Callum

Themes TRENCH LIFE & BATTLE â€Å"Coughing Like Hags† – Dulce Et Decorum Est, Wilfred Owen â€Å"Guttering, choking, drowning† – Dulce Et Decorum Est, Wilfred Owen â€Å"Stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle† – Anthem for Doomed Youth, Wilfred Owen â€Å"A great mass of things unclean† – A Dead Boche, Robert Graves â€Å"Like several different kinds of Hell† –Brooke, in a letter on his day in the war â€Å"So much muscle and blood in the Earth† Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks â€Å"Beyond the boundaries of human behaviour† -Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks â€Å"The turned soil and torn flesh of war. – Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks â€Å"Meanwhile my self etcetera lay quietly in the deep mud† – my sweet old etcetera, e. e. cummings â€Å"You think there’s no limit to what a man can bear? †Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Stanhope in Journey’s End, Sherriff LOSS â€Å"They expected to die† – Birdsong, Faulks â€Å"A dust whom England bore† – The Soldier, Brooke â€Å"Gentleness, in hearts at peace, under an English Heaven† – The Soldier, Brooke â€Å"As scared as any frightened child† – The Deserter, Letts â€Å"Looking on the face of grief, the face of dread† – June 1915, Charlotte Mew â€Å"The soldier dying dies upon a kiss,The very kiss of Christ† – Summer in England 1914, Alice Meynell â€Å" The holy glimmer of goodbyes† – Anthem For Doomed Youth, Owen â€Å" Each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds† – Anthem For Doomed Youth, Owen PATRIOTISM â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori† – Dulce Et Decorum Est, Owen â€Å" Who’ll give his country a hand? † – [i]Who’s For The Game, Jessie Pope â€Å" my father used to become hoarse talking about how it was a privilege† – my sweet old etcetera, e. e. cumming s â€Å" There’s something rather romantic about it all† – Osborne in Journey’s End, Sherriff â€Å" He looked splendid.It – sort of made me feel†¦keen to get out here† – Raleigh in Journeys End, Sherriff â€Å" My hatred of the Kaiser is love true† – This Is No Case Of Petty Right Or Wrong – Thomas â€Å"As we love ourselves, we hate her foe† – This Is No Case Of Petty Right Or Wrong, Thomas WOMEN AND THEIR ROLES â€Å"You love us when we’re heroes† – Glory Of Women, Sassoon â€Å" Come along lads† – Who’s For The Game, Jessie Pope â€Å" Isabel created hundreds (and hundreds) of socks†Ã¢â‚¬â€œmy sweet old etcetera, cummings â€Å" Can’t you see it isn’t decent, to flout and goad men into doing what is not asked of you? – The Jingo-Woman, Helen Hamilton â€Å" We dare not weep who must be brave in battle† – Of All Who Died In Silence Far Away, Iris Tree â€Å" Anyone affected by the war is entitled to comment upon it† – Nasheen Khan GENERAL â€Å" Not quite clear†¦what the fuss was about† – He Went For A Soldier, Ruth Mitchell â€Å" The political errors and insincerities† – A Soldier’s Declaration, Sassoon â€Å" A war of aggression and conquest† – A Soldier’s Declaration, Sassoon â€Å" I am acting on behalf of soldiers† – A Soldier’s Declaration, Sassoon â€Å" An exploration of how far men can be degraded† – Birdsong, Faulks â€Å" You are going to fight and you are going to win. – Birdsong, Faulks â€Å" They didn’t believe in shellshock at all†¦it was just cowardice† – Regeneration, Pat Barker â€Å" The pity and terror the war experience inevitably evoked† – Regeneration, Pat Barker â€Å"It all seems rather silly, doesn†™t it? † – Raleigh in Journey’s End, Sherriff â€Å" My subject is war and the pity of war. † – Wilfred Owen CRITICAL COMMENTS ON THE WAR CANON â€Å" Passive suffering is not a theme for poetry† – Yeats â€Å"War equates with ombat thus limiting the canon† – James Campbell â€Å" The knowledge of combat is a prerequisite for the production of a literary text that adequately deals with war† – James Campbell â€Å"Anyone affected by war is entitled to comment upon it† – Nasheen Khan â€Å" The spectator, the contemplator, the opposer of war have their hours with the enemy no less than uniformed combatants† – Richard Eberhart Pre-WWI Literature ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ by Alfred Lord Tennyson †¢ Disastrous incident in the Crimean war. †¢ â€Å"Into the valley of death/ Rode the six hundred† – Celebrates devotion to duty and heroism in the face of certain death.The glamour of chivalry. †¢ â€Å"Honour the Charge they made! † â€Å"While horse and hero fell† – patriotic, presents war positively. †¢ â€Å"Someone had blunder'd† – blames Generals – interesting as it is before WWI, about the Boer war. So perhaps realistic in this sense? ‘Vitai Lampada, by Sir Henry Newbolt’ †¢ About the Boer War †¢ â€Å"The Gatling’s lamed and the colonel dead† – Presents the actuality of the war, reality. †¢ â€Å"The sand of the desert is sodden dead† – realism, huge scale of death. Alliteration of â€Å"s† and â€Å"d†. †¢ â€Å"But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, ‘play up! Play up! And play the game! – Compares war to a game of cricket, euphemism of war. Early War Literature – (1914-1915) ‘The Soldier’ by Rupert Brooke †¢ â€Å"Some corner of a fo reign field/that is forever England† – Idealised. Accused of naivete and being a ‘ridiculous pastoral’. †¢ â€Å"If I should die, think only this of me† – More than a sentimental patriotic verse. The word ‘think’ acts as a message from Brooke for people to remember him. †¢ A dialogue between the living (survivors and civilians) and the dead (or soon-to-be). ‘The Call’ by Jessie Pope †¢ Jessie Pope (a. k. a Owen's arch-nemesis! ) was incredibly pro-war. â€Å"Who's for the trench – are you, my laddie? Who'll follow the French – will you, my laddie? † – used for propaganda to young soldiers. ‘Men who March Away’ by Thomas Hardy †¢ Thomas Hardy didn’t fight in war. †¢ Written in the opening days of war. †¢ Expresses feelings of those enlisting as war was meant to be over by Christmas. †¢ â€Å"Braggarts must surely bite the dust† â €“ sounds quaint & naive. A letter written by Julien Grenfell †¢ â€Å"We are all awfully well, except those who have stopped something† – ‘Stopped something’ was slang for being shot! ‘As the Team’s Head Brass’ by Edward Thomas Conversation between an elder ploughman and a speaker uncertain whether or not to enlist. †¢ â€Å"’have you been out yet? ’ ‘No. ’ ‘And don’t want to, perhaps? ’† – series of questions. Later Literature – (1916-1918) ‘All the Hills and Vales Along’ by Charles Hamilton Sorely †¢ â€Å"And the singers† – optimism, calling soldiers ‘singers’. This is immediately undercut by describing them as â€Å"the chaps/who are going to die perhaps! † †¢ â€Å"So be glad, when you are sleeping† – ‘sleeping’ undertones of death, implicit suggestion of death as mos t desirable end, inevitable end for a soldier. â€Å"Sow your gladness for earth’s reaping† – celebrate chance of fighting, earth personified, harvesting future happiness planted by soldiers. †¢ â€Å"To the Gates of Death with song† – Almost Tennyson-like enthusiasm, cheerful death. †¢ Offset by the final line; â€Å"so be merry, so be dead† – sober view of death compared to Brooke’s. ‘To England – A note’ by Ivor Gurney †¢ In this sonnet each seemingly patriotic phrase is undercut. †¢ â€Å"The boys of England† – focuses on the facts that the soldiers are no more than boys, often just out of public school. The soldiers â€Å"do in silence† – the things they have to do, war is literally unspeakable. ‘A Dead Boche’ by Rupert Graves †¢ Speaks directly to those who only want to hear ‘of blood and fame’. †¢ â€Å"A certain cure for lust of blood† – Brusquely ironic tone. †¢ Second stanza confronts the horrors of war head-on, he describes a German Corpse. †¢ â€Å"Sat† and â€Å"Scowled† – alliteration attaches these actions of a living person to the corpse. †¢ â€Å"Big-bellied, spectacled, crop-haired† – still identifiable but the â€Å"black blood† turns corpse into an emblem of death. No mutual recognition or respect from one soldier to another (unlike W. O’s statement â€Å"I am the enemy you killed, my friend† – strange meeting) †¢ Reader challenged to disagree with the claim that it is a â€Å"certain cure for the lust of blood†. Post-WWI Literature ‘Journey’s