's for the Game?” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Who's for the Game?”

More “Who's for the Game?” Resources

• External Resources

  • Jessie Pope in the 21st Century — A BBC article about Pope's current reputation, particularly in the way her work is taught in British schools.  

  • The Poetry of World War I — A valuable resource from the Poetry Foundation covering a range of WWI poets.

  • Pope at the British Library — An interesting article about Pope's poetry.  

  • Lord Kitchener's Pointing Finger — Information about a poster used in Britain to recruit young men into the army during WWI.

  • Wilfred Owen's Response — The text of one of the greatest of all war poems, Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est." Owen wrote this poem in part as a response to and furious refutation to writers who glorified war—writers like Jessie Pope.