Warrior Poet: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Modern Western culture tends to think of Warriors and Poets as belonging to distinct, different and opposing groups. Warriors are manly men who like hitting each other and other simple pleasures. Poets are culturally refined wimps.

Traditionally though, poetry and war are complimentary pursuits. Poems sing of the glory found in battle. Honor and virtue are on display when men are facing deadly peril. Experiencing death and the horrors of war makes a man contemplate the big questions of life. Often the war is being fought for some greater purpose or cause, such as liberty. Great generals devote their spare time to philosophy, wondering what it all means. Poetry (except blank verse) is built on the optimal deployment of limited resources - words that fit together with other words, and with [[Brevity Is Wit|words that aren't there]] - not unlike the strategic decisions a soldier makes on the battlefield.

 

 

 

If he's the lead he might be a loner, with his fellows unable to understand his way of thinking. It probably also is a way of showing his [[Love Interest]] that he's not just a bloodthirsty barbarian, but actually a sensitive soul who is forced to do horrible things because of the war.

 

'''Note''':

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* Gennosuke Kouga from ''[[Basilisk]]'' is not only a mighty swordsman who doesn't even need to brandish his blade to kill you, he's also a talented flautist and dancer.

* Captain Raballo, the handler assigned to train Claes in ''[[Gunslinger Girl]]'', has an extensive library on the grounds that knowledge is essential to any soldier. On noting, however, that the book he's reading is about growing vegetables, he says dryly: "Should come in handy if we're invaded by plants from outer space." (manga only)

* Let from ''[[Rave Master]]''

* Several of the characters from [[Black Lagoon]] have a tendency to fall into this.

* A one-time example in ''Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'': When fighting Carman, Bobobo and Softon take to writing Haiku. Carman thinks that this will distract them long enough for him to get a few hits in. Unfortunately for him, one of Bobobo's was:

I'll beat you to death!" }}

* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', Evangeline occasionally waxes eloquent concerning topics such as the nature of happiness, what true power is, and what it means to have a soul.

** He spends his spare time carving ornate Buddhist statues and transcribing poetry in beautiful calligraphy. He is also quite insightful, so much so that Kenichi believes he can read minds.

* The first indication that Sori-sensei (in Blade of the Immortal) is a [[Badass]] comes from him cutting a guy to pieces with barely any effort, because 'people who treat art as a doormat are not welcome in his house'.

* Jesse Glenn from ''[[Bakugan|Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders]]'', though he's more of a warrior ''[[Theatre|thespian]]''. [[William Shakespeare|"All the world's a stage"]], indeed.

** Don't forget the Skull Knight, who's sort of Guts's own [[Cynical Mentor]] with the knowledge and experience of the Godhand.

 

 

== Comic Books ==

** The same is true of [[Wolverine]]. That big softie.

* [[Thorgal]] inversion : he started off as a skald (Viking bard), then got into the warrior biz (mostly against his will, which he will [[Wangst|never let you forget]]).

* Katsumoto from ''[[The Last Samurai]]'' is made of this trope. He ''is'' the titular samurai after all. They wrote as much poetry as death warrants.

* The main villain from the film ''[[The Proposition]]'', Arthur Burns, despite being a violent and dangerous sociopath, has a wonderfully eloquent and deep outlook on life. He is just as capable of looking off into the sunset and quoting Burroughs as he is capable of torturing and murdering innocent people.

* Adam Sandler's character, Zohan, is a crazily competent Mossad agent who decides to leave war behind and choose the [[Ambiguously Gay]] profession of hair stylist

* The last lines of ''[[Braveheart]]'': "They fought like warrior-poets. They fought like Scotsmen. And won their freedom."

* Dennis Hopper described Col. Kurtz as this in ''[[Apocalypse Now]]''.

* Though not a literal example, Draco from ''[[Dragonheart]]'' is very learned, and a talented fighter.

* Mickey Rourke's character, Tool, in ''[[The Expendables]]'' is a [[Retired Badass]] who spends most of his time as an artist, both traditional and tattoo.

* It may be up for discussion, but Michael Corleone could easily qualify. He enjoys his opera, has a child who sings in one, and has a full college education... while ruthlessly fighting his way up the Mafia hierarchy, and eliminating all threats to his family.

