Life — February 14, 1918 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of This Life Magazine Page This page contains Valentine's Day poetry and a wartime illustration, likely from World War I era (given references to France and combat). The illustration titled "THE FINISHING TOUCH TO AN EARLY PURITAN VALENTINE" shows what appears to be soldiers or men in a trench or fortification, suggesting romantic sentiment amid military conflict—a pointed irony about Valentine's Day during wartime. The poems "On St. Valentine's Eve" (by Clinton Scollard) and "The Last Honors" (by Charlotte Becker) contrast romantic Spring imagery with brutal war realities: mass, death, mud, cannon fire, and soldiers returning to combat. The final excerpt ("Here") questions whether Biblical times will return, referencing the Book of Revelation—possibly expressing anxiety about civilization's collapse amid the war's devastation. The overall satire juxtaposes love and death, highlighting wartime's darkly ironic timing.