Dr Sukriti Ghosal, university topper at both UG & PG examinations, was awarded Ph. D. Degree in 1993 for his research work on the literary criticism of Oscar Wilde. Dr Ghosal who started his teaching career in 1985 has been acting as Principal of MUC Women’s College, Burdwan, West Bengal, India since 2002.


From the author. "No wonder that war poetry continues to be written although the sensibilities have undergone certain changes over the years. The question of firsthand experience is no longer valid in our times of electronic media when one may form a realistic opinion of what actually happens from a distance of thousands of miles. Secondly, the sophistication of military technology has immensely increased the power of devastation, and as this can be done by flinging a missile with the press of a button, the word ‘confrontation’ has become dated in the martial lexicon. Thirdly, with the growth of consciousness, the tone has switched from condemnation to accusation. Fourthly, as Weapons of Mass Destruction including chemical weapons and nuclear bombs are used without any scruple to extirpate the opponents, civilian-toll is one of the major themes of contemporary war poetry. Fifthly, prolonged exposure to violence in a situation of uncertainty of existence often makes the participants of war incurable psychopaths. Sixthly, using the near-relation point of view for intensifying the ‘pity of war’, probing how women and children are differently impacted in the anarchy of war, blaming the politicians by name, foregrounding the ecological hazard consequent upon military operation, using the form of parody for driving home the truth of war—all these prove that post-WW I war poetry is also a precious mine of cultural output, and its social significance lies in its unambiguous pacifist stand—"