- Loescher Editore

Transcription

- Loescher Editore

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B. De Luca, D. J. Ellis, P. Pace, S. Ranzoli
Books and Bookmarks
COMPLEMENTARY AND LINK MODULES
Theme: War
LOESCHER EDITORE
De Luca, Ellis, Pace, Ranzoli - Books and Bookmarks, cod. 2632 © Loescher Editore
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© Loescher - 2003
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Table
of Contents
1
INTRODUCTION
Beyond Literature
■ MUSIC
War Requiem: Dies Irae (Futility)
MODULE
1
World War I: Investigating
and Presenting Themes
2
Patriotic Views of War
3
Collecting Data
3
RUPERT BROOKE The Soldier
4
STE P
One
A
Document 1, 5
B
Two
War: Responsibility
and Choice
MODU LE
2
The Beginning of the Century 26
STE P
One
Presenting Findings
Realistic Views of War
6
7
THOMAS HARDY The Man He Killed
SIEGFRIED SASSOON The General
STUDY BOX: Responses from the First Half of the Century
Collecting Data
9
SIEGFRIED SASSOON “They”
9
Document, 10
B
The Mid-Century
Two
KEITH DOUGLAS Vergissmeinnicht
ADRIAN HENRI Autobiography
Presenting Findings
STUDY BOX: Anti-War Attitudes
11
12
PENELOPE LIVELY from Going Back
Text one,
35
Text two,
STE P
A
The Futility of War
13
Analysing Responses
13
W. H. AUDEN Refugee Blues
ISAAC ROSENBERG Returning, We Hear the Larks 14
WILFRED OWEN Futility
Document 1, 16
B
STUDY BOX:
15
Document 2, 18
Organising Data for Presentation 18
Waiting for the End: Rosenberg and Owen
19
■ Assignment Giving an Oral Report
21
STE P
Three
30
31
32
34
36
STUDY BOX: Responses from the Mid-Century
Three
26
28
29
8
STE P
A
25
Document 2, 5
STUDY BOX: The Idealisation of War
STE P
23
The Second Half
of the 20th Century
37
39
BOB DYLAN from masters of war
41
42
ALICE WALKER
from By the Light of My Father’s Smile
44
STUDY BOX: Responses from the Second Half
of the 20th Century
■ Assignment Giving an Oral Report
45
47
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TA B L E O F C O N T E N TS
■
Beyond Literature
■ VISUAL ART
Henry Moore, Platform Scene
59
59
59
MODULE 1
GET READY FOR TESTING
INTERNAL CERTIFICATION
Step One, 59 Step Two, 59
48
■
Step Three, 60
NES (Nuovo Esame di Stato)
60
MODULE 2
61
61
61
Personal File
QUICK REFERENCE
The Thematic Approach to Text
The Synchronic Thematic Approach
The Diachronic Thematic Approach
■
MODULE 1
REVIEW
EXTENSION
from Statement to Commanding Officer by S. Sassoon
■
51
51
52
52
53
53
54
54
Step One, 61 Step Two, 61
Step Three, 62
KEYS
Review
Extension
Get Ready for Testing
Appendix
CROSS-CURRICULAR CARDS
MODULE 2
REVIEW
EXTENSION
from Testament of Youth by V. Brittain
55
55
56
57
62
63
63
63
64
World War I (1914-18)
World War II (1939-45)
Italian Literary Views of the Great War:
Giuseppe Ungaretti
➔ Audiocassettes and music cassette of Books and Bookmarks
IV
66
66
67
68
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M1 • WORLD WAR I: INVESTIGATING AND PRESENTING THEMES
TO THE TEACHER
The material in this booklet (two Modules) is from volume 1C of the main Course, Books
and Bookmarks. It can be used by those who have adopted the compact version of Books and
Bookmarks or any other Course book.
This booklet uses a thematic approach to explore literary texts on the subject of war and its
impact on the people involved, often combining the thematic approach with the contextual or
historical approach. It contains two Modules (M1 and M2) of three Steps each: M1 focuses on
World War I, while M2 looks at a cross section of responses.
You can decide to use the Modules as they are presented in the booklet or reorganize the
Steps into new learning itineraries.
The booklet can act as an extension of M4 of Books and Bookmarks, Volume 1, Compact
Edition or it can easily link up with Modules dealing with genres, issues and themes in the 20th
century from Books and Bookmarks, Volume 2, Compact Edition. It can also be used independently
and, to facilitate this, an Appendix contains all the literary texts you may need to refer to, over and
above those analysed in detail.
The booklet is not accompanied by a Teacher’s Guide: for keys to the activities, teachers can
download appropriate sections of the Books and Bookmarks Teacher’s Guide from the Loescher
website www.loescher.it/booksandbookmarks, or refer to the printed Guide of the main volume of
Books and Bookmarks.
The booklet does, however, contain self-study materials for review, extension and test
preparation purposes.
TO THE STUDENT
The learning itinerary the booklet outlines develops through two Modules. The first looks at the
work of the poets and artists of World War I who altogether hold up a vivid mirror to their times.
The second introduces you to a varied collection of texts that reflect man’s experience of war in
the 20th century. Contemporary paintings, posters or photographs provide a powerful visual
insight that support or expand the content of the texts, while music in M1 helps you understand
the enormous impact war had and continues to have on man.
You may refer to the last section of the booklet called Personal File for materials and activities
which can facilitate your learning process.
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MODULE
1
World War I:
Investigating and Presenting Themes
This Module will take you through the work of the poets and artists who
were involved in the Great War. Year by year, from the outbreak of the
conflict in 1914 to the final cease-fire in 1918, the texts record their hopes,
fears and horrors. You will analyse a number of poems and link them
to contemporary pictures and documents tracing the development of
war poetry.
LEVEL
●●● basic
TYPE OF MODULE
thematic, contextual and interdisciplinary
PREREQUISITES
• basic knowledge of the conventions of poetry
• basic notion of theme and how to identify it
• an introduction to the language of visual art
OBJ ECTIVES
• learn to collect clues about World War I themes from literary texts
and documents
• identify responses to World War I
• learn how to organise and present information about theme
M AT E R I A L S
POETRY
• The Soldier (1914) by Rupert Brooke
• “They ” (1916) by Siegfried Sassoon
• Returning, We Hear the Larks (1917) by Isaac Rosenberg
• Futility (1918) by Wilfred Owen
DOCUMENTS
• The Veteran’s Farewell, a recruiting poster, Great Britain 1914-18
• Your Country’s Call, a recruiting poster, Great Britain 1914-18
• from Remembering We Forget (1979) by Hilda D. Spear
• We Are Making a New World (1918), a painting by Paul Nash
• from Wilfred Owen: Collected Letters (1967) by Wilfred Owen
• Preface to The Collected Poems (1918) by Wilfred Owen
TIME
LINKS
approx. 20 hours
Siegfried Sassoon (M2)
Music, War Requiem
CROSS-CURRICULAR CARDS: World War I; Italian Literary Views of the Great War:
Giuseppe Ungaretti (APPENDIX)
BEYOND LITERATURE:
LEAD IN
The Vocabulary of War
You can easily talk about the theme of war in your own language,
but do you have the necessary vocabulary to talk about it in English?
2
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1 Pool your ideas to build up a range of war vocabulary.
Complete the spidergram below by adding some more words. The photograph
may give you some ideas.
refugee
enemy
rifle
PEOPLE
ARMS
WAR
E. Hudson, 1988
EQUIPMENT
mess-tin
STEP
One
helmet
BATTLES
front-line
trench
Patriotic Views of War
OBJ ECTIVES
In Step One you will:
• collect data about patriotic responses to war
• organise and present your findings using a visual organiser
At the end of July, 1914, Europe was plunged into World War I. Great Britain entered
the war on August 5 (➔ CROSS-CURRICULAR CARD: World War I, APPENDIX, p. 66).
Many young men enlisted in a mood of optimistic excitement.
A
Collecting Data
You are going to read a sonnet which was published in December 1914,
four months after the outbreak of the war. It was written by Rupert Brooke,
the first of a number of soldier-poets who wrote during the conflict.
3
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T H E M E : WA R
RUPERT BROOKE
(1887-1915)
➔
B I O G R A P H Y, p. 8
The Soldier (1914)
1 Read the poem.
In line 1 the speaker/soldier considers that he might die for his homeland.
a
How does he view death?
b
How does he view England? Consider the devices he uses to describe it.
c
What feelings dominate the poem?
The Soldier
5
10
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed1;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam2,
A body of England’s, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
I refers to…
Why richer?
her refers to…
And think, this heart, all evil shed away 3,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of 4 friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
Whose heart?
Her refers back to…
2 Consider the sort of words the poet has chosen to use.
a
How would you describe his language? Give reasons.
soft
b
colloquial
heroic
bitter
indignant
What about the sound aspect of the poem? Write down the rhyme scheme and say if other sound
devices are used (alliteration, assonance, etc.).
3 On the basis of what you have found out so far, say:
a
what the poet’s attitude to war is and what the theme of the poem is;
b
why he doesn’t mention any of the dreadful experiences soldiers had to face
on the Western Front (to answer the question you should refer to the poet’s biography
on p. 8).
1. concealed, hidden (nascosta).
2. to roam, to explore (da percorrere).
3. shed away, discarded, removed (liberatasi).
4. learnt of, learnt from (appreso da).
4
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You are going to consider some visual and written documents which show how the poem
The Soldier fits in with aspects of the historical background.
Document 1
In the early stage of war the government launched an effective recruiting campaign
under the guidance of the War Secretary, Lord Kitchener. Thousands of compelling
posters like the two shown here were put up on any available space. As enlisting was not
compulsory, the object was to persuade the passer-by to enlist.
1 Look carefully at the two posters.
Oxford University Press
Australian War Memorial
Note down what you find in common between the poem by Brooke and the posters. Mention the aspect
of the posters you wish to refer to and the word/line/phrase from the poem you associate with them.
A Scottish soldier points to an appealing
rural scene – thatched cottages, colourful
gardens and hedgerows – which could be
threatened by the enemy.
An old soldier shakes the hand of a young
soldier. People who have already enlisted
can be seen in the background.
Document 2
From Hilda D. Spear, Remembering We Forget, 1979
To understand why people had such a glorified view of war, you can turn to a background
study of the poetry of World War I. The one on the opposite page explains how war was
viewed in 1914.
1 Read the text.
a
In one sentence, summarise what war meant to the men of 1914.
b
Which lines from the poem best echo what the document states?
5
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T H E M E : WA R
In what ways did the ‘romance of war’ manifest itself between 1914 and 1918? First and
foremost was the unwonted excitement and exhilaration of living dangerously, of pushing the
old life behind and starting afresh; secondly there was an idealistic patriotism which, viewed
widely, embraced the whole of England, or, viewed more narrowly, showed itself in the love of
a village or a county, or in the pride in a regiment; thirdly there was a belief in the glory and
honour of acquitting oneself well in battle and this belief culminated in the idea that death in
battle was the most fitting and honourable end to life.
B
Presenting Findings
You should now be in a position to draw some preliminary conclusions on
your thematic analysis so far. You need to organise your findings in a
meaningful way in order to present them to your teacher and to your class.
1 Follow the instructions to complete the graphic organiser below.
a
Your analysis has guided you to answer this central question: how is war viewed in the poem and
in the posters? Write your answer in the large rectangle on the right.
b
As your answer derives from the sonnet by Brooke ( p. 4) and from the recruiting posters
( p. 5), their titles appear in the smaller rectangles at the top and bottom of the organiser.
Now record supporting quotations from the poem and supporting details from the posters
on the relevant dotted lines.
c
Does the use of colour signal contrast or agreement of views in the poem and the documents?
➔
➔
Early poetry
R. Brooke, The Soldier
.............................................................
.................................................................................
War
is
regarded
.....................................................................................................
The Great War: the initial months
..........................................................................................................
쑺
as
.................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..................................................................................
..............................................................
...........................................................
Recruiting posters
The Veteran’s Farewell
Your Country’s Call
6
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The Idealisation of War
STUDY BOX
CHECK…
The card below focuses on key aspects of The Soldier, but it is not complete.
Fill in the blanks using the words and phrases given below in jumbled order.
solemn
generous
sacrifice
declamatory
patriotic
the initial months of war
1914
POEM: The Soldier
AUTHOR: Rupert Brooke died in 1) ........................... .
DATE OF COMPOSITION: composed in 2) ........................... .
CHOICE OF SUBJECT MATTER: the soldier regards his death as an act of love for his country
described as a 3) ........................... mother.
VIEW OF WAR: war is seen as a glorious 4) ........................... , as a means to gain immortality.
ATTITUDE TO WAR: 5) ........................... and sentimental.
TONE: 6) ........................... .
TYPE OF POEM: sonnet.
LANGUAGE: 7) ........................... and traditionally ‘poetic’ in its choice of words.