* T.E. Lawrence the titual character in ''[[Lawrence of Arabia]]'' (though he didn't write a whole lot of poetry)

'''Aramis''': Poet. }}

* Chris Kenner from ''[[Showdown in Little Tokyo]]'' is a cop who has immersed himself in Samurai culture. His ''half Asian'' partner Johnny Murata laughs when Kenner tells him he practices the art of Ikebana (flower arranging). Kenner tells him that a warrior must nurture his sensitive side or else leave it vulnerable to attack, and points out that many of the most powerful Samurai wrote poetry.

* Most unicorns in ''[[The Firebringer Trilogy]]'' count as this - though they are trained and raised as warriors, they also enjoy the festivities of having one appointed "singer" tell poetic stories of their heritage. Tek in particular is both a fearsome warrior and a talented singer.

* In ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' Denzo D'han, a sellsword of [[Private Military Contractors|The Windblown]], is described in-universe as one.

** And again in ''Interesting Times''. Lord Hong is the cleverest person in the Aurient, so it's him who figures out that when choosing someone for a highly specialised position, for instance warrior, it's better to examine them ''on that topic'' than the level of exquisiteness of their seven-line poem about an ethereal white horse floating through a lavender meadow.

* Cao Cao from ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]'' is a perfect example. Not only did he conquer most of Northern and Central China, but was also a famous poet who is credited today for starting the Jian'an style of poetry in China.

** And he also threw it into the sea because [[Only the Pure of Heart|he's done so much evil trying to get the silmarils back, he can't touch them anymore without being burned.]]

* Gurney Halleck in ''[[Dune]]'' is a literal example. He is a musician and philosopher with seemingly infinite supply of witticisms for any occasion. He is also a remorseless killer, perfectly willing to cut any Harkonnen he comes across (or anyone who gets on the wrong side of Duke Leto for that matter) into pieces.

* Logen Ninefingers from ''[[The First Law]]'', as in the quote at the top of the page. He was a [[Conan the Barbarian|Conan-esque]] adventurer in the past, but in the actual story is a tragic figure hounded by old feuds.

** Most of these old feuds are examples of [[Bullying a Dragon]]. Say one thing about Logen Ninefingers, say he's a hardcore, if reluctant, [[Badass]].

* Karsa Orlong in [[Malazan Book of the Fallen]] is most definitely a barbaric [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]... and also a great sculptor.

** Fiddler of the Malazan army always carries an instrument with him but never seems to play it. As it turns out, the few times he ''does'' play it the song can touch the hearts of an entire ''city''.

* "[[Star Wars Expanded Universe|Death Star]]" has Nova Stihl, Imperial prison guard, trooper, and master of martial arts, who has Battle Precognition. He's also got a sense for fair play and likes training people. And the [[Porn Stash|stash of illicit holograms]] under his bunk? Dissertations on philosophy. He doesn't think of himself as a particularly deep thinker in the start of the book, though.

* Brandark Brandarkson from [[David Weber]]'s [[The War Gods|War God]] series ''wants'' to be one of these badly. He's got the Warrior part down; it's the Poet part that eludes him. His attempts at poetry are mediocre at best and while a gifted scholar and skilled musician but the less said about his singing voice the better, which is a problem when coming from a society where poets are of the bardic tradition.

* Jonathan Hemlock of ''The Eiger Sanction''. Assassin and art historian.

** He was this in [[Real Life]] too. And he was the epitome of a [[Badass Bookworm]].

** Nearly ''all'' Middle Eastern royalty had some elements of this trope. Ottoman Sultans in particular were known not only for their abilities on the battlefield but for their patronage and in many cases their participation in great art. Suleyman the Magnificent was a proficient metalworker, and most rulers after him decided to master a craft as well.

* Aragorn, Faramir and Gimli from ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.

* More than a few of the eponymous [[Tank Goodness|supertanks]] of [[Keith Laumer]]'s ''[[Bolo]]'' series qualify.

* Bobby Shaftoe from [[Neal Stephenson|Neal Stephenson's]] ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'', a [[Semper Fi|US Marine Raider]] who composes haiku in the face of danger.

* Both Aubrey and Maturin from the [[Master and Commander]] series. Each has his forte and loves bringing destruction to the enemies of the crown; Aubrey as a more than competent naval officer, Maturin as a spy. Also, they're deadly with blades and guns individually. And in their spare time they wile away the hours playing duets written for violin and cello. And the officers under Aubrey's command also love music and turn their hand to poetry. Frankly, this is [[Truth in Television]], since months sea could get ''boring''.

