The theme of the First World War and its effects on European arts and literature is a theme that has already been widely explored, most notably in the theatrical field. Taking as its starting point a set of plays written both during the early stages of the war and in the postwar period, this article examines the evolution of attitudes towards the conflict in the dramaturgy produced in Portugal, paying particular attention to two main areas of influence: the traumatic nature of the conflict and the specificities of the national historical context.