Imperial War Museum
…AND LEARN
World War I produced remarkable poems by poets involved as fighting
men in the conflict. No other conflict produced such an outstanding bulk of
poetry.
Yet the texts were written out of different historical situations and
contrasting personal experiences. At the beginning when soldiers had not gone
through the most dreadful experiences, the poets viewed war as a noble cause –
as is the case with the poem The Soldier (1914), which was written in the first
flush of enthusiasm by a man who had not yet been to the front. War seemed an
exciting experience, an opportunity to show
one’s patriotism and a means to gain fame and
honour. The poet’s role was that of glorifying
war and persuading people that it was a just
cause. The choice of words and the sound of
the text perfectly suited this romantic view of
the war. The words are smooth and sweet, the
sounds are musical, the images convey an
idealised view of the English countryside. War
poetry at this stage was in harmony with the
nation’s war efforts as the official propaganda
posters of the period show. The pictorial
propaganda of the Great War was perhaps the
most extensive propaganda for political
purposes in history. The poster Britons
The poster was printed in September
[Kitchener]
“wants You” alone ran to over five
1914. It proved so successful that it was
million copies.
repeated in many different versions.
7
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T H E M E : WA R
BIOGRAPHY
RUPERT BROOKE (1887-1915)
upert Brooke was well-known as a poet
before 1914 when he joined the Navy.
He saw little action as he died of blood
poisoning early in 1915 on his way to
Gallipoli.
His early death on war service turned him
into the symbol of the young hero. His five
war sonnets, of which The Soldier is one,
R
➔
STEP
Two
achieved immediate fame as they caught the
patriotic and idealistic mood of the moment
before the British people realized the full
horrors of war. War is not seen as a cruel,
dreadful experience and death in war is
a noble end. Later on a reaction set in against
his rather sentimental attitude to war and his
fine words and smooth rhythms.
P E R S O N A L F I L E : G e t R e a d y f o r Te s t i n g , p . 5 9
Realistic Views of War
OBJ ECTIVES
In Step Two you will:
• collect data about a realistic view of war in a poem
• compare an artistic response to a literary response
Imperial War Museum
The war soon ceased to be
regarded as a great
adventure when the
enthusiasm of the opening
period turned into mass
slaughter. People had
believed the conflict was
going to last a few months
only. In fact, it lasted years.
Harold Sandys Williamson,
A German Attack,
oil on canvas, London,
Imperial War Museum, 1918.
8
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A
Collecting Data
The most important war poets were all serving soldiers who reacted to what
they saw, felt and experienced.
SIEGFRIED SASSOON
(1886-1967)
➔
“They” (1916)
You are going to read a poem by another war poet, Siegfried Sassoon and see how the
view of the war has radically changed from Brooke’s.
1 The poem consists of two stanzas spoken by different people, yet they have the same
structure: a general statement is followed by supporting reasons.
a
Using two different colours, underline the general statements and box the person who utters it.
b
Number the four supporting reasons for each general statement.
c
Which line in the second stanza in a sense belongs to the first? Why?
d
Who does the pronoun “They” of the title refer to?
“They”
5
10
The Bishop tells us: “When the boys come back
They will not be the same; for1 they’ll have fought
In a just2 cause; they lead the last attack
On Anti-Christ3; their comrades’ blood has bought
New right to breed4 an honourable race,
They have challenged5 Death and dared6 him face to face.”
“We’re none of us the same” the boys reply.
“For George lost both his legs; and Bill’s stone blind7
Poor Jim’s shot through the lungs and like to die8
And Bert’s gone syphilitic: you’ll not find
9
A chap who’s served that hasn’t found some change.”
And the Bishop said: “The ways of God are strange!”
us refers to…
the same as when?
their refers to…
him refers to…
George is one of…
served where?
2 The two stanzas represent two points of view on war and its effect on soldiers.
a
Explain each point of view.
b
Consider whether they are based on facts or opinions.
1. for, because (perché).
2. just, morally right (giusta).
3. Anti-Christ, one who denies or opposes Christ (Anticristo). In
St Paul’s Letters and in the Apocalypse – both in the New Testament –
Anti-Christ is identified with evil and Satan.
4. to breed, to generate (generare).
5. challenged, called to fight (sfidato). In St Paul’s Letters Christ
challenges Death and defies it. Death is a synonym for Anti-Christ.
6. dared, defied (affrontato).
7. stone blind, completely blind (cieco come una talpa).
8. like to die, likely to die (è probabile che muoia).
9. chap, informal word for ‘man, boy’.
9
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T H E M E : WA R
In the poem, the Bishop and the soldiers use two different varieties of language or
registers. Registers are characterised for the most part by distinctive vocabulary but may
involve other linguistic features as well.
3 Analyse the register used by the Bishop, then move on to the language of the “boys”.
a
For each register consider the use of:
– nouns (e.g. abstract or concrete, formal or informal; the use of proper names)
– adjectives (e.g. frequent or infrequent, referring to emotive, physical, psychological, evaluative aspects)
– figures of speech (e.g. present or absent; the function/s they serve)
– formal or colloquial language.
b
Then summarise the features of the language of the Bishop and the “boys”. Go through the
contrasting pairs of adjectives given below and choose the ones you think most appropriate.
Give reasons for your choices.
factual or subjective
descriptive or evaluative
figurative or literal
general or specific
formal or colloquial
high-flown or down-to-earth
idealistic or realistic
c
The poet has juxtaposed two different registers. What are the effects and purposes of this juxtaposition?
Document
We Are Making a New World (1918)
by Paul Nash (1889-1946)
The bitter view of war the poem by Sassoon expresses has its visual counterpart in the
painting by Paul Nash who had direct experience of the war (➔ p. 11).
He had been appointed an official war artist in World War I by the British government to
record his impression of the conflict. He could, therefore, be a direct witness to the war
during the time he spent at the front-line.
1 The picture on p. 11 shows a field after a battle.
a
b
Complete the list of the elements which make up the painting.
1 sky and rising ......................................
3 burnt stumps of .....................................
2 line of red .....................................
4 shell craters filled with .....................................
The painter creates a sense of space through depth. Consider which elements of the painting
you can see:
1 in the foreground
2 in the middleground
3 in the background
The painting gives the impression of depth and space, which is not really there at all.
The sense of depth is created by perspective.
2 Complete the paragraph below. It describes the way Nash builds up the perspective.
The shell craters in the foreground look 1) ...................................... and are painted in greater detail: you
can even see the 2) ...................................... they are filled with. In the middleground and background you
can only see undulating 3) ...................................... on the land. The lines are not the same distance apart.
They get 4) ...................................... together as they recede from the viewer. The trees look
5) ...................................... than the hills. Yet they look smaller as they recede from the viewer.
3 Focus on Nash’s use of colour which expresses feelings and contains a wealth of
symbolic significance.
a Is the painting monochromatic or polychromatic?
b
Where does the colour look darker? Why?
c
Bearing in mind that the painting represents a landscape devastated by war, can you think of a
reason why the artist has emphasised the red of the hills?
10
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4 Look at the title.
a
Who does “we” refer to?
b
What does the expression ‘new world’ make you think of? What is the new world like in the painting?
c
One form of irony is that of saying something which means the opposite. How does irony apply to the painting?
Imperial War Museum
5 The poem “They”
by Sassoon juxtaposes
two contrasting views
of war. Which of the views
does the painting support?
Paul Nash, We Are Making a New
World, oil on canvas, 71.1 ҂ 91.4 cm,
London, Imperial War Museum, 1918.
B
Presenting Findings
Now use the painting by Paul Nash to present your conclusions about
Sassoon’s poem. Using a transparency, superimpose meaningful quotations
onto the painting as suggested below. Be prepared to justify your decisions.
“They”: “George lost both his legs” (l. 8)
“They”: “new right to breed an honourable race” (l. 5)
We Are Making a New World
In order to understand better what Sassoon and Nash have represented in
their works, it may be useful to know something about the historical
background. It can shed light on both texts (➔ CROSS-CURRICULAR CARD:
World War I, APPENDIX, p. 66).
11
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T H E M E : WA R
STUDY BOX
CHECK…
Anti-War Attitudes
Concentrate on the poem “They” by Sassoon and prepare a card similar
➔
to the one you have completed for Brooke (
p. 7). Use the same headings
in the same order.
…AND LEARN
When Sassoon wrote “They” in 1916, he had been through the atrocious
experiences of trench warfare and war had ceased to be regarded as “a just
cause”, an honourable adventure. The soldier-poets who endured the
horrors of trench warfare wrote to express their reactions and let the
civilians at home know what war was actually like. Sassoon’s poems are
realistic and aggressive: the physical reality of death is brought home
through a language which is down-to-earth and colloquial. The musical,
smooth language of early war poetry was not fit to render a horrifying
experience and poets looked for new means of expression. The poet’s task as
reflected in the poems is to express the truth of war through a language the
world could understand. Sassoon stresses the gap between those who fight
and those who don’t – the higher ranks which include generals, politicians,
bishops, and businessmen who want the war to continue and who send “the
boys” to die at the front while they themselves die safely in bed.
The war artists express the same shattering view of the war and take on
the same role. Their paintings give visual expression to the world that
war has created: a world of craters left by the bombs, of mud, of burnt out
trees, of disfigured corpses. They, too, often use the weapon of irony
to express their disillusionment and disgust at a war which was needlessly
prolonged.
C. R. W. Nevinson (British painter,
1889-1946), Troops Resting,
London, The Trustees of the
Imperial War Museum, 1916.
Imperial War Museum
In Nevinson’s words war was
“dominated by machines and
men were mere cogs in the
mechanism.”
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BIOGRAPHIES
SIEGFRIED SASSOON (1886-1967)
iegfried Sassoon was educated at Cambridge University and served with great
courage in France during World War I. He wrote his war poetry at the front describing
the horror of the trenches in a direct, colloquial language. He chose to oppose
the war publicly and was one of the first poets to express contempt for the generals
and politicians. He was also one of the few poets to survive the war. His first volume
of war poetry, The Old Huntsman, appeared in May 1917 and a second volume,
Counter-Attack, in 1918.
S
PAUL NASH (1889-1946)
hile serving in World War I, he was wounded and worked subsequently as an
official war artist creating pictures of the devastating effects of war on the
countryside. In the 1930s, he was part of a group of avant-garde British artists who had
been influenced by Surrealism. In World War II he was again an official war artist,
producing memorable pictures of the conflict.
W
➔
STEP
Three The Futility of War
OBJ ECTIVES
In Step Three you will:
• analyse other responses to war in two poems and two documents
• learn how to draw conclusions and organise data for presentation.
As the war went on, more and more soldiers experienced on the Western
Front the horrors and discomforts of trench warfare.
A
Analysing Responses
Let’s go on exploring literature that evolved around the issue of World War I
with its own events, settings, characters and themes.
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T H E M E : WA R
ISAAC ROSENBERG (1890-1918)
➔
Returning, We Hear the Larks (1917)
The next poem you are going to consider is by the poet Isaac Rosenberg, another of the
serving poets of the period.
Its title sets the poem in place and time. The poet and his fellow soldiers are returning to
their camp from a night-time military action (probably a night patrol) – all the patrols
were to be back in the trenches before sunrise to avoid being seen in broad daylight by
the Germans. You will see that even though the poet and his fellow soldiers seem to have
left war behind, it remains a haunting presence.
1 Read the poem.
a
Underline in the text the words and phrases which convey the presence of war.
b
What vision of war do they suggest?
Returning, We Hear the Larks
1
Sombre the night is.
And though we have our lives, we know
2
What sinister threat lurks there.
5
Dragging3 these anguished limbs, we only know
4
This poison-blasted track opens on our camp
On a little safe sleep.
The threat of...
Why anguished?
5
But hark ! joy — joy — strange joy.
6
Lo ! Heights of night ringing with unseen larks.
Music showering our upturned list’ning faces.
10
15
Whose faces?
Death could drop from the dark
As easily as song
But song only dropped,
Like a blind man’s dreams on the sand
By dangerous tides,
Like a girl’s dark hair for she dreams no ruin lies there,
Or her kisses where a serpent hides.
1. sombre, dark, gloomy (cupa).
2. lurks, waits secretly ready to strike (è in agguato).
3. dragging, moving with difficulty (trascinando
con fatica).
4. poison-blasted, destroyed by poisonous explosions (devastato da
esplosioni velenose).
5. hark, old form for ‘listen’ (ascolta).
6. Lo, interjection to signal something surprising (ecco!).
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Dawn is close and suddenly the soldiers “hear the larks” – their song brings joy to the
exhausted men.
2 The poet describes the joy he and the soldiers feel.
a
Why does he use the adjective “strange” (line 7) to qualify his feelings?
b
The poet introduces similes to describe the joy he and his fellows feel.
1
Here are some observations about the similes for you to complete.
The song dropped “like a 1) .......................... man’s dreams” beside “2) .......................... tides”: though the
dreams are dreamt in dangerous situations, the blind man feels 3) .......................... because he
cannot see the ocean and its tides.