End’ by R. C Sherriff †¢ Set in a dug-out in trenches, it explores tension in a group of officers waiting for their attack. †¢ Names emphasise essential Englishness (Stanhope, Osborne, Raleigh, etc). ‘Birds ong’ by Sebastian Faulks †¢ â€Å"†¦ so horrific†¦ beyond a war†¦ dehumanised to an extent that†¦ †¢ â€Å"This is not a war; this is an exploration of how far men can be degraded† – dehumanising, bitterness of those who experience it, no reason behind war. Modern. What Sebastian Faulks sets to explore in birdsong. (Stephen Wraysford) Glory of Women- Siegfried Sassoon 1917. Criticises those at home, particularly the women. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"You love us when we’re heroes, home on leave†¦Ã¢â‚¬  †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Trampling the terrible corpses, blind with blood† †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"O German mother†¦while you are knitting socks to send your son His face is trodden deeper in the mud. † A Dead Boche Robert Graves 1916Wirtten from an anti war perspective, graphic descriptions show the true horror of war. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’War’s hell’† †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Sat a dead Boche, he scowled and stunk† †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Big-bellied, spectacled, crop haired, Dribbling black blood from nose and beard† Diasbled- Wilfred Owen 1917 Shows a strong anti-war view, criticises those at home who cannt see past the ‘glory' of war. Poem shows a young boy who has been disabled by the war. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Some cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer a goal† †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"The women’s eyes passed from him to the strong men that were whole† †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Why don’t they come? † Dulce et Decorum Est- Wilfred Owen 1917Again anti-war, satirises the view that war is a glorious thing, and that it is an honour to die for ones country. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Bent double, like beggars under sack, knock kneed and coughing like hags. † †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"As under a green sea, I saw him drowning†¦ gargling from the froth corrupted lungs† †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"The old lie: Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori† The Send Off- Wilfred Owen 1917 This poem has a melancholic tone, which has a sinister effect as the poem focuses on the death and destruction caused by war. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"lined the train with faced grimly gay† †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Their breasts were stuck all white with wreath and spray, as mens are, dead. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"like wrongs hushed up they went† †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"A few, too few for drums and yells may creep back, silent†¦ up half known roads. † Glory of Women- Siegfried Sassoon 1917. Criticises those at home, particularly the women. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"You love us when we’re heroes, home on leave†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å" He looked splendid. It – sort of made me feel†¦keen to get out here† – Raleigh in Journeys End, Sherriff Rupert Brooke – patriotic There is some corner of a foreign field That is forever England† Sassoon â€Å"Does it matter? Losing your legs? † â€Å"The turned soil and torn flesh of war. † – Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks Charles Sorley – â€Å"nor honour. It is easy to be dead†Edmund Blunden – ‘Vlamertinghe’ – â€Å"who are these coming to the sacrifice? † Quiet protest: Ivor Gurney ‘Beauty’ â€Å"Man’ consolation sung on the quivering strings† Inspiring: Sir Henry Newbolt ‘Vitai Lampada† (the torch of life) â€Å"Play up! Play up! And play the game! † Jessie Pope â€Å"Who’s for the game? † Regeneration Sassoon: â€Å"A hundred years from now they'll still be ploughing up