"Who's for the Game" was written by the British poet Jessie Pope (1868-1941). Though it falls into the general category of First World War poetry, the poem doesn't deal directly with the experience of war. Instead, it is more of a call-to-arms, a targeted address to young men with the aim of getting them to enlist in the British Army. The poem was first published in a newspaper in 1915, before signing up to fight was made compulsory—and before the full horrors of WW1 had been revealed.
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The Full Text of “Who's for the Game?”
1Who’s for the game, the biggest that’s played,
2The red crashing game of a fight?
3Who’ll grip and tackle the job unafraid?
4And who thinks he’d rather sit tight?
5Who’ll toe the line for the signal to ‘Go!’?
6Who’ll give his country a hand?
7Who wants a turn to himself in the show?
8And who wants a seat in the stand?
9Who knows it won’t be a picnic – not much –
10Yet eagerly shoulders a gun?
11Who would much rather come back with a crutch
12Than lie low and be out of the fun?
13Come along, lads –
14But you’ll come on all right –
15For there’s only one course to pursue,
16Your country is up to her neck in a fight,
17And she’s looking and calling for you.
The Full Text of “Who's for the Game?”
1Who’s for the game, the biggest that’s played,
2The red crashing game of a fight?
3Who’ll grip and tackle the job unafraid?
4And who thinks he’d rather sit tight?
5Who’ll toe the line for the signal to ‘Go!’?
6Who’ll give his country a hand?
7Who wants a turn to himself in the show?
8And who wants a seat in the stand?
9Who knows it won’t be a picnic – not much –
10Yet eagerly shoulders a gun?
11Who would much rather come back with a crutch
12Than lie low and be out of the fun?
13Come along, lads –
14But you’ll come on all right –
15For there’s only one course to pursue,
16Your country is up to her neck in a fight,
17And she’s looking and calling for you.
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“Who's for the Game?” Summary
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“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?”
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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? -
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? -
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? -
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
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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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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Who's for the Game?”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Who's for the Game?” Speaker
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“Who's for the Game?” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Who's for the Game?”
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More “Who's for the Game?” Resources
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External Resources
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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.
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The Poetry of World War I — A valuable resource from the Poetry Foundation covering a range of WWI poets.
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Pope at the British Library — An interesting article about Pope's poetry.
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Lord Kitchener's Pointing Finger — Information about a poster used in Britain to recruit young men into the army during WWI.
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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.
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