The song dropped like the dark 4) .......................... of an attractive dreaming girl who feels joy
because she is unaware of the threatening evil which is waiting to 5) .......................... – she doesn’t
know that someday her 6) .......................... may deceive a lover.
2
What do the similes emphasise?
The poem uses free verse: there is no regular stanzaic division, no regular rhyme scheme
or stress pattern. The absence of traditional elements is compensated for by the following
sound devices: occasional perfect rhyme, internal rhyme, alliteration, assonance, and
repetition of words at line ends.
3 Find one example for each of the above-mentioned devices.
WILFRED OWEN (1893-1918)
➔
Futility (1918)
The next poem was composed by Wilfred Owen in
1918, but published only in 1920. It is about an
unknown soldier who died while fighting in
France in World War I.
Before reading the poem, be sure you know the
meaning of its title.
1 The poem takes the reader through three levels
of time and space:
Imperial War Museum
1 the here/now of the dead soldier
2 his past life
3 the creation.
Quote the words and/or the lines related to each.
Frank Dobson, In the Trenches, London, Imperial War Museum, 1916.
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T H E M E : WA R
Futility
5
10
Move him into the sun —
Gently its touch awoke him once,
At home, whispering of fields unsown1.
Always it woke him, even in France,
Until this morning and this snow.
If anything might rouse him now
The kind old sun will know.
Move, who is the speaker addressing? him refers to…
Think how it wakes the seeds, —
Woke, once, the clays of a cold star2.
Are limbs3, so dear-achieved, are sides,
Full-nerved — still warm — too hard to stir4?
Was it for this the clay5 grew tall?
— O what made fatuous6 sunbeams toil7
To break earth’s sleep at all?
it refers to…
Where is home?
What will the sun know?
once, when?
Why still warm?
for this, for what?
2 The sun is the element that connects the individual to the creation.
a
What is the poet’s attitude towards this element?
b
Which word in the poem repeats the idea of the title?
c
What is the theme of the poem?
3 The poem has fourteen lines. Is it a sonnet? Substantiate your answer.
➔
TH E M U S I C: War Requiem, p. 23
Document 1
A Letter from the Trenches
from H. Owen and S. Bell (eds), Wilfred Owen: Collected Letters, 1967
Owen questions the existence and the creation of the world on the evidence of one
death. But behind that death lie thousands of ‘futile’ pointless deaths he had been
a witness to as the letters to his family vividly report.
The letter to his mother is about his firsthand experience on the battlefield
(➔ p. 17).
1 Read and identify the major feelings the letter on p. 17 expresses. Give reasons for your
statements.
1.
2.
3.
4.
unsown, where no seeds have been scattered (non seminati).
a cold star, the Earth.
limbs, legs, arms (membra).
stir, move, wake (svegliare).
5. clay, in the Bible, the substance from which man was created
(argilla).
6. fatuous, futile, absurd (vani).
7. toil, work hard (faticare duramente).
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10
20
30
January 16, 1917
I can see no excuse for deceiving you about these last 4 days. I have suffered
seventh hell. I have not been at the front. I have been in front of it. I held an
advanced post1, that is, a “dug-out”2 in the middle of No Man’s Land. We had a
march of 3 miles over shelled3 road, then nearly 3 along a flooded trench. After
that we came to where the trenches had been blown flat out and had to go over
4
the top . It was of course dark, too dark, and the ground was not mud, not
sloppy mud, but an octopus5 of sucking clay 6, 3, 4, and 5 feet deep, relieved only
by craters full of water. Men have been known to drown in them. Many stuck in
the mud and only got on by leaving their waders7, equipment, and in some cases
their clothes. High explosives were dropping all round, and machine-guns
8
9
spluttered every few minutes. But it was so dark that even the German flares
did not reveal us. Three quarters dead, I mean each of us 3/4 dead, we reached
the dug-out and relieved the wretches10 therein. I then had to go forth and find
another dugout for a still more advanced post where I had left 18 bombers. I
was responsible for other posts on the left, but there was a junior officer in
charge. My dug-out held 25 men tight packed. Water filled it to a depth of 1 or 2
feet, leaving say 4 feet of air. One entrance had been blown in and blocked. So
far, the other remained. The Germans knew we were staying there and decided
we shouldn’t. Those fifty hours were the agony of my happy life. Every ten
minutes on Sunday afternoon seemed an hour. I nearly broke down and let
myself drown in the water that was now slowly rising over my knees. Towards 6
o’clock, when, I suppose you would be going to church, the shelling grew less
intense and less accurate; so that I was mercifully helped to do my duty and
crawl, wade11, climb, and flounder12 over No Man’s Land to visit my other post.
It took about half an hour to move 150 yards. I was chiefly annoyed by our own
machine-guns from behind. The seeng-seeng-seeng of the bullets reminded me
of Mary’s canary. On the whole I can support the canary better. In the platoon13
on my left the sentries over the dug-out were blown to nothing. One of these
poor fellows was my first servant whom I rejected. If I had kept him he would
have lived, for servants don’t do sentry duty. I kept my own sentries half-way
down the stairs during the more terrific bombardment. In spite of this one lad
was blown down and, I am afraid, blinded. This was my only casualty14. The
officer of the left platoon has come out completely prostrated and is in hospital.
I am now as well, I suppose, as ever…
it refers to...
One entrance to...
we shouldn’t do what?
Why from behind?
these poor fellows are...
this refers to...
2 Where in the letter does Owen contrast the life of the soldiers at the front and the civilians
at home?
3 What in the letter reminds you of details in the poem by Rosenberg Returning,
We Hear the Larks and Owen’s Futility?
1. post, place where a soldier is on watch (postazione).
2. “dug-out”, a deep ditch excavated in the ground (trincea).
3. shelled, under fire from artillery guns (bombardata).
4. to go over the top, to climb out of a trench to attack the enemy
(andare all’assalto).
5. octopus, used figuratively, ‘sea animal with eight tentacles’ (piovra).
6. clay, sticky earth (argilla).
7. waders, high waterproof boots (stivaloni impermeabili).
8. spluttered, fired rapidly (crepitavano).
9. flares, bright lights exploded to illuminate the battlefield at night
(razzi illuminanti).
10. wretches, miserable soldiers (sventurati).
11. wade, walk through water (guadare).
12. flounder, move with great difficulty (divincolarmi).
13. platoon, a small group of soldiers (plotone).
14. casualty, person killed or injured (morto, ferito).
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T H E M E : WA R
The poems for which Owen is now remembered were nearly all written between
the summer of 1917 and the autumn of his death in 1918. Very few were published
in his lifetime. In 1918 he began assembling them for a book for which he was
considering the Preface below. It is not a finished statement but a rough
draft explaining the purpose and subject matter of his poems. The draft has long
been considered the manifesto of war poetry.
Document 2
From Wilfred Owen, Preface to The Collected Poems, 1918
1 Read the text.
a
Underline the sentences which define:
– the subject matter of the poems
– the role of the poet.
b
Reformulate what they say using your own words.
“This book is not about heroes. English Poetry is not yet fit to speak of them.
Nor is it about legends, or lands, or anything about glory, honour, might,
majesty, dominion, or power, except War.
Above all, I am not concerned with Poetry.
My subject is War, and the pity1 of War.
The Poetry is in the pity.
Yet these elegies are to this generation in no sense consolatory.
They may be to the next. All a poet can do to-day is warn.
That is why the true Poets must be truthful.”
B
it refers to...
I is...
The subject of...
Organising Data for Presentation
The theme of war has gradually emerged through the materials you have
handled in the Module: poems, visual and verbal documents, biographies,
informative and theoretical sections.
The problem you now have to face is how to organise all the materials in
order to be able to present them in a concise but effective way to an
audience which should include your teacher and classmates.
The activities at the Check stage of Step One and Two ( pp. 7, 12) have
already ordered the material on similar cards. You now need to complete the
collection of your data for the new texts and poets included in Step Three.
➔
1 Refer to the poem by Rosenberg, Returning, We Hear the Larks and to the poem by Owen,
Futility. For each prepare and complete a card similar to the one you have prepared for Brooke
( p. 7). Use the same headings in the same order.
➔
1. pity, the poet’s sadness at the suffering and death war brings about (condivisione partecipata alle sofferenze fisiche e morali della guerra).
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The fixed format of the card should help you in the organisation of the
material for a coherent oral report on the theme under discussion.
As your thematic investigation has been in chronological order, a time line
can be a convenient graphic organiser.
2 Copy the time line below into your notebook and complete it as suggested.
a
In the red band, mark the main historical events of the conflict.
b
In the blue band, mark the poems and the documents you have explored.
c
In the yellow band make notes about the view of war the poems and documents express.
An example has been provided.
You can make your time line look more personal by adding relevant pictures.
View
of
War
A glorious
sacrifice
Works
Events
R. Brooke
The Soldier
1914
S. Sassoon
“They”
1916
Great Britain
enters
the war
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
쑺
Waiting for the End: Rosenberg and Owen
STUDY BOX
CHECK…
Refer to the poem by Rosenberg Returning, We Hear the Larks and to the poem
by Owen, Futility. For each poem identify three key words which, in your view, are
most relevant to illustrate the poet’s view of war. Give reasons for your choices
adding meaningful quotations.
…AND LEARN
Rosenberg’s View of War
▼
The year 1917 was marked by the outbreak of the Russian Revolution and
the entry of the US into the war. War-weariness was affecting both sides and the
horrors of war showed no sign of decline. Sassoon continued to write aggressive
and bitter lines against the conflict.
Rosenberg’s lines, however, do not express any anger. He hated the physical
violence and the ugliness and suffering of war, but his voice sounds more
detached than, for example, Sassoon and Owen. He usually starts from a precise
detail or event of the trench warfare to generalise about human existence, to
convey a complex idea. The poem Returning, We Hear the Larks captures a
moment of peace and joy on a battlefield, but also emphasises the fragility
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▼
▼
T H E M E : WA R
Owen’s View of War
of joy and beauty in the war setting and in the human condition in general.
The images in the second part of the poem are outstanding for their originality
and vividness.
There is a strict correspondence between Owen’s statements about war
poetry ( Document 2, p. 18) and the poems he wrote. He claims that the
subject matter of his poems is the reality of war, not the glorification of war, and
its main theme is ‘pity’, i.e. the poet’s sadness at so much suffering and death.
The role of the poet is to convey the horror of war to those who have no direct
experience of it, so that futile and destructive future conflicts can be avoided.
In such a context the poet’s main concern is not with melodious language or
perfection of form. The conventions of traditional poetry are not well-suited to
the description of trench warfare or to protesting against the needless
continuation of the conflict.
Owen was also a skilful and varied versifier. His major technical innovation
was the use of half-rhymes or pararhymes. For example, in Futility he rhymes
“seeds” with “sides”, “star” with “stir”. The effect is a sense of frustration, in
keeping with the tragic themes of his poetry.
The horrors of World War I evoked a wide literary and artistic response in
many other European countries, particularly amongst poets. In Italy the output
of Ungaretti has a great deal in common with the British verse of the period
(➔ CROSS-CURRICULAR CARD: Italian Literary Views of the Great War: Ungaretti,
APPENDIX, p. 68).
➔
BIOGRAPHIES
National Portrait Gallery
ISAAC ROSENBERG (1890-1918)
I
saac Rosenberg was born into a working class, Jewish family. Unlike Brooke,
Sassoon and Owen, who served as officers, he went through the war as a simple
soldier and served for twenty months on the Western Front until he was killed
in 1918.
He was both a painter and a poet. His poetry remained almost unknown and unpublished
during his lifetime.
WILFRED OWEN (1893-1918)
W
ilfred Owen enlisted in 1915 and was commissioned as an Infantry Officer.
After serving several months in the trenches, he was posted home on sick leave.
At a hospital in Scotland he met Siegfried Sassoon whose encouragement and criticism
Macmillan
enabled him to find his poetic voice. In September 1918, he returned to active service in
France and was awarded the Military Cross. He was killed in action exactly one week before
the Armistice. His poems were collected and introduced for publication by Sassoon in 1920.
➔
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M 1 • W O R L D WA R I : I N V E ST I G AT I N G A N D P R E S E N T I N G T H E M E S
Assignment APPLYING WHAT YOU KNOW
NES oral
GIVING AN ORAL REPORT
1 Refer back to your time line on p. 19 to act as an aid for an oral report which you can
organise in the following way:
• brief introduction (say what your analysis is about and what it is based on, mention authors
and titles of poems and documents)
• comparison of subject matter (give a brief description of the content of the poems and
documents with some quotations)
• author’s attitude to war (define the attitudes to war poems and documents show; explain
where attitudes derive from)
• theme (summarise the theme using one sentence)
• conclusion (choose an image from those included in the Module. Use the image to act as a
visual, meaningful background to the conclusions you have drawn about the theme of war
regarding the poems and documents you have explored).