* In [[Mikhail Akhmanov]]'s ''[[Arrivals From the Dark|Envoy from the Heavens]]'', Ivar Trevelian arrives on a planet to investigate why the local [[Human Alien]] population is stuck in [[Medieval Stasis]] for the better part of a millennium. He disguises himself as a member of the Rhapsod Brotherhood (traveling bards and minstrels), so his travels don't arouse suspicion. Very quickly he finds out that singing and entertaining is not all the rhapsods do. Apparently, they are also highly-skilled warriors, feared and respected throughout the world. When the need arises to dispense justice, they replace their robes and lutes with armor and weapons. Thanks to his own training, Ivar is equal to them in this regard.

* The sci-fi short story ''[http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/lee_04_10/ Between Two Dragons]'' by Yoon Ha Lee is set in a [[Space Opera]] future where the military leadership are all expected to be warrior poets, so that even messages of defeat have a certain grace to them.

* Richard from ''[[The Sword of Truth]]'' is an excellent sculptor.

* Grand Admiral Thrawn of ''[[The Thrawn Trilogy]]'' in the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] believes that if you understand the art of a species, you can understand their tactic. It works quite well for him.

* Siegfried Sasson, Wilifred Owen, and Robert Graves in ''[[The Regeneration Trilogy]]'', see the [[Real Life]] entry below.

 

== Live Action TV ==

** Could be said of Klingons in general. They love their opera (tends to be violent) and would love to claim Shakespeare as one of their own.

*** Standard Klingon mating rituals apparently involve the male reading love poetry... while ducking the roaring, clawing female's hurled objects.

** Star Fleet officers are like this too in a less flamboyant manner.

** For the matter of that, even ''Quark'' was this in "looking for Par'mach in all the wrong places"-with Worf's help.

** For that matter Deleen could qualify; though she is more a mystic that [[Minored in Asskicking]] then a warrior who minored in poetry.

** Marcus Cole

** Other Jaffa have displayed some of these characteristics, but Teal'c and Bra'tac are the prime examples. Most other Jaffa simply fall into the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] category.

** Amusingly, despite his philosophical mindset, Teal'c's cultural interests mainly center on [[Alien Arts Are Appreciated|cheesy Tau'ri Sci-Fi and Action movies]]. Given that [[Genre Savvy]] appears to be a powerful weapon in the [[Stargate Verse]], this makes more sense than it might seem.

** And one of the Divine Shadow brains was a Genocidal Tyrant Poet:

* Tyr Anasazi in ''[[Andromeda]]''. Often seen reading Ayn Rand while on bridge duty. The whole of [[Nietzsche Wannabe|Nietzschean]] society was meant to be this by their progenitor, but even the Nietzcheans themselves admit this was generally a failure.

* For a while, 'Warrior-Poet' took pride of place as the main word used to describe [[Stephen Colbert]] in the opening credits for [[The Colbert Report]]. (Others include 'Megamerican' and 'Grippy'.) Other than that, he has very little to do with this trope.

** Not necessarily. It could be said that this is how the character Stephen Colbert sees himself: valiant, but also intelligent and refined, while still placing valor before strict reasoning (i.e. his frequent references to "gut" thinking) all of which are common traits of warrior poets. The humor comes in to play because he's actually boorish, bigoted, and fears things such as bears and "Threats to My Heterosexuality."

** Ironically, the 21st-century crowd applauded the same poem that his 19th-century critics dismissed as 'bloody awful'. Either tastes have changed or everyone at open mic night was plastered.

*** Or both.

** Don't forget that Angel's also an accomplished sketch artist. No one ever mentions it, really, but he draws exceptional portraits quite often.

*** And Cordelia has confirmed that he has a fashion sense ordinarily only seen in women and gay men.

Simon: "Sadistic crap legitimized by florid prose." }}

** Sadistic gangster Adelei Niska turns out to be a big fan of Shan Yu, needless to say.

** It seems that a philosophical streak is a job requirement for the position of an Operative.

*** Oh, and Mal read a poem (try not to faint). That counts for ''something'', doesn't it?

**** [[Its All There in the Manual]]. It's explained in some sources (such as the RPG core book) that he grew up the son of a wealthy rancher. His mother wanted him to be cultured, which would explain him being familiar with Coleridge (who wrote the poem in question), as well as other traits like his knowledge of high society dances.

