Starting in 1916, views of war as found in Western literature change dramatically due to the First World War. This can be seen in the similarities between Rudyard Kipling's 1888 short story, The Man Who Would Be King and other pre-1916 war literature. Some of the main recurring themes of this type of literature are the idea of ​​war as a journey, nationalism and romanticism. This pre-1916 literature is extremely different from its post-1916 counterpart. Rather than romanticizing the war, this new type of literature emphasizes the bitterness and irony, propaganda and disillusionment that manifested itself later in the war. Because of these obvious differences, it is clear that starting in 1916, the atrocities of World War I caused a drastic change in war literature. Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King, published in 1888, exemplifies the notion of war as a journey or quest. Peachy Carnehan, a potential king along with his partner Dan Dravot, tells our narrator, "we will leave [India] alone, and go away to some other place where a man is not crowded and can come alone... Therefore, we will go away to become King.” Carnehan and Dravot prepare to begin their journey, which they describe in a very positive light and with much hope prospect of war does not deter them. This reasoning behind war is generally universal in Western society before 1916. John McCrae also demonstrates this logic behind war in his 1915 poem, Equality Says: "I saw a king... dissatisfied until he reached / the great ideal that his manhood sought". The “great ideal” that this king seeks is victory... in the center of the card....... Comparing Rudyard Kipling's story, L he man who would be king, with the literature of the First World War, it emerges that there are many striking similarities and differences. Upon further analysis, it becomes clear that The Man Who Would Be King is similar to much pre-1916 war literature due to its shared themes of travel, nationalism, and the romance of war. However, differences arise between Kipling's story and post-1916 war literature. These differences are manifested in the use of bitterness and irony in post-war literature, as well as the emphasis on war propaganda and disillusionment caused by war. These new themes found in war literature after 1916 lead us to the conclusion that the First World War, and the atrocities it brought, caused a drastic change in the way people think about war, the result of which is a new kind of war literature..