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Beyond Literature
FILM
MUSIC
VISUAL ART
WAR REQUIEM: DIES IRAE (FUTILITY) (1961)
(➔ p. 16)
music by Benjamin Britten, sung by Peter Pears (tenor),
Galina Vishnevskaya (soprano), London Symphony Orchestra,
conducted by Benjamin Britten; recorded in 1963.
Futility is one of the nine war poems by Wilfred Owen interpolated by Benjamin Britten
(1913-76, ➔ Biography on the next page) in the Latin text of his mass, War Requiem
(1961), composed for the consecration of the newly-built Coventry Cathedral, which had
been destroyed in World War II. It is a complex composition which develops on three
planes. In the foreground there is the tenor and baritone accompanied by the chamber
orchestra, whose role is the presentation of the poems. Behind there is a full orchestra,
chorus and soprano soloist singing the mass and in the background there is a boys’ choir,
accompanied by the organ, also singing the mass. The War Requiem is considered
Britten’s choral and orchestral masterpiece.
The recording you are going to listen to shows you how Britten inserted the poem in the mass.
1 (FIRST LISTENING) Go back to the text ( p. 16) and listen to the tape.
➔
MUSIC
a
Mark in the text where the following parts of the mass, sung by the soprano and chorus,
are inserted in the poem, sung by a tenor.
1 Lacrimosa dies illa...
2 Qua resurget ex favilla...
3 Iudicandus homo reus.
4 Pie Iesu Domine, dona eis requiem.
Amen
That day of tears...
Quel giorno di pianto...
From the dust of earth returning...
In cui risorgerà dalle ceneri...
Man for judgement must prepare
L’uomo colpevole deve essere giudicato
Lord all-pitying, Jesus blest grant them rest.
Amen
O misericordioso signore Gesù, dona loro la pace.
Amen
b
Which of the two accompaniments sounds more dissonant and modern and which sounds more
traditional to your ear?
c
What relationship can you see between the type of accompaniment and the texts?
2 (SECOND LISTENING) Focus on the first stanza.
a
Underline the words and phrases which are repeated in the singing.
b
What feelings does the interpretation of the tenor convey?
■ despair ■ torment ■ doubt
c
How is the tremolo of the accompaniment of strings and winds related to the interpretation
of the tenor?
d
Does the final crescendo signal a change of mood or a reinforcement of the same mood?
e
Which of the following would you use to describe the singing of the soprano and which would you
use to describe the chorus?
■ desperate ■ imploring ■ soothing
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BEYOND LITERATURE
3 (THIRD LISTENING) Focus on the second stanza.
a
What feelings does the singing up to line 11 convey and how does it change in line 12? The following
adjectives may help you.
desperate
meditative
angry
intimate
b
What function does the intervention of the soprano and chorus have at this point? How does it
sound?
c
Does the tenor seem to be pacified when he sings line 12 a second time or does he seem to be
embittered? How is the singing related to the meaning of the text?
d
Does the final intervention of the soprano and chorus convey a sense of final peace or maintain
the sense of unrest?
4 (FOURTH LISTENING) Listen to the whole poem again. Would you say that the interpretation is
meant to convey a sense of justification of what happened in the war or to induce a sense of
warning against the horror of war? Give reasons for your answer.
Paul Nash, The Menin
Road, oil on canvas,
London, Imperial War
Museum, 1919.
The Paul Press Ltd., 1988
The painting shows
a shattered war
landscape after
the Battle of the Menin
Road (Flanders, 1917).
In Paul Nash’s words
he was “a messenger
who will bring back
word from the men
who are fighting to those
who want the war to go
on for ever”.
BIOGRAPHY
BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-76)
e is considered one of the greatest
20th-century English composers. His
originality did not lie in a breakaway from
tradition, but was, rather, rooted in it and
so his music appealed to a wide audience.
He was able to capture the public’s interest
and imagination through memorable
musical phrases.
His output for orchestra, choral music,
H
chamber music and for solo voice is
enormous and varied and includes
incidental music for films, plays and radio.
He collaborated with many writers, putting
their poetry to music. He also composed
operas based on literary works, such as
A Midsummer Night’s Dream from
Shakespeare’s play, and The Turn of the
Screw from Henry James’ story.
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MODULE
2
War: Responsibility and Choice
In this Module you will look closely at how authors have responded to war
across the 20th century. You will deal with texts written about the Boer War,
the First and Second World Wars and the Vietnam War. You will analyse in
particular how the themes of assignment of responsibility, of choice or lack
of choice regarding involvement in war are treated.
LEVEL
●●● intermediate
TYPE OF MODULE
textual, thematic, and contextual
PREREQUISITES
• basic knowledge of the conventions of fiction and poetry
• basic knowledge of the notion of theme and of how to analyse it
OBJ ECTIVES
• learn about some works of writers who have dealt with the theme of war in the 20th
century
• determine and compare different responses to war across a century
• analyse how responses can change over a given period of time
M AT E R I A L S
FICTION
• from Going Back (1975) by Penelope Lively
• from By the Light of My Father’s Smile (1998) by Alice Walker
POETRY
• The Man He Killed (1902) by Thomas Hardy
• The General (1917) by Siegfried Sassoon
• Vergissmeinnicht (1943) by Keith Douglas
• from Autobiography (1971) by Adrian Henri
• Refugee Blues (1939) by W. H. Auden
• from masters of war (1963), a song by Bob Dylan
TIME
approx. 20 hours
LINKS
Siegfried Sassoon (M1)
BEYOND LITERATURE:
Visual Art, Platform Scene
CROSS-CURRICULAR CARDS:
LEAD IN
World War I; World War II (APPENDIX)
The Armed Forces
What do you feel about the armed forces and what do you know about wars
in the past century? Here are some questions for you to discuss with your
classmates: pool your ideas to answer as many as possible. Don’t worry if
you can’t answer them all because you will find out more as you study this
Module.
Until a short time ago, Italy had armed forces composed of both
professionals (people who choose this as a job) and conscripts (people who
are obliged to do a period of military service). It now intends to have only
professionals in service during peace time.
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1 Consider the pros and cons of conscription and a professional armed force.
a
What do you think about them?
b
Would your opinion change if Italy became involved in a war?
2 Many young Italian men chose not to enter the armed forces when called up.
They chose to be conscientious objectors and do social and community service.
a
What do you think about their choice?
b
Would your opinion change if Italy became involved in a war?
3 Check your background knowledge of some conflicts.
WORLD WAR I
1 In World War I, who was involved and on which ‘side’?
2 What was its outcome?
WORLD WAR II
1 In World War II, who was involved and on which ‘side’?
2 What happened to many Jews who stayed in Europe?
3 What happened to those Jews who escaped or left?
VIETNAM WAR
1 Who was involved and why? Were the forces professionals or conscripts?
2 What was the outcome?
3 What has happened to many veterans of this war?
STEP
One
The Beginning of the Century
OBJ ECTIVES
In Step One you will:
• analyse poems from the Boer War and World War I
• compare how the poems deal with the theme of responsibility
Our first texts come from the beginning of the 20th century. You will analyse
a poem by Thomas Hardy and one by Siegfried Sassoon.
THOMAS HARDY (1840-1928)
➔
B I O G R A P H Y, p. 3 0
The Man He Killed (1902)
You are going to read a poem which refers to The Boer War (1899-1902), a Colonial war
which killed many soldiers from Britain and Boers (mainly farmers of Dutch descent) of
South Africa.
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M2 • WAR: RESPONSIBILITY AND CHOICE
1 Read the poem and its introduction and say:
1
where the soldier is
2
who he is speaking to
3
what the soldier is confessing to
4
why he went to the war in the first place.
The Man He Killed
Scene: The settle1 of the Fox Inn, Stagfoot Lane
Characters: The speaker (a returned soldier) and his friends,
natives of the hamlet2.
“Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
3
We should have sat us down to wet
4
Right many a nipperkin !
5
10
15
20
he refers to…
“But ranged as infantry,
And staring face to face,
I shot at him as he at me,
And killed him in his place.
“I shot him dead because —
Because he was my foe,
Just so: my foe of course he was;
That’s clear enough: although
“He thought he’d ’list5, perhaps,
Off-hand like6 — just as I —
Was out of work — had sold his traps7 —
No other reason why;
he refers to…
8
9
“Yes; quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down
You’d treat10 if met where any bar is,
Or help to half-a-crown11.”
1. settle, a small, cosy room in a pub (saletta di una taverna).
2. hamlet, a small village – here Hardy refers to a place in Dorset
(paesino).
3. wet, drink (bere, bagnarsi la gola con).
4. nipperkin, half-pint cup (boccale da mezza pinta). A pint is a
measure for liquid equal to about half a litre.
5. he’d ’list, he would enlist (si sarebbe arruolato).
6. Off-hand like, without thinking much about it (su due piedi).
7. traps, belongings (‘cose’).
8. quaint, unpredictable, strange (strana).
9. curious, here it means ‘surprising, unexpected’
(imprevedibile).
10. treat, pay for his drink (pagheresti da bere).
11. help to half-a-crown, lend a small amount of money
(presteresti mezza corona). A crown is a British coin which
is no longer used. It was worth approximately 25 pence.
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2 Look at the content more carefully.
a
Where does the soldier say the following things? Write the line numbers for each.
1
2
3
4
5
b
“I only killed him because he was the enemy” (lines ..........)
“If I had met him in a pub we would have had a drink together.” (lines ..........)
“War is a strange thing: it makes you kill someone for whom you would normally buy a drink.” (lines ..........)
“We were both probably in the army because we didn’t have jobs.” (lines ..........)
“We both shot at each other but I killed him.” (lines ..........)
Rewrite the content in an ordered paragraph including the line references in brackets.
Here is a possible beginning:
A soldier returned from the Boer War speaks to his friends about a man he killed.
He says that if he had met the man in a pub, they would have had a drink together (lines 1-4).
He then says...
3 Concentrate on stanzas 3 and 4.
a
Which of the following devices does Hardy use to convey the soldier’s feelings?
Tick those which apply.
■ repetition
■ metaphor
b
■ personification
■ broken rhythm
■ punctuation indicating pauses
■ assonance
What can you conclude about how the soldier feels about having killed the man? Choose from the
words below and explain your choices.
defiant
unsure
unconvinced
confident
unconcerned
hesitant
upset
indifferent
traumatised
4 Look carefully at the final stanza. In it you can see who or what is blamed for the events.
Say who or what Hardy blames by completing this sentence:
In the final stanza we can see that Hardy puts the responsibility for the man’s death on ...................
➔
SIEGFRIED SASSOON (1886-1967)
B I O G R A P HY, in M1, p . 1 3
The General (1917)
The next short poem is set in World War I
(1914-18), a conflict involving Germany,
Austria-Hungary and Turkey against the allied
forces of Russia, France, Italy, Britain and
the US, and in which approximately
10 million people were killed (➔ CROSSCURRICULAR CARD: World War I, APPENDIX, p. 66).
1 Read the poem and say:
1
2
A scene from the First World War.
who the speaker(s) in the poem is/are, the General and/or his soldiers
where you think the General is and where the soldiers are going.
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The General
5
‘Good morning; good morning!’ the General said
When we met him last week on our way to the line.
Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of ’em dead,
And we’re cursing his staff for incompetent swine1.
‘He’s a cheery2 old card3,’ grunted4 Harry to Jack
As they slogged up5 to Arras6 with rifle and pack.
But he did for7 them both by his plan of attack.
his refers to...
He refers to...
he refers to...
them both are...
2 Look at Harry’s comment on line 5.
Do you think it is meant at face value or is it said in an ironical tone? Justify your answer.
a
Who makes this comment?
b
What has happened to Harry
and Jack?
c
Who is given responsibility for what
has happened?
Imperial War Museum
3 Focus on the last line of the poem.
Harold Sandys Williamson, The Route Nationale,
London, Imperial War Museum, 1917.
“As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.”
(from The General, line 6)
Responses from the First Half of the Century
STUDY BOX
CHECK…
Let’s now put together the information you have gathered in this Step.
If it is collected and organised, it will form a useful and easily accessible source.
Copy the table in your notebook and complete it with your findings for Hardy’s poem.
Use note form. Then do the same for The General.
Title .........................................................................................................................
(date) ......................................................................
Author ..................................................................................................................
(dates) ......................................................................
Genre ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................
War .........................................................................................................................
(dates) ......................................................................
Subject matter .................................................................................................................................................................................................
▼
1.
2.
3.
4.
Author’s response to war (concerning choice/responsibility) ...........................................................................................
swine, pigs (maiali).
cheery, pleasant (simpatico).
card, (informal) amusing person (tipo).
grunted, made a noise to express dissatisfaction (grugnì).
5. slogged up, walked with difficulty (si trascinavano).
6. Arras, northern France, scene of battle in 1917.
7. did for, finished them off, got them killed
(ha fatti fuori).
