War, HUH! What is it Good For? An Introduction to War Poetry

War, HUH!
What is it
Good For?
An Introduction to War Poetry
Purpose
• War is a topical subject now more than
ever.
• We will be looking at different attitudes to
do with war.
• Creative writing – you, yes you, will be
producing a piece of creative writing at the
end of the unit as practice for the exam.
Mind Map
George, Tony
Saddam, Bin
Winston, Hitler, and
The gang
IRAQ
Death
Politics
WW1
WW2
WAR
Honour
Heroism
Horror
Bravery
Group Discussion
• What is heroism?
• What do you think public attitude is
towards war/soldiers?
• Is war ever justified?
• Describe the traditional view of war and
make reference to For The Fallen in your
answer.
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill: Death August and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted:
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the starts that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end they remain.
Ideas in For the Fallen
• Look at each stanza of the poem and write
in your own words what the poet is saying
about the dead soldiers.
• When you are writing your story you must
consider what message you are trying to
convey. How are you going to portray
conflict.
On June 8, 1972, children and their families fled the
village of Trang Bang down Route-1, their bodies
seared by napalm. The young girl screaming, in
particular, was etched onto the world's mind by the
photograph of Huynh Cong 'Nick' Ut, an AP
photographer.
The girl was Phan Thi Kim Phuc.
Kim went on to survive although it took 14 months
of painful rehabilitation to treat the third degree
burns that was over more than half of her body.
Kim is now a Canadian citizen and shares her
thoughts on survival and inspiration. She has
traveled all over the world, meeting and talking with
people about peace. She is now a Goodwill
Ambassador for the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“Suicide in the Trenches”
Siegfried Sassoon
I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.
In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.
The Horrors of War
•
We have examined the old fashioned ideas of war as a heroic and
honourable activity that people should be more than happy to take part in.
• Now let us look at more modern perspectives. Why do you think our
views have changed?
• What role does play in the changing of our attitudes?
• What different types of media do we have available to us?
• Does the media have a responsibility to report? Do they have a
bias?
• What kind of bias do you bring to your writing?
Officer (to boy of thirteen who, in his effort to get taken on as a bugler, has
given his age as sixteen). “Do you know where boys go who tell lies?”
Applicant, “To the Front, Sir”
In his darkroom he is finally alone
With spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.
The only light is red and softly glows,
As though this were a church and he
A priest preparing to intone a Mass.
Belfast. Beirut. Phom Penh. All flesh is grass.
He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays
Beneath his hands which did not tremble then
Though seem to now. Rural England. Home Again
To ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel,
To fields which don’t explode beneath the feet
Of running children in a nightmare heat.
Something is happening. A stranger’s features
Faintly start to twist before his eyes,
A half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries
Of this man’s wife, how he sought approval
Without words to do what someone must
And how the blood stained into foreign dust.
A hundred agonies in black-and-white
From which his editor will pick out five or six
For Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prick
With tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers.
From the Aeroplane he stares impassively at where
War Photographer
- Carol Anne Duffy
Discussion points
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Write in your own words what you think the
photographer is doing in each verse. What is he
thinking?
Look at the first verse carefully. The writer uses
an interesting simile. What is this simile and why
has the writer chosen to use it here.
Discuss why you think the author is using a
religious comparison?
What does the photographer think of the British
way of life in stanza two? How does he use the
weather as a metaphor to compare England and
Vietnam?
What two main events is the photographer
thinking about in particular that he witnessed?
In stanza three what is happening? There are a
number of possibilities. Why is the word ‘ghost’
appropriate?
What are the ‘hundred agonies’ in verse four?
Who do the agonies belong to?
What happens to the photographer’s photos?
How does the photographer view his audience?
What is the poem’s rhyme scheme? How is this
an comparison in itself?
What other contrasts or exist in the poem that we
have not discussed?
Homework
• Since you will be writing a creative piece inspired by the
work we have covered in class. You should produce for
the next time I see you at least four paragraphs of a first
person monologue written from the perspective of the
war photographer. You may wish to think about:
• How he has been affected by what he has seen
• How he views his job.
• His family background. How his job affects them
• The kinds of situations he has been in
The Deserter
"I'm sorry I done it, Major.“
We bandaged the livid face;
And led him out, ere the wan sun rose,
To die his death of disgrace.
The bolt-heads locked to the cartridge;
The rifles steadied to rest,
As cold stock nestled at colder cheek
And foresight lined on the breast.
"Fire!" called the Sergeant-Major.
The muzzles flamed as he spoke;
And the shameless soul of a nameless man
Went up in the cordite-smoke.
WORD BANK
Directions after reading The Deserter :
Highlight words associated with war in the
colour red.
Highlight words associated with emotions in
blue.
The Deserter
"I'm sorry I done it, Major.“
We bandaged the livid face;
And led him out, ere the wan sun rose,
To die his death of disgrace.
The bolt-heads locked to the cartridge;
The rifles steadied to rest,
As cold stock nestled at colder cheek
And foresight lined on the breast.
"Fire!" called the Sergeant-Major.
The muzzles flamed as he spoke;
And the shameless soul of a nameless man
Went up in the cordite-smoke.
Come up with synonyms in groups!
Library Activity
1. Have students go to library and search
for pictures of trench warfare and of
soldiers during WWI.
2. Ask students to print out the photo they
find the most interesting.
Writing Activity
Introduce writing from pictures to class.
Ask students to write an essay on their
picture, they may choose to use
information given in class about WWI
notes on group discussions of poems.
Students of higher ability may choose to
write a creative piece where a character is
facing a moral dilemma.
The end
Photograph of Soldier
Directions:
1. Look at photograph of Soldier. List words
that describe him.
2. What is unusual about the picture?
Discussion on Poem
• Divide class into groups, and assign roles
(chairman, reporter, scribe, member).
• Give each group a different set of 2 questions
each.
• Rearrange groups so that a representative
from each group can share their ideas with
members of other groups.
• Have students report back to class.
Questions should be on the themes of: Honour,
Death/Suicide, Conditions in Trenches (i.e.
shell shock), & people at home.