Many war poems such as John McCrae's “In Flanders Fields” describe typical war themes of death, despair and sadness. In Alan Bennett's book “The History Boys,” students recite the poem “MCMXIV” by war poet Phillip Larkin which describes the most joyous part of the war, the celebrations held in the days before the men left for war. In this commentary, we will analyze the question students asked their teacher, Mr. Irwin, asking whether the poem "MCMXIV" as a work of art describes the truth about history. As a war poet, Philip Larkin titled his poem "MCMXIV" which are Roman numerals indicating the year 1914, which is also the year World War I began and the first of thousands of soldiers died . Many graves are marked with Roman numerals, so Larkin chose to use Roman numerals to title his poem rather than 1914 because the letters MCMXIV create emotional value and paint a vivid, dark picture in the reader's head. So Larkin is saying that words don't just exist to explain things in an easy to understand way, but that words are art in themselves and have a meaning that creates a more beautiful image than any painting. The poem uses a vivid choice of words to create images that say one thing but also describe another. For example, the words: "Those long ragged lines, standing as patiently, as if stretched outwards, The Oval or Villa Park." they describe a scene of men waiting in long lines to join the army. The reader can imagine the men, full of excitement and anticipation, slowly advancing, just as they would if they were waiting patiently to enter a fair or a movie theater. It is easy to imagine that for many of the men who expected the war to be like a walk... through fields of paper, shadowing the lines of doomsday, under the uneasy silence of the wheat;". With these words, Larkin demonstrates that the campaign has no regard for the battle that will ensue and as time passes, the scars and damage caused by the war will be covered up and hidden from view. In Alan Bennett's book, “The History Boys,” students recite the poem “MCMXIV” to try to convince Mr. Irwin that art always trumps truth. While Larkin's poem appears to describe vivid, colorful scenes of men eagerly waiting to go to war and celebrating the adventure in which they are about to take part, the words Larkin chooses have a deeper emotional value and paint a vivid picture and dark in the atmosphere. the reader's mind of the carnage and destruction caused by war. So while the poem is a beautiful work of art in itself, its words also speak the truth that war is destructive and many men will die..