Photo Credits: By User:Lawei - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21605673
For this mapping location, Arras, France, I chose to include a present day photo that does not show the harsh reality that Isaac Rosenburg faced in the war here during World War I. It is hard for me to imagine this beautiful city and how the surrounding landscape looked in the midst of the war when Rosenburg wrote "Returning, We Hear the Larks." However, using a photo from today feels almost more meaningful because it shows peace that soldiers during this time rarely had the chance to experience. For the majority of the poem, Rosenburg describes the fear and horrible things that are happening as a result of the war, but then everything shifts for a moment when he hears the birds singing. I think that the birds sound becomes a symbol of hope for him and others around him. The contrast between those two moments is what makes the poem feel so human and like he is given a chance to be reminded that there is more out there than the war he is facing.