** Their most celebrated and mentioned work on that subject is ''The Lament of the Non-Operational'', a 128-stanza poem.

* The [[Cold Sniper]] in ''The Kill Point'' is a subversion. He seems like quite the philosopher at first, but as the series goes on, it becomes clear that he's just babbling about whatever pops into his head.

 

 

== Music ==

* Much of the lasting appeal of slain rap icon [[Tupac Shakur]] is the question of whether he was, deep down, an intellectual or a thug.

* Celtic Folk Song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ssHxZABrpE "The Minstrel Boy"], about a minstrel boy that goes to fight in a war.

 

== Mythology and Religion ==

* The Irish hero Finn MacCool, known nowadays for having far too many pubs named after him, was an early example of this trope. He commanded a large group of heroes who were required to be masters of war and poetry as well.

* Tristan (or Tristran) was musically gifted, and also a knight of the Round Table.

** King David composes much of the book of Psalms in his free time from giant slaying and country-rebuilding. In fact, the only reason He Who Slew Hundreds of Thousands has an opportunity to become king is that the music he played could make you cry and the previous King had to hear him. He's also famous for dancing happily in the street once he brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem.

** Samson tried to get in on the action quite a bit earlier, in the midst of a riddle game. Readers of English translations in which the poem rhymes sometimes mistake that for [[Stylistic Suck]], since in the context of the times, Hebrew poetry normally did not rhyme. The original Hebrew version of Samson's poetry doesn't actually rhyme, however. Opinions differ over whether it (or the translation) suck anyway.

== Newspaper Comics ==

* Parodied constantly in [[Calvin and Hobbes]] as Calvin treats all [[Snowball Fight|snowball fights]] as epic wars. One time, he gave a speech about the importance of craftsmanship while meticulously assembling a snowball from just the right kinds of snow (and signing it) before <s>throwing it</s> getting steamrolled by Suzie, who had used the time to amass a massive snowball arsenal. Another time, he actually consecrated his snowball before throwing it:

This, oh snowball, is my prayer. }}

 

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* In ''[[Cthulhu Tech]]'' there are the Nazzadi were specifically created by the Migou to be intelligent ass-kickers, and it shows.

** Also, one of the things that gnaws at the Nazzadi is that as a cloned race with no members chronologically in their 40s, they have no true culture of their own, and are desperate to create one. Therefore, any of the 2nd generation Nazzadi who take up one of the arts are ''highly'' prized by their families and the Nazzadi as a whole.

 

 

== Video Games ==

* Yoshimitsu of both the ''[[Soul Series]]'' and ''[[Tekken]]'' usually speaks in metaphors.

* The backstory for the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Tarth]] species in ''Deadlock: Planetary Conquest'' includes a Tarth named Guh, who lived as a warrior. After he received what he believed to be a mortal wound, he resigned himself to death...until he looked up at one of the planet's moons and saw movement. He regained his will to live and went on to become a famous astronomer. A statue in his honour depicts him impaled on a spear, looking at the sky through a telescope.

** To agonize about agony, you must wax lyrical with lyrics which are [[Shaped Like Itself|shaped like themselves]].

*** [[Parrot Exposition|Shaped like themselves?]]

* Wrex of ''[[Mass Effect]]'', who is surprisingly philosophical for your average reptilian [[Heroic Sociopath]] [[Bounty Hunter]]. Ashley Williams as well, in what is actually a quite literal example: she really ''does'' quote poetry. Classical poetry as a matter of fact, and she gets the quotation right, too. She also examines her own religious and philosophical leanings and the impact that space travel and aliens have on the theoretical existence of God.

** There is a Krogan Warrior reciting love poems in the second game.

*** Jack's poetry also seems to be less a cultured pursuit, and more a way of grappling with her own personal demons (of which she has plenty).

** Kasumi is revealed to have written several haiku (again, from the Shadow Broker's files).

* [[Blood Knight]] Karel managed to turn into one of these after [[Fire Emblem]] 7. In the chronological sequel, [[Fire Emblem]] 6, he's a calm and philosophical swordsman, a far cry from his bloodthirsty younger self.