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▼
▼
T H E M E : WA R
…AND LEARN
Responses to War
The Man He Killed
The General
There can be many shades of response to a common theme such as war – an
experience which evokes strong responses in the arts – and it is important to read a text
in depth to get at its specific message in order to fully appreciate the writer’s point of
view. In this step we have seen how author’s responses concerning responsibility and
accountability can shift and alter as the historical and social context changes.
The two poems considered were from the first half of the 20th century. Thomas
Hardy writes in his poem The Man He Killed about the tragedy of the death of a young
soldier and the trauma of the soldier who killed him. Hardy clearly lays the blame at the
feet of ‘war’, an abstract and curious force which he sees as somehow altering human
behaviour. The young soldier seems upset and baffled about what has occurred and in
need of reassurance that his act was an inevitable result of the situation.
Siegfried Sassoon, on the other hand, tells of the cowardice and
incompetence of commanders in the forces who find it so easy to send soldiers
to their deaths from the safety of their military bases. Sassoon lays the blame
with these commanders and vividly describes the muted anger of the soldiers
who are their pawns in the game – cannon fodder.
BIOGRAPHY
THOMAS HARDY (1840-1928)
e renounced his career as a writer of
fiction after the critical reception of his
last novel, and turned to writing poetry.
His greatest works were inspired by the death of
H
➔
STEP
Two
his first wife, Emma, in 1912 although he
touches on other issues that affected him deeply
such as war and religion. He is now considered
to be as great a poet as he was a novelist.
The Mid-Century
OBJ ECTIVES
In Step Two you will:
• analyse poems and a novel regarding World War II
• compare how the texts deal with the theme of
responsibility and choice
Y
30
Arnoldo Mondadori, 1972
ou will now focus on responses to World War II
which raged in Europe from 1939 until 1945.
The allies Britain, France, Russia and the US were
involved in fighting with the Axis powers – Germany,
Italy and Japan (➔ CROSS-CURRICULAR CARD:
World War II, APPENDIX, p. 67).
Anonymous, Back Them up!, 1942.
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KEITH DOUGLAS (1920-44)
➔
Vergissmeinnicht (1943)
1 Read this poem by Douglas and say:
1 who is dead
2 what two things he has with him.
Vergissmeinnicht 1
Three weeks gone and the combatants gone,
returning over the nightmare ground
we found the place again, and found
the soldier sprawling2 in the sun.
5
The frowning3 barrel4 of his gun
overshadowing. As we came on
that day, he hit my tank with one
like the entry of a demon.
5
10
15
20
we refers to…
he refers to…
one is a shell
6
Look. Here in the gunpit spoil
the dishonoured picture of his girl
who has put: Steffi. Vergissmeinnicht
in a copybook gothic script7.
We see him almost with content,
8
abased , and seeming to have paid
and mocked at by his own equipment
that’s hard and good when he’s decayed.
paid what for?
But she would weep to see today
how on his skin the swart9 flies move;
the dust upon the paper eye
and the burst stomach like a cave.
she refers to…
his refers to…
For here the lover and killer are mingled
who had one body and one heart.
And death who had the soldier singled
has done the lover mortal hurt.
2 Focus on the subject matter of the poem in more detail.
a
Make notes in your notebook under the following headings and quote from the poem.
• Where: the scene of a battle – “the nightmare ground”
• When: ...................
• Who: ...................
• Which objects and what significance: ...................
• What feelings and whose: ...................
b
Rewrite your answers to 2a in paragraph form, including some of the quotations.
1. Vergissmeinnicht, (German) forget-me-not (nontiscordardimé).
2. sprawling, lying with open arms and legs (disteso in modo
scomposto).
3. frowning, with an angry, threatening expression (accigliata).
4. barrel, metal tube forming part of a gun (canna del fucile).
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
gunpit, trench (trincea per bocca da fuoco).
spoil, remains of a dead man (spoglia).
script, handwriting (scrittura).
abased, degraded (degradato).
swart, blackish (nerastre).
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3 Now determine the poet’s response to war by focusing on the final stanza.
a
Douglas says the German soldier has two distinct facets, what are they?
b
Who do you think, therefore, Douglas blames for the atrocities of war? Choose from these options:
■ war itself
■ those in charge
■ man and his inner nature
ADRIAN HENRI (1932-2000)
➔
Autobiography (1971)
Although similarly set in World War II, you will find the next poem extract in sharp
contrast with the poem by Keith Douglas.
1 Read the extract from the poem on the opposite page.
a
Say how old you think Henri was “that long dark winter” and why.
b
Look at this collection of World War II objects and people. How many things are mentioned in Henri’s poem?
19
95
Images of World War II.M
32
Hamlin, 1995
Orbis Publ., 1995
Robert Opie Collection
Hamlin, 1995
Robert Opie Collection
Orb
is Pu
bl., 1
9
95
Or
bis
Pu
bl.
,
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Autobiography
10
15
20
25
Why did the poet have to carry it?
that long dark winter during…
A poster urging
people to start
watching out
for fires.
Wayland, 1990
5
Carrying my gasmask to school every day
buying saving stamps1
remembering my National Registration Number2
(ZMGM/136/3 see I can still remember it)
avoiding Careless Talk3 Digging for Victory4
looking for German spies everywhere
Oh yes, I did my bit5 for my country that long dark winter,
me and Winston6 and one or two others,
wearing my tin hat whenever possible
singing “Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line7”
aircraft-recognition charts pinned to my bedroom wall
the smell of paint on toy soldiers
doing paintings of Spitfires and Hurricanes8, Lancasters
and Halifaxes9
always with a Heinkel10 or a Messerschmitt11 plunging
helplessly into the sea in the background
pink light in the sky from Liverpool burning 50 miles away
the thunder of daylight flying fortresses high overhead
shaking the elderberry12 tree
13
bright barrage-balloons flying over the docks
morning curve of the bay seen from the park on the hill
after coming out of the air-raid shelter
14
listening for the “All Clear” siren
15
listening to Vera Lynn Dorothy Lamour16 Allen Jones17
and The Andrew Sisters18
19
20
clutching my father’s hand tripping over the unfamiliar kerb
I walk over every day
in the black-out.
Why was there a black-out?
2 Focus on the actions.
a
Find and underline all the actions represented by the use
of present participles such as “Carrying” which refer to the boy.
1. saving stamps, stamps that could be bought at intervals as part of
National Savings, to help the war effort.
2. National Registration Number, number to be remembered in case
of invasion (numero che permette l’identificazione).
3. Careless Talk, talking about military information that might be
overheard by the enemy (notizie eventualmente utili al nemico).
4. Digging for Victory, growing one’s own vegetables (tenere un orto
di guerra).
5. I did my bit, I made my useful contribution (ho fatto la mia
parte).
6. Winston, Sir Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister during
World War II.
7. Siegfried Line, fortified line along the German Western front.
8. Spitfires and Hurricanes, British fast aeroplanes.
9. Lancasters and Halifaxes, British bombers.
10. Heinkel, German aeroplane.
11. Messerschmitt, German aeroplane.
12. elderberry, fruit of an elder tree (bacca di sambuco).
13. barrage-balloons, balloons put up to deter bombers (palloni di
sbarramento).
14. “All Clear” siren, sound meaning danger is over (sirene di fine
allarme aereo).
15. Vera Lynn, British singer famous at that time.
16. Dorothy Lamour, American actress famous at that time.
17. Allen Jones, popular American singer.
18. The Andrew Sisters, group of American singers.
19. tripping over, losing my balance (inciampando).
20. kerb, line of stones edging the pavement (bordo del marciapiede).
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b
What effect does the repetition of this active form have? Choose from the alternatives.
■1
■2
It creates a busy, excited atmosphere.
It creates an atmosphere of sadness.
■3
■4
It makes the boy seem tired.
It creates an atmosphere of fear and terror.
3 Look at the references to the senses.
a
Identify and underline the references to smells, colours, shapes and sounds in the poem.
b
Do the references create a picture of darkness and sadness or of brightness and excitement?
4 Based on what you have learned, how would you describe Henri’s message about war and
in particular about children in wartime? Choose from these alternatives or suggest your own.
■1
■2
Children can find war terrifying and therefore need the presence of parents in wartime.
Children can be unconscious of the horrors of war and therefore enjoy the feelings of novelty,
excitement and community spirit.
■3 Children are conscious of the horrors of war and therefore take a deep and morbid interest in
all that is going on around them.
➔
TH E I MAG E: Platform Scene, p. 48
➔
PENELOPE LIVELY (b. 1933)
➔
Going Back (1975)
Hulton Deutsch Collection
Hulton Deutsch Collection
During World War II, as Germany intensified its bombing raids on Britain, thousands of
people were evacuated from towns and cities and sent to the relative safety of country
villages. In the countryside, villages temporarily expanded their populations as they
played host to evacuees (mainly children and teachers) and the ‘land army’ – groups of
mainly young women who worked as farm labourers.
Evacuee children of World War II.
Women who worked in the ‘Land Army’ during the war.
They maintained Britain’s agriculture.
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Penelope Lively, a contemporary British author, wrote
a novel describing the war from the point
of view of two children (Jane, the narrator,
and Edward, her brother) living in the countryside,
and learning about the war from evacuees,
land girls and soldiers returning home.
Their mother has died and their father
has enlisted in the forces.
They live with Betty, their governess,
and Sandy, the gardener. A land girl called
Susie and a young man called Mike are staying
in the village, too.
Te x t o n e
1 Read the first extract and find out about the young
10
Popperfoto
man called Mike.
a
Why isn’t Mike a soldier?
b
What kind of war work is Mike probably going
to do in the country?
Children sheltering from a planefight over Kent.
Mike was a conchie1. “A what?” said Edward, fork half way to mouth, and for
once we attend to an explanation, because, somehow, we feel involved.
“A conscientious objector,” said Betty. “And don’t think you’re leaving that
corned beef2, Edward, because you’re not. That’s someone that doesn’t believe in
fighting so they’re not called up3 but they’ve got to do war work. Go down the
mines or on the land.”
And the status provoked discussion. People had opinions, it seemed, about
conchies.
“I dunno”4, said Susie, “I think they should have to join up. I mean, if everyone
felt like that...”
“There’d be no wars, would there?” said Betty tartly.
“I mean, our soldiers are fighting for them too, aren’t they, whether they
want people fighting for them or not.”
“It’s their religion, isn’t it, some of them?”
5
“Bolshies , said Sandy darkly.
“It’s not how I’d see things,” said Betty, “not with Hitler. But everyone’s
entitled to their opinion.”
“They gave them white feathers6, last time,” said Sandy, “the women did. For
cowardice, see.”
they refers to...
They refers to...
2 Focus on the other characters. What are the opinions of Betty, Susie and Sandy regarding
Mike’s status?
1. a conchie, abb. for ‘conscientious objector’
(obiettore di coscienza).
2. corned beef, tinned meat and cornmeal (carne di manzo in scatola).
3. called up, called into the forces (chiamato alle armi).
4. dunno, slang for ‘don’t know’ (non lo so).
5. Bolshies, abb. for ‘Bolsheviks’, used to describe anyone of
communist tendencies (Bolscevichi).
6. white feathers, sign of cowardice (penne bianche).
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Te x t t w o
1 Read the second extract which begins with Edward’s words: “You can’t”. Say:
1
2
10
who Edward is speaking to
what he is saying that person cannot do.
“You can’t,” said Edward.
Never, never had we challenged father before, face to face, person to person.
Prevaricated, yes. Evaded. Slid away from. Hid in the spinney1 from. But never
challenged. Edward was scarlet; I, clenched with fury2.
“You can’t.” Desperately. “He’s billeted3. Like Susie and Pam.”
“Easily seen to,” said father. “A word with Palmer, that’s all.”
“But why? What’s he done?”
“He’s a damn conchie,” said father. “I’m not giving house-room to people
like that. I just don’t care for his type, that’s all.”
“That’s not something he’s done”, said Edward, in passion. “It’s what he is.
It’s the kind of person he is. He can’t help that.”
“That’s enough cheek4, from you, Edward.”
“I think Mike’s brave,” shouted Edward. “I don’t think he’s a coward at all.
Only stupid people think that.”
And father shouted back. “I said that’s enough! D’you hear?”
So that what follows is inevitable. Edward is sent to bed with no supper. I
scream at father, through the closed door, after he has gone, “I hate you! I think
you’re the meanest person in the world!” And he hears and I am condemned with
Edward and sent also to bed. But separately, alone and raging5 in the spare room.
we refers to...
He refers to...
Who is Edward referring
to as stupid?
2 Focus on feelings.
a
What does the extract tell us about:
1
2
3
Edward’s feelings towards Mike?
Edward’s father’s feelings about Mike?
Jane’s feelings about Mike?
b
If Mike could hear this discussion, how might he feel and react?
c
Whose feelings do you empathise with so far, Susie, Betty, the father, Jane or Edward’s?
Why?
Mike eventually decides to enlist in the armed forces. When he tells Edward of his
decision he says: “I stopped being so sure. People do, you know.”