skulls. † Owen, Disabled â€Å"All of them touch him like some queer disease. † â€Å" The holy glimmer of goodbyes† – Anthem For Doomed Youth, Owen Strange Meeting 1)Hill says in the Author's Notes that her novel is a â€Å"microcosm of the ar† to create a â€Å"small world in the great would of the war†-she focusses on 2 main characters John Hilliard and David Blunden which makes it easier to communicate what the wa r was all about arther than taking a much larger perspective 2)the lack of understanding of the â€Å"coward complacence† as Sassoon puts it is another idea found in this novel-Hilliard goes home on leave and says â€Å"noone knew, nobody understood† Recruitment ‘The Call' By Jessie Pope â€Å"Who'd rather wait a bit† ‘The Volunteer' By Herbert Asquith â€Å"lifes tournament† ‘The Call' By Robert Venede â€Å"lad† â€Å"man† â€Å"dreamer† â€Å"brothers† ‘In Flanders Field' By John McCrae Take up our quarrel† Futility and Despair ‘Dulce et Decorum Est' By Owen â€Å"vile incurable sores on innocent tongues† ‘Lamplight' By May Wedderburn Cannan â€Å"we planned to shake the world together† ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth' By Owen â€Å"each slow dusk, a drawing down of blinds† ‘Apologia pro Poemate Meo' By Owen â€Å"hopes lay strewn† ‘Birdsong' By Faulks â€Å"he himself did not believe there was a purpose to the war† ‘All Quiet on the Western Front' By Remarque â€Å"weary, broken, burntout and without hope† Patriotism and Glorifying War ‘The Soldier' By Brooke â€Å"some corner of a foreign field which is forever England† ‘The Call' By Venede ogres† â€Å"faeries† â€Å"princes† ‘This is no case of petty right of wrong' By Edward Thomas â€Å"She (England) is all we know and live by† ‘Channel Firing' By Hardy â€Å"Camelot, and starlit stonehenge† ‘Peace' By Brooke â€Å"as swimmers into cleanness leaping† ‘Happy is England Now' By John Freema â€Å"destroying Dragon† ‘Men Who March Away' By Hardy â€Å"England's need are we† ‘Journeys End' By Sherriff â€Å"There's something rather romantic about it all† (Osbourne) Physical Damage ‘Disabled' By Owen â€Å"The womens' eyes passed f rom him to the strong men that were whole† ‘The Ghost Road' By Pat Barker â€Å"damaged brains and drooping mouths† The Conscript' By Wilfred Gibson â€Å"mangled limbs, blind eyes† ‘All Quiet on the Western Front' By Remarque â€Å"we see men without mouths, jaws, without faces† ‘A Dead Boche' By Graves â€Å"Black blood oozing from his nose and beard† ‘In Memoriam' By EA Mackintosh â€Å"piteous writhing bodies† Class ‘Oh What a Lovely War' By Littlewood and Theatre Workshop â€Å"Blunders of boobies† (Mrs Pankhurst) ‘The Chances' By Owen â€Å"Over the top tomorrer; boys we're for it† ‘Strange Meeting' By Susan Hill â€Å"not the natural camaraderie to be found among the officers† ‘Return of the Heroes' By Sassoon â€Å"Prussian General† and â€Å"Sir Godfrey Stoomer†Mourning ‘A Girl's Song' By Katharine Tynan â€Å"My grief is in the weeping rainsâ⠂¬  ‘The Falling Leaves' By Margaret Postgate Cole â€Å"now all withering lay† ‘Afterwards' By Margaret Postgate Cole â€Å"shall you and I ever be young again? † ‘August 1914' By John Masefield â€Å"So passionate once, so deep† ‘Now that you too muct shortly go away' By Eleanor Farjeon â€Å"By immortal love, which has no first of last† ‘Do Not Weep' By Stephen Crane â€Å"A field where a thousand corpses lie† ‘Letters From a Lost Generation' By Vera Brittain Letters talking about her fiance's death Cowardice ‘The Jingo-Woman' By Helen Hamilton dealer in white feathers, insulter, self appointed† ‘Birdsong' By Faulks â€Å"list of men executed for cowardice† ‘Recruiting' By Mackintosh â€Å"Can't you see them thanking God they're over forty-one? † ‘Regeneration' By Pat Barker â€Å"They didn't believe in shell-shock†¦ it was just cowardice† Post War Thoug hts ‘Blackadder Goes Forth' By Curtis and Elton â€Å"Not even our generals are made enough to shell their own men† ‘Oh What a Lovely War' By Littlewood and Theatre Workshop â€Å"it is slaughter†(soldier) â€Å"we need one big offensive to break through† (Haig) ‘Aftermath' By Sassoon â€Å"Have you forgotten yet? â€Å"