* Forde from ''[[Fire Emblem]] 8'' is one of [[Those Two Guys|Those Two Cavaliers]] and a very accomplished painter.

* Genesis of ''[[Crisis Core]]'', seriously if his army didn't consist entirely of clones of himself, they'd be wondering what exactly to make of his orders which consisted entirely of quote from his favorite play.

* The Druid in ''[[Diablo]] II'' is supposed to be this. [[All There in the Manual|According to the official sources anyway]].

* John Marston from ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'' is very well-read for a former bandit and has a very developed vocabulary, especially considering the literacy rate of the time. So long as it's in English, of course.

* Captain John Price, from the ''[[Modern Warfare]]'' sub-series of the ''[[Call of Duty]]'' franchise, despite normally being a [[Badass]] with a dry sense of humor and a dedication to get any mission done, no matter how insane or difficult, has a rather awesome change of pace with some rather poetic speeches in ''Modern Warfare 2''. They in simple terms are [[World of Cardboard Speech|World Of Cardboard Speeches]] which he delivers to Soap to show him how there is no need to be afraid of fighting {{spoiler|Shepherd}} and his army because as soldiers they have the luxury of knowing when their time might be up and because of it they can face any challenge without fear or regret, and they will kill {{spoiler|Shepherd}} before they can die.

* ''[[Street Fighter]]'' has had several over the years. More standout examples include [[Worthy Opponent|Sagat]], [[Old Master|Gouken]], [[Blood Knight|Akuma]], [[Death Seeker|Gen]], [[Lady of War|Rose]], [[Ninja|Guy]], and (to a slightly lesser extent) [[Spirited Competitor|Ryu]].

* It might comes as a surprise to some that ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'' of all games contains a few of them, seeing as the premise of the games essentially boil down to [[Gorn|seeing how horrifically you can mutilate your opponent]]. The standout examples are [[Magical Native American|Nightwolf]] and [[Walking the Earth|Kai]], but even guys like [[Big Good|Raiden]] and [[Legacy Character|Younger]] [[An Ice Person|Sub-Zero]] can get pretty pithy with their speeches at times.

* Tai Kaliso of the ''[[Gears of War]]'' series communicates almost solely via poetic waxing.

* [[The King of Fighters|Kyo Kusanagi]], believe it or not. Poetry is [http://snk.wikia.com/wiki/Kyo_Kusanagi a hobby of his], making him a ''literal'' example of this.

* In ''[[Vega Strike]]'', surprisingly, Rlaan communications show the signs of this. Such as:

 

 

 

== Western Animation ==

** Also, not content with writing his own prose, Dinobot also ripped off a few bits of ''Hamlet'' for use in his dramatic death speech. Who knows what this did to a generation of middle school English students.

*** [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent|Who knows, indeed?]]

*** [[The Shadow]] knows.

**** And in case he forgets, Pepperidge Farm remembers.

What once was one now fly apart! }}

 

* Similiarly, in old Ireland, you couldn't be a great warrior unless you played the harp and mastered ''fidchell'', an ancient Irish board game, somewhat similar to chess.

* Norsemen got great social recognition for being good skalds as well as warriors.

** Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, as far as we can tell, worked his way up from penniless Provençal minstrel, to man at arms, to knight, to crusader, and finished out his days as a feudal lord somewhere in the neighborhood of Bulgaria. A sample from one of his most famous works: "Handsome warriors and good fencers/ Sieges and catapults and pikes/ And the destruction of walls, new and antique, And the vanquishing of battalions and towers/ I see and hear, and I cannot get/ anything that would avail me in love!" He's got another poem where each of the five stanzas is in a different language. He was by all accounts a pretty impressive dude.

* Irishman Joseph Mary Plunkett, executed for rebellion in 1916. He wrote "The Presence of God":

* The 10th-century Iraqi poet Al-Mutanabbi arguably deconstructs this. His (truly great) poetry is full of boasts about his military prowess, although no more so than many others at the time. Particularly well known is the couplet:

** But one day he finds himself travelling through the desert, and his company is set upon by bandits. Hopelessly outnumbered, Mutanabbi and company turned to flee, but he was stopped by a servant who asked him, "What about those famous lines of yours, 'I am known to night, and horses, etc.'" Determined to make good on his rep, Mutanabbi turned and charged the bandits single-handedly. [[Downer Ending|He was instantly killed]].