3 Why did he change his mind about his original choice and can you understand
his decision?
1. spinney, small wood (boschetto).
2. clenched with fury, tensed with anger (irrigidita per la rabbia).
3. billeted, placed in the home of another during wartime (sfollato).
4. cheek, rudeness (sfacciataggine).
5. raging, feeling very angry (arrabbiatissima).
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4 Consider how the author deals with the issue of conscientious objectors and
their position in wartime.
a
As far as you can see, how is the issue presented to the reader – through narrative, through
description, or through dialogue?
b
How many points of view on the issue is the reader invited to consider? List them and say
whose it is.
c
Is being a conscientious objector shown in the novel to be a question of personal choice
or lack of choice?
d
Can you think of other examples of choice and lack of choice people faced in wartime?
W. H. AUDEN (1907-73)
➔
The poem you are now going to
read, inspired in this case by the
plight of Jews in World War II, is
called Refugee Blues. Blues are
melancholic songs which sing of
sadness and misery. The expression,
“I’m feeling blue” does, in fact, mean
“I’m feeling sad.”
European Jews were faced with
two choices in the late 30s –
leave their homes, jobs and
friends and become refugees
or stay behind in their country
in an atmosphere of intense
anti-semitic feeling. Their
choices were not great.
Those who stayed behind, in fact,
Felix Nussbaum (1904-44), Self-Portrait with Jewish Passport,
risked Hitler’s ‘Final Solution’ – his oil on canvas, 55 ҂ 48.5 cm, Osnabrück, Kulturgeshichtlichen Museum.
“If you’ve got no passport you are officially dead.”
dream of the extermination of all
(from Refugee Blues, line 11)
European Jews. By early 1945,
Hitler had murdered 5,800,000 Jews from all over Europe. 9,000 of these people came
from Italy.
Auden’s poem, on the other hand, highlights the plight of those who chose to leave.
© by Siae, 2001
Refugee Blues (1939)
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T H E M E : WA R
1 Read Auden’s poem and say which European country the refugees in the poem have come from.
Refugee Blues
Say this city has ten million souls,
Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes1.
Yet there’s no place for us, my dear, yet there’s no place for us.
5
Once we had a country and we thought it fair,
Look at the atlas and you’ll find it there:
We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now.
Who does us refer to?
it refers to…
2
In the village churchyard there grows an old yew ,
Every spring it blossoms anew3:
Old passports can’t do that, my dear, old passports can’t do that.
10
15
20
can’t do that stands for…
4
The consul banged the table and said:
“If you’ve got no passport you’re officially dead:”
But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive.
Went to a committee; they offered me a chair;
Asked me politely to return next year:
But where shall we go to-day, my dear, but where shall we go to-day?
they are…
Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said:
“If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread;”
He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me.
What is the speaker’s attitude?
5
Thought I heard the thunder rumbling in the sky;
It was Hitler over Europe saying: “They must die;”
O we were in his mind, my dear, O we were in his mind.
They refers to…
Whose mind?
6
Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin,
Saw a door opened and a cat let in:
But they weren’t German Jews, my dear, but they weren’t German Jews.
25
30
7
Went down the harbour and stood upon the quay ,
Saw the fish swimming as if they were free:
Only ten feet away, my dear, only ten feet away.
Walked through a wood, saw the birds in the trees;
They had no politicians and sang at their ease8:
They weren’ t the human race, my dear, they weren’t the human race.
Who Saw a poodle?
Who are the German Jews
in the poem?
They refers to…
Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors,
A thousand windows and a thousand doors:
Not one of them was ours, my dear, not one of them was ours.
35
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Stood on a great plain in the falling snow;
Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro9;
Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me.
holes, here ‘small, unpleasant houses/rooms’ (tuguri).
yew, a type of tree (tasso).
anew, literary for ‘again’.
banged, banged his fist on the table (batté il pugno sul tavolo).
rumbling, making a deep rolling sound (che rombava).
6. poodle, dog with thick curling hair (barboncino).
7. quay, place where boats can be tied up and load/unload their
goods (banchina).
8. at their ease, relaxed and freely (con gioia e liberamente).
9. to and fro, from place to place (avanti e indietro).
38
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2 Each stanza of Auden’s poem highlights one aspect of the refugees’ misery and presents
us with strong contrasts.
a
Make sentences for each stanza as in the examples to discover the aspects.
• Stanza 1: Everyone in this city seems to have somewhere to live but we have nowhere.
• Stanza 2: We used to live in a beautiful country but now …
• Stanza 3: The tree in the churchyard can renew itself but …
b
Put together the ideas behind each aspect and make a general statement about
Auden’s message.
c
How is the theme of choice/lack of choice in wartime exemplified in this poem?
Responses from the Mid-Century
CHECK...
➔
STUDY BOX
Return to the table that you copied into your notebook (
p. 29).
Make more tables for your findings concerning the works in Step Two.
…AND LEARN
Human Nature
A Child’s View
▼
In Step Two we have continued our analysis of themes across time by
considering texts from World War II. We have also widened our area of interest
to include the issue of choice.
In Keith Douglas’ poem Vergissmeinnicht, we can read about the relief and
satisfaction of the soldiers who avoided dying and who killed the enemy, but we
also see them as they notice the photograph of the German soldier’s girlfriend
and have to come to terms with having killed the man as well as the soldier.
Douglas’ tone is stark and unsentimental, a condemnation of man and his
nature and it shows the bitter realism of one totally conscious of horrors of war.
He does not attempt to blame an abstract concept of war for what has occurred,
nor does he blame those who command, instead he points out how each man
has within him the killer instinct linked closely with the instinct to survive. It is,
he says, a pity that man is also many things other than a killer and that when the
killer is killed, so are the other facets of the man. Douglas clearly blames man’s
inner nature.
In Autobiography, Adrian Henri returns to himself as a little boy living the
excitement and community spirit of the war. We are made aware of the way a
child, unconscious to the horrors of war, can enjoy its other aspects. We are
reminded that for many people the war was a happy period when you lived
intensely, inhibitions were lost and the community worked together against a
common foe. Many people still regret the loss of the positive spirit of the
wartime period when they compare it to the sense of isolation which marks life
today. Here Henri highlights the responsibilities of those back home to maintain
and reinforce community and patriotic feelings to render the war bearable, even
pleasurable.
39
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Choices
In Going Back, Penelope
Lively deals with the delicate
issue of choice regarding
whether or not to adopt a
pacifist stance in spite of the
state of war and in spite of the
weight of public opinion. Going
Back presents us with a manysided view of the issue and asks
questions about how real the
choice actually is.
Refugee Blues by W. H.
Auden deals with one aspect of
the plight of the Jews, that is to
say the misery of the refugees.
The Jews were the people in
World War II left with no choices
– their fate was in the hands of a
maniac. If they fled, their fate
was in the hands of the countries
in which they arrived. Auden
vividly shows through simple
examples and language, how this
lack of choice and lack of
identity left Jews in desperate
and depressing situations.
Leonardo Arte
▼
▼
T H E M E : WA R
Ben Shahn, This is Nazi Brutality, Stanford University, Hoover Institution
Archives, 1942. Printed by the Government Printing Office for the
Office of War Information.
The Czech village of Lidice was destroyed by the Nazis in retaliation
for the shooting of a Nazi official by two Czechs.
The destruction of Lidice became symbolic of the brutality
of Nazi occupation during World War II.
BIOGRAPHIES
KEITH DOUGLAS (1920-44)
eith Douglas left Oxford University at the outbreak of war, enlisted and served
as a tank commander in North Africa. He wrote some of his finest poems there.
In 1944 he took part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy where he was killed
on the third day. His Collected Poems were published posthumously.
K
ADRIAN HENRI (1932-2000)
poet-painter and the theoretician of the ‘Liverpool Poets’ – poets of the Beatles
generation who wrote essentially for public performance and often with a musical
accompaniment. Together with Roger McGough and Brian Patten he published
the anthology The Mersey Sound (1967) which was one of the best-selling books
of contemporary poetry in Britain.
40
▼
A
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PENELOPE LIVELY (b. 1933)
ovelist and children’s author, she grew up in Egypt and settled in England after World
War II. The recurrent theme of the effect of the past on the present pervades many of
her novels including The Ghost of Thomas Kempe (1973) and Going Back (1975). Her adult
novel, Moon Tiger (1987), won the Booker Prize.
Effigie
N
W. H. AUDEN (1907-73)
ducated at Oxford, Auden adopted a Marxist stance in his social outlook. His poetry,
written mainly in the 1930s, is topical, comprehensible and political and often reflects
his concern over the rise of fascism in Europe and for the victims of war. His works include
the collections and poems Look Stranger! (1936), Spain (1937), inspired by the Spanish Civil
War, New Year Letter (1941), and About the House (1967).
Effigie
E
➔
STEP
Three The Second Half of the 20th Century
OBJ ECTIVES
In Step Three you will:
• analyse a protest song
• examine a work of fiction regarding the Vietnam War
• compare the authors’ responses to war.
A
fter a decade of intense fear of the ‘communist threat’ in the 1950s, the
American public was ready to be convinced about any action the US
decided to take in countries where communism had a firm hold. In Vietnam, the
North of the country was under communist control. The South was under the
regime of Ngo Dinh Diem who was supported by the US. Through false
propaganda, the US brought people to believe that South Vietnam was at risk of
invasion from the North. South Vietnam needed US assistance and President
Eisenhower moved in battalions of US marines in 1965. The Vietnam War had
begun. It lasted through the presidencies of Johnson and Nixon until, in 1973,
the US was forced to withdraw all its troops.
In the early stages of the war, US soldiers were professionals and volunteers.
But the guerilla warfare soon undermined US hopes of a quick victory and the
Government began drafting soldiers. Many young people were outraged, they
protested for peace and some fled to Canada to avoid being called up.
Of those who fought, many died and those who returned – Vietnam War
Veterans – many were physically and mentally scarred for life.
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T H E M E : WA R
BOB DYLAN (b. 1941)
➔
masters of war (1963)
One popular form of protest was through music and the 1960s in the US gave rise to
some of the greatest folk, ballad, blues and protest songwriters ever. Bob Dylan was one
of the foremost exponents.
1 Read the extract from his song, masters of war, on the opposite page and say who you
think the “masters” are.
■ generals and commanders of the forces
■ industrial giants
■ members of the secret services such as the CIA
Images of the Vietnam War.M
42
Corbis Uk Ltd.
Contrasto, 1998
New American Library
Phaidon
Contrasto, 1998
■ members of the government
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masters of war
5
come you masters of war
you that build the big guns
you that build the death planes
you that build all the bombs
you that hide behind walls
you that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks
What kind of masks?
1
10
15
20
25
30
you that never done nothing
but build to destroy
you play with my world
like it’s your little toy2
you put a gun in my hand
and you hide from my eyes
and you turn and run farther
when the fast bullets3 fly
like judas of old
you lie and deceive4
a world war can be won
you want me to believe
but I see through your eyes
and I see through your brain
like I see through the water
that runs down the drain5
you fasten all the triggers6
for the others to fire
and then you sit back and watch
when the deathcount gets higher
you that hide in your mansion
as young people’s blood
flows out of their bodies
and is buried in the mud
the others are probably…
What kind of a house is a mansion?
2 Analyse the song more carefully.
a
Dylan uses repetition of the verbs ‘build’ and ‘hide’. What do the masters build, and where and from
what do they hide?
b
Dylan insists he is not deceived by the masters. Where does he make that clear?
c
In stanza 3, Dylan uses a simile to describe the masters. What is the simile and what does it infer?
3 Considering our previous theme of blame, responsibility and accountability in war, who
does Dylan hold most responsible, in your opinion?
1. never done nothing, US slang for never done anything (mai fatto niente).
2. toy, plaything (giocattolo).
3. bullets, projectiles (proiettili).
4. deceive, not tell the truth to (ingannate).
5. drain, the place where water goes down in a sink (scarico, fogna).
6. trigger, the device which lets off a gun (grilletto).
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T H E M E : WA R
ALICE WALKER (b. 1944)
➔
B I O G R A P H Y, p . 4 6
By the Light of My Father’s
Smile (1998)
1 Before you read the extract, look at this brief story
summary and say who the main characters are.
s u m m a ry
Two anthropologists move with their two daughters, Susannah
and Magdalena, to the Sierra Madre in Mexico to study the
local population. As a teenager, Magdalena falls in love with a
local boy, Manuelito, but their relationship is strongly opposed
by Magdalena’s father. The novel moves back and forth in time, following the two very different lives of
the sisters once back in the US.
Much later in life, Magdalena meets Manuelito (Mannie) again on a plane. She recognises him,
but thinks he does not recognise her as she has become obese. The meeting so upsets her that she decides
to write to him. They meet and rediscover the strong ties that bound them when teenagers.
2 Now read Magdalena’s account of the meeting. Mannie shows Magdalena two pictures
(lines 1-2, lines 27-30). What do they show?
10
1.
2.
3.
4.
How many times were you shot? I asked, as I looked carefully at the
photograph that showed him swathed1 in bandages, lying in a hospital bed.
There was no counting the shots, because I was blown up so bad. I was lifted
2
out of Nam in pieces. I was in the hospital so long that by the time I came out,
Nixon was out of office and Reagan was in. I’m put together with wire3. That’s
why I have to keep moving. If I sit down too long, I can’t get up again.
Ha, I said. Just like me.
He laughed, and the swoozy4 smell of gin hit the side of my face. A diet
would cure you, he said; it wouldn’t be quite that easy in my case.
Curiously, I’ve never cared that other people see me as obese. But hearing
him refer to it, I felt as if I’d been pricked in the side. As if all my air might be let
out, deflated, somehow.
I came across the border looking for a girl, he said. I came to this country when
I was real young. I worked for a while driving cattle5. I worked in diners washing
dishes, cooking. I kept thinking I would find her. Just by accident one day I
swathed, wrapped (fasciato).
Nam, abbreviation for Vietnam.
wire, thin piece of metal (fil di ferro).
swoozy, a smell which makes you think of alcohol and
it refers to...
this country refers to...
her refers to...
drunkenness (odore di alito da alcolizzato).
5. driving cattle, moving herds of cows from one place to another
(spostare mandrie di bestiame).
44
Ballantine Books, New York, 1998
You are now going to read an extract concerning
Vietnam from a very recent novel by an African
American writer.
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20
30
thought I might bump into her again. He laughed. I was really a boy. And I knew
nothing about the world. For sure, I didn’t know this country was so damn big.
It is big, I said.
It was a relief after a while to join the Army. I’d never heard of Vietnam, and
I didn’t read the papers that much. But then they trained us and before you
know it, there we were.
What was it like? I asked.
Hell, he said.
And you left your family behind?
My wife. She was pregnant6. This way I could send money home. I could
take care of her.
There was Reagan 7, grinning8, clapping the “hero” on the back. Caspar
Weinberger9 looking like a ghost. Kissinger10 pretending to be moved. “Mannie”
crippled11, shuffled forward12 for his medal, hoping not to disgrace his family
and his race.
I had begun to cry.
Whatsa matter? he asked drunkenly.
And before I could reply, he started to snore.
there refers to...
her refers to...
Which race?
3 Focus on Mannie.
a
How did Mannie feel about joining up in the forces in the first place?
b
What can you deduce from the extract about the effects – both physical and mental – that the war
has had on Mannie?
c
What can you understand about Mannie’s feelings about his experience in Vietnam? Are they
straightforward or complex and contradictory?
4 Focus on Magdalena. How would you describe her feelings about the war? Choose from
the options below and justify your choice(s).
■ curious
■ excited
■ upset
■ frightened
■ indifferent
Responses from the Second Half of the 20th Century
CHECK…
…AND LEARN
▼
➔
STUDY BOX
Return to the table that you copied into your notebook ( p. 29). Make more
tables for your findings concerning the works in Step Three.
The final part of our research into changing and shifting themes has
concerned the second part of the 20th century and one of its most infamous
wars. The Vietnam War was a TV war, a war of misinformation, of drug-crazed
soldiers terrified and fighting to survive in a place they should never have been
sent. As the historical and social context shifts, we can see how the responsibility
for what occurred changes hands again.
6. pregnant, expecting a baby (incinta).
7. Reagan, (Ronald) Hollywood filmstar and US President (1981-89).
8. grinning, smiling showing his teeth (che sorrideva mostrando
tutti i denti).
9. Caspar Weinberger, US Secretary of Defense (1981-89).
10. Kissinger, (Henry) President Nixon’s Security Assistant and later
Secretary of State.
11. crippled, disabled (storpio).
12. shuffled forward, moved without lifting his feet in short paces
(avanzò strisciando i piedi per terra).
45
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▼
▼
T H E M E : WA R
Bob Dylan writes in his song of protest about the masters of war – they are
clearly not the military commanders in the field but seem to represent all the
administrators to whom the war was useful – politicians and their secret
services and the industrial giants making money out of the arms race.
Alice Walker, on the other hand, brings home to us the consequences of war
and makes us think about its long-term effects and what our responsibilities are
concerning war veterans – men who are heroes for a day and then left to
manage with their physical and mental scars. Walker highlights how these men
and women in service are used by modern-day governments and then thrown
aside when they are not useful for gaining votes and feeding industry.
BIOGRAPHIES
BOB DYLAN (b. 1941)
C. Rowley, 1984
B
orn Robert Zimmerman, he changed his name to reflect his admiration for the poet Dylan
Thomas. He shares the ‘Beats’ attitudes toward social authority, politics, and drugs,
emphasizing the primacy of the self and rejecting institutionally prescribed norms. Blowin’ in
the Wind, The Times They Are A-Changin’, and A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (all from 1962-63)
are some of his most famous songs.
AP/Wide World Photos, 1995
ALICE WALKER (b. 1944)
N
ovelist, poet, essayist and critic, Alice Walker is, in her own words, committed “to
exploring the oppressions, the insanities, the loyalties, and the triumphs of black women”.
She is a prolific writer and two of her best-known novels are The Color Purple (1982) and By
the Light of My Father’s Smile (1998).
➔
46
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M 2 • WA R : R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y A N D C H O I C E
Assignment APPLYING WHAT YOU KNOW
NES oral
GIVING AN ORAL REPORT
The findings you have collected provide you with a useful analysis of specific themes
across a period in history, in this case, the 20th century. You are going to use your
findings to prepare a short talk in which you compare and contrast a theme across
a century.
1 Look back at your completed tables in your notebook ( p. 29).
➔
a
Decide which theme(s) and work(s) you are most interested in and which may provide a coherent
group. You may choose as few as three works or as many as you need. You may want to use works
from other curriculum subjects which add to your interpretation of the theme.
b
Organise the materials you have chosen in a meaningful way. You may want to use a table, a time
line, a graphic organiser or a spidergram. It is important that the organisation reflects the order of
your talk.
c
Think about how you might make your materials more interesting and coherent. You can use
colour, shapes, images and you can connect ideas with arrows and lines.
d
Study the useful words and phrases for giving a talk and practise your presentation.
47
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Beyond Literature
VISUAL
ART
FILM
MUSIC
VISUAL ART
PLATFORM SCENE (1941)
Henry Moore, pen and ink, watercolour and chalk, 27.9 x 22.2 cm.,
Much Hadam Herts, The Henry Moore Foundation.
Henry Moore Foundation
(➔ p. 34)
➔
In M2 you have read a poem by Adrian Henri called Autobiography ( p. 33). The lines
give verbal form to the poet’s memories of his life as World War II was raging.
The War had a tremendous impact on people’s lives in Britain: night after night, German
planes bombed cities like London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Cardiff. The bombing raids on
London brought death and destruction to the capital. The population lacked proper air
raid shelters and people sheltered in underground stations, as the photo in black and
white on the opposite page shows.
48
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VISUAL ART
Artists were employed by the State to record the fighting at the front or the civilian
experience of war. As an Official War Artist, Henry Moore filled sketchbooks with
drawings of blanketed people lying in groups on the platforms or in the passage ways.
The photo, Moore’s work and Henri’s poem are all a vivid record of what the life of the
civilians was like in Great Britain during World War II, but they render it in a different way
and through different media.
1 Look closely at the photo and at Moore’s
drawing.
a
Consider the composition of the drawing.
1 How are the sheltering people arranged in the
passage way? To describe it draw an imaginary
diagonal line from bottom left to top right.
2 What effect does this composition produce?
How different is the setting from that of the
photograph?
b
Consider the sheltering people in the drawing
and in the photo. Can you identify at least one
dissimilarity between them?
People sheltering in the passageways
of the London Underground.
Wayland, 1990
2 The same real situation is the source
of both the photo and Moore’s drawing.
Moore, however, has noticeably transfigured
his experience of London war shelters.
a
Complete the paragraph below using the words
given in jumbled order.
brownish
individuality
beings
depth
faces
Moore has increased the 1) .................... of the
tunnel which seems to have no ending. The
sheltering people have lost their 2) ................... .
With a few exceptions it is not easy to
distinguish male from female 3) ................... ;
children from grown-ups and 4) ................... look
almost all alike. Clothes which add to
individuality have disappeared too; human
beings are lying in the passage way wrapped in
blankets.The blankets are all 5) ................... apart
from the two red ones in the foreground.
Henry Moore, Sleeping Child Covered with Blanket,
London, Henry Moore Foundation, 1941.
The children look as if they really are asleep.
Henry Moore Foundation
49
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BEYOND LITERATURE
b
The following statements suggest the reason/s why Moore has made such changes. Read them
and choose the one you think correct.
1 Moore has increased the depth of the tunnel which seems to have no ending:
– to stress the huge size of London underground which could house thousands of people
– to make it look like the tunnel of war for the whole of mankind.
2 Moore’s sheltering people have lost their individuality because he wanted:
– to represent mankind suffering in time of war and not individual beings in a specific time and
place
– to stress the fact that they were one people fighting under the same flag.
Let us now study Moore’s drawing to see what use he has made of visual elements, like
space and line.
Consider how Moore has overcome the flatness of the actual surface he worked upon
and created the illusion of a three dimensional underground station through
perspective.
3 Review or study the ways an artist can show perspective.
In which ways does Moore give an illusion of depth?
Now focus on line which artists can use to describe shapes, to create volumes, to express
feelings.
4 Remind yourself or study the different kinds of line.
What kind of line does Moore use? What effect does it produce?
The poem Autobiography by Henri draws on his experience of World War II, as does
Moore’s work you have just analysed. The poet experienced the German raids on the
town near Liverpool where he lived.
5 Let’s see how the verbal text compares with the visual one.
a
Was the poem written during wartime?
b
Does it speak about an individual or universal experience?
c
Is the speaker’s mood the same as that suggested by Moore’s scene?
BIOGRAPHY
HENRY MOORE (1898-1986)
H
enry Moore started his artistic career as
a sculptor modelling his figures on
forms you can find in the natural world
and using mainly stone and wood. As an
Official War Artist(1940-42) he did some
poignant drawings of people sheltering
in underground stations. Then he
returned to sculpture introducing some
major changes in his way of working.
Bronze took over from stone as his
preferred medium and the scale of his
sculptures got bigger. He is recognized as
one of the great sculptors of the 20th
century.
50
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Personal File
The Personal File consists of several sections students can use to meet
their own specific needs with or without their teacher’s guidance.
• Quick Reference provides a brief and essential outline of the Module
content and/or any revision material you may need;
• Review and Extension serve specific functions. Review revisits key
words and concepts the Module has taught. Extension extends students’
knowledge on one or more aspects of the Module;
• Get Ready for Testing offers two kinds of tests. Those for internal
certification are objective and self-assessed. Those for the Nuovo Esame
di Stato (NES) are of various kinds and more complex.
Keys for self-correction are on pp. 63-64.
QUICK REFERENCE
M1
M2
The Thematic Approach to Text
■ THE THEMATIC APPROACH means studying and analysing texts according to
their themes. It can be within one genre or across genres (looking at one thematic
area in texts from fiction, poetry and drama), at one specific moment in time (looking
at differences and similarities in treatment of theme synchronically as in M1), or across
periods (following the development of the treatment of a theme diachronically as in M2).
Studying texts according to theme is useful since you are analysing in depth the
author’s message which is the very motivating force behind writing – you ask what the
author really wants to say, how s/he goes about saying it and how and why that differs
from or reflects another author’s view of a similar issue.
The thematic approach often combines with the contextual or historical approach
which means finding out what the information you can gather concerning context can
do to help in your deeper understanding of a text. This contextual information can
concern the historical period in which a work was written, biographical information
about the author, information about the socio-cultural context and information which
places a work in a wider context than the purely national or literary one.
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QUICK
REFERENCE
M1
The Synchronic Thematic Approach.
World War I: Investigating and Presenting Theme
World War I is a unique period in the development of literature for the outstanding quality and
bulk of poetry produced at the time. The initial period of the war gave rise to patriotic poetry
in which poets such as Rupert Brooke viewed war as a noble cause and death in war as a
glorious end. The language of the poetry reflects its tone and is sweet and musical; imagery is
idealized. As the war progressed, poets expressed their anger and disgust at the horrors of
trench warfare. One of the most outspoken voices was that of Siegfried Sassoon who wrote
direct and aggressive poems in colloquial language to express his disgust and to put over the
truth about war. By 1917, soldiers on all sides were becoming war-weary, their poetry
expressed feelings of frustration and futility or examined the human condition in a more
detached and philosophical tone. Rosenberg comments on the fragility of joy and life,
whereas Owen expresses a deep sadness and pity concerning so much suffering and death.
M2
The Diachronic Thematic Approach.