** For that matter however, played straight with ancient Arab tribes of the Quraysh during around 6th century AD in Mecca. While a good bit of them are traders, the most renowned warriors are also poets; in fact, one's prestige during the Quraish era was either on their feats of prowess in combat and/or their poetry. The affinity of poetry in Middle East is in full effect even today, and while the "warrior" aspect has faded nowadays, it certainly was in full force in ancient times.

* [[Bruce Lee]] graduated from university with a degree in Philosophy. He wrote a book about the philosophy behind his martial art while recuperating from a spinal injury caused by excessive weightlifting.

** Considering that he was a veteran of The Western Front, I would say so. It is especially true, when you consider the significan factor of the disconnect between the frontline soldiers and those they left behind (without even getting into the garritroopers who stayed back as well, who are treated with proper disdain by Remarque).

* Roald Dahl was an [[Ace Pilot]] as well as famous author who wrote about his experiences in [[World War 2]].

* Patton. Anyone remember in the movie? "Through the travail of ages, midst the pomp and toils of war, have I fought and strove and perished, countless times amongst the stars."

* Many Irish rebels were also poets, most notably Patrick Pearse and James Stephens.

* Though more famous as a warrior, King [[Richard the Lion Heart]] was also a poet; though only two of his poems survive, his ''routrenge'', ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBhQK8w0ATU Ja Nuns Hons Pris]'' is well-known to connoisseurs of medieval music.

* In the ''Befreiungskrieg'', the German "War of Liberation" from Napoleon's domination, the poet Theodor Körner left a successful play-writing career in Vienna to join the famous ''Freikorps'' of Ludwig von Lützow; he wrote and sang poems for his fellow soldiers, accompanying himself on the guitar. These poems were collected posthumously by his father in the anthology ''Lyre and Sword'' and later set to music by Weber, Schubert, and others.

* Most poetry, drama, and music of the Aztecs were written by the battle hardened warriors.

* [[Byronic Hero|George Gordon Lord Byron]], poet and playwright, who took up arms for the cause of Greek independence and died while drilling Alpine troops at Missolonghi.

* [[Siegfried Sassoon]] and Wilfred Owen, two of the best known war poets in history. Both were decorated for heroism; Sassoon was arguably more [[Badass]], and certainly luckier (he survived the war and lived to a ripe old age; Owen died so close to the end of it that his mother got the telegram as the armistice bells were ringing).

* Tupac Shakur and other gangsta rappers created very influential and popular music, while at the same time engaged in some pretty serious urban violence. Whether you believe this makes them Warrior Poets and Criminal Poets is [[Your Mileage May Vary|up to you]].

* Emperor Marcus Aurelius of [[Ancient Rome]] was more famous for his philosophical thoughts then for his warlike enterprises.

* Several eighteenth and nineteenth century military and naval officers. Including King [[Magnificent Bastard|Frederick the Great]].

** "Several" puts it mildly. Life at sea was dull and many (most) turned to the arts and other intellectual pursuits to pass the time. Naval gazettes included poems written by officers, and officers were known to collect their works and publish. Note: They weren't necessarily inspired, nor even all that good, but, still, there you are.

* José Hernández, soldier and author of the Argentine national book, ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro''. The title himself is, appropriately enough, something of an example as well.

* Muhammed Ali would sometimes write poems before going into the ring. Many of his poems were about boxing, but he also did one that was a protest of the Vietnam War.

* Masaharu Homma, the Japanese general who commanded the troops responsible for the Bataan Death March. He was also amateur playwright and poet.

* [[Alfred the Great]]

* [[Che Guevara]]

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElZjb70-Z08&list=FL0bdiYXLDnngJlvj4XsVg0w&index=117 Rapping] [[Semper Fi|U.S. Marines.]]

* The two poems in [[Audie Murphy]]'s war memoir ''To Hell and Back'' were composed by him, although they are attributed to a different character in the book. He wrote poems about his war experiences all his life, but had little interest in publishing them, often discarding or mislaying them when he was done. The Alabama War Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama includes lines from one of his later poems. Also co-wrote lyrics for [[Country Music]] songs, mostly about love, loss and depression in general, rather than about the war in particular.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Seekers]]

[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]