War: Responsibility and Choice
One approach to theme can be to see how specific messages concerning a common theme
change and develop over a period of time – for example: how do various poets’ and
novelists’ reactions to the idea of responsibility and choice alter from the time of the
Boer War, through the First and the Second World Wars, and on to the Vietnam War?
■ THE BOER WAR The poem by Thomas Hardy, The Man He Killed, lays the blame
at the feet of war, an abstract and curious force which Hardy sees as somehow altering
human behaviour. The young soldier seems upset and baffled about what has occurred
and in need of reassurance that his act was an inevitable result of the situation.
■ THE FIRST WORLD WAR Siegfried Sassoon tells of the cowardice and incompetence
of commanders and assigns much of the responsibility to them.
■ THE SECOND WORLD WAR In the poem Vergissmeinnicht, Douglas clearly blames
the inner nature of man. In Autobiography Adrian Henri highlights the responsibilities
of those back home to maintain and reinforce community and patriotic feelings to render
the war bearable, even pleasurable. In Going Back Penelope Lively deals with the
delicate issue of choice regarding the adoption of a pacifist stance. Refugee Blues by
W. H. Auden deals with one aspect of the plight of the Jews, a people left with no
choices. Auden shows how this lack of choice and lack of identity left Jews in desperate
and depressing situations.
■ THE VIETNAM WAR In his protest song masters of war, Bob Dylan assigns blame to all
the administrators to whom the war was useful – politicians and their secret services and the
industrial giants making money out of the arms race. Alice Walker brings home to us the
consequences of war in her novel By the Light of My Father’s Smile and makes us think
about its long-term effects and what our responsibilities are concerning war veterans.
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EXTENSION
➔ key,
p. 63
1
1 The statements below are all incomplete quotations from the texts and documents which
in Module 1 outline how war poetry evolved as the conflict was being fought. Complete the
quotations, write down the title and the author of the corresponding text or document and add
the stage in which the text or the document was produced – either in the initial stage (stage a)
or after soldiers had had first-hand experience of the trench warfare (stage b).
The sequence of texts and documents is not that of the Module.
1
“Above all I am not (1) .......................................... with Poetry. My (2) .......................................... is war and the
(3) .......................................... of War.”
2
“Move him into the (1) .......................................... . Always it woke him even in (2) .......................................... . ... Woke
once the clays of a (3) .......................................... star. ... O what made (4) .......................................... sunbeams toil / To
break (5) .......................................... sleep at all?”
3
“And though we have our (1) .........................................., we know / What sinister (2) .......................................... lurks
there.” “(3) .......................................... could drop from the dark / As easily as (4) .......................................... / But song
only dropped / Like a blind man’s (5) .......................................... on the sand / By (6) .......................................... tides.”
4
“Isn’t this (1) .......................................... fighting (2) ..........................................?”
5
“I have suffered seventh (1) .......................................... . I have not been at the front. I have been in
(2) .......................................... of it. We had a march of 3 miles over shelled road, then nearly 3 along a
(3) .......................................... trench. It was of course dark, too dark, and the ground was not mud; not
sloppy mud, but an (4) .......................................... of sucking clay... relieved only by creaters full of
(5) .......................................... . Men have been known to (6) .......................................... in them.”
6
“If I should (1) .........................................., think only this of me: / That there’s some corner of a
(2) .......................................... field / That is for ever (3) .......................................... . And think, this heart ... /
(4) .......................................... somewhere back the thoughts by England given; / ... and gentleness, / In
hearts at (5) .........................................., under an English heaven.”
7
The (1) .......................................... tells us: “ When the boys come (2) .......................................... / They will not be the
(3) ..........................................; for they’ll have fought / In a (4) .......................................... cause; “We’re none of us the
same,” the boys reply. / “For George lost both his (5) ..........................................; and Bill’s stone
(6) .......................................... .”
8
“I only wish I were (1) .......................................... enough to go with (2) ..........................................!”
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1
In 1917, while in Britain on sick leave, Sassoon posted an anti-war protest to his commanding officer to
explain his grounds for refusing to serve further in the army. The protest, which is an important
document if you want to understand the soldiers’ changing attitude to war, was read out in the House of
Commons on July 30, 1917 and printed in full in “The Times” the following day.
➔ key,
p. 63
1 Read Sassoon’s declaration against war.
10
a
How had war changed in Sassoon’s view?
b
What made Sassoon write his protest?
c
Who does he attack?
I am making this statement as an act of willful1 defiance of military authority, because
I believe the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it. I am a
soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers. I believe that this war, upon which
I entered as a war of defence and liberation, has now become a war of aggression and conquest.
I believe that the purposes for which I and my fellow soldiers entered upon this war should have
been so clearly stated as to have made it impossible to change them, and that, had this been done,
the objects which actuated us2 would now be attainable by negotiation. I have seen and endured
the suffering of the troops, and I can no longer be a party to prolong these sufferings for ends
which I believe to be evil and unjust. I am not protesting against the conduct of the war, but
against the political errors and insincerities for which the fighting men are being sacrificed.
On behalf of those who are suffering now I make this protest against the deception which is being
practised on them; also I believe that I may help to destroy the callous3 complacence4 with which
the majority of those at home regard the continuance of agonies which they do not share, and
which they have not sufficient imagination to realise.
(S. Sassoon, in J. Silkin, Out of Battle, The Poetry of the Great War, Oxford, OUP, 1978)
➔ key,
p. 63
➔ key,
p. 63
2 What is Sassoon’s attitude to his fellow soldiers?
3 Present the document to the teacher and to the class concentrating on the connections
you can establish (by comparison or contrast) with all the poems included in the Module.
You may use the time line on p.19 as a visual aid.
1. willful, done deliberately (deliberata).
2. actuated us, moved us to action (ci hanno spinto ad agire).
3. callous, without sympathy for the sufferings of other people (insensibile).
4. complacence, satisfaction (compiacimento).
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EXTENSION
➔ key,
p. 63
2
1 Associate each of the following works with its author and the war it describes.
Works
Vergissmeinnicht
Autobiography
The Man He Killed
masters of war
Going Back
The General
Refugee Blues
By the Light of My Father’s Smile
Authors
Bob Dylan
Keith Douglas
Penelope Lively
Thomas Hardy
Siegfried Sassoon
W. H. Auden
Adrian Henri
Alice Walker
Wars
The Boer War
The First World War
The Second World War
The Vietnam War
➔ key,
p. 63
2 For each of the works you have listed above, say whether they deal with the theme of
responsibility or choice and say in what way.
➔ key,
p. 63
3 Read the following quotations from the works listed in activity 1 and say where they are
from and what their significance is.
a) "... looking for German spies everywhere
Oh yes, I did my bit for my country that long dark winter,"
b) "like judas of old / you lie and deceive"
c) "Yes, quaint and curious war is!"
d) "For here the lover and killer are mingled / who had one body and one heart."
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EXTENSION
2
You are going to read an extract from an autobiographical account of the youth of Vera Brittain, an
English feminist writer.
Much of the account covers her experience in the First World War in which she served as a nurse.
With this extract you will consider the theme of responsibility in a slightly different light.
➔ key,
p. 63
1 Read the extract and say what the relationship is between Brittain and the soldier in the
account.
10
20
1.
2.
3.
4.
On Sunday morning, June 16th, I1 opened the Observer, which appeared to be chiefly
concerned with the new offensive — for the moment at a standstill2 — in the Noyon-Montdidier
sector of the Western Front, and instantly saw at the head of a column the paragraph for which
I had looked so long and so fearfully:
ITALIAN FRONT ABLAZE3
GUN DUELS FROM MOUNTAIN TO SEA
BAD OPENING OF AN OFFENSIVE
“The following Italian official communiqué was issued yesterday: ‘From dawn this morning
the fire of the enemy’s artillery, strongly countered4 by our own, was intensified from the Langerina
Valley to the sea. On the Asiago Plateau, to the east of the Brenta and on the middle Piave, the
artillery struggle has assumed and maintains a character of extreme violence’. ”
There followed a quotation from the correspondent of the Corriere della Sera, who described
“the Austrian attack on the Italian positions in the neighbourhood of the Tonale Pass.” (…)
“I’m afraid”, I thought, feeling suddenly cold in spite of the warm June sunlight that streamed
through the dining-room window. True, the communiqué didn’t specifically mention the British,
but then there was always a polite pretence5 on the part of the Press that the Italians were defending
the heights above Vicenza entirely on their own. The loss of a “few small positions”, however
quickly recaptured, meant — as it always did in dispatches — that the defenders were taken by
surprise and the enemy offensive had temporarily succeded. Could I hope that Edward6 had missed it
through being still in hospital? I hardly thought so; he had said as long ago as June 3rd that he
expected to be “back again in a few days”.
However, there was nothing to do in the midst of one’s family but practise that concealment
of fear which the long years of war had instilled, thrusting7 it inward until one’s subconscious
became a regular prison-house of apprehensions and inhibition which were later to take their
revenge.
A day or two later, more details were published of the fighting in Italy, and I learnt that the
Sherwood Foresters had been involved in the “show” on the Plateau. After that I made no
pretence at doing anything but wander restlessly round Kensington or up and down the flat,
and, though my father retired glumly8 to bed every evening at nine o’ clock, I gave up writing
I, it refers to Vera Brittain herself.
at a standstill, held up (a un punto fermo).
ablaze, under heavy fire (in fiamme).
countered, opposed (contrastata).
5.
6.
7.
8.
pretence, false claim (finzione).
Edward, Vera Brittain’s brother.
thrusting, pushing forcefully (spingendo).
glumly, in low spirits (tristemente).
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A N D Module
EXTENSION
30
40
2
the semi-fictitious record which I had begun of my life in France. Somehow I couldn’t bring
myself even to wrap up the Spectator and Saturday Review that I sent every week to Italy, and
they remained in my bedroom, silent yet eloquent witnesses to the dread which my father and I,
determinedly conversing on commonplace topics, each refused to put into words.
By the following Saturday we had still heard nothing of Edward. The interval usually allowed
for casualties9 after a battle was seldom so long as this, and I began with an artificial sense of
lightness unaccompanied by real conviction, to think that there was perhaps, after all, no news to
come. I had just announced to my father, as we sat over tea in the dining-room, that I really must
do up Edward’s papers and take them to tha post office before it closed for the week-end, when
there came the sudden loud clattering10 at the front-door knocker that always meant a telegram.
For a moment I thought that my legs would not carry me, but they behaved quite normally as
I got up and went to the door.
I knew what was in the telegram — I had known for a week — but because the persistent
hopefulness of the human heart refuses to allow intuitive certainty to persuade the reason of that
which it knows, I opened and read it in a tearing anguish of suspense. “Regret to inform you
Captain E. H. Brittain M. C. killed in action Italy June 15th.”
“No answer,” I told the boy mechanically, and handed the telegram to my father, who had
followed me into the hall. As we went back into the hall dining-room I saw, as though I had never
seen them before, the bowl of blue delphiniums11 on the table; their intense colour, vivid, ethereal,
seemed too radiant for earthly flowers.
(V. Brittain, Testament of Youth, London, Virago, 1999)
➔ key,
p. 63
2 Review the subject matter of the extract by putting these events in the correct
chronological order and by writing in dates where possible.
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
Vera feels cold, as if having a premonition of her brother’s death.
There is a loud knock at the door – it’s the telegram announcing Vera’s brother’s death.
Vera drops her pretence of calm.
Vera learns that her brother’s battalion was involved in the fighting.
Vera reads the newspaper headline about fighting on the Italian front.
Vera tries to hide her fear from her family and keep her feelings under control.
Vera gives up writing her autobiography.
A week later there is still no news about Vera’s brother.
Vera hopes her brother has missed the fighting by being in hospital.
Vera can’t bring herself to post the usual newspapers to her brother.
9. casualties, person killed or injured (vittime).
10. clattering, resounding noise (bussare).
11. delphiniums, type of flowers, usually blue (delfini).
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EXTENSION
3 An autobiography usually covers long periods in a
person’s life. In the extract you have read, just one week is
described in great detail.
a
Why do you think Brittain chose to do that?
b
Does this choice concerning the structure help reinforce her
message in this section? Why/Why not?
c
What does Brittain want her readers to know and to learn
about war?
“The Good Book Guide”, 93, 1996
➔ key,
p. 63
2
Vera Brittain (1893-1970), author of autobiography, poetry and
fiction. During World War I she served as a Voluntary Aid
Detachment nurse, an experience which she recounted as part of
her autobiographical Testament of Youth, 1933.
4 Look in the text for evidence that Brittain is blaming someone or something for her
brother’s death.
Can you find any evidence of her assigning blame?
b
What does her choice of writing about her brother’s death tell you about her personal response to
war?
Australian War Memorial, 1983
a
➔ key,
p. 63
Women played an active role in World War I, as these posters show.
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G E T R E A DY
F O R Module
TE STI N G
1
Write your score
.................... / 61
STEP
➔ key,
p. 64
20
21
Action
49➔ 61
Go on
34➔ 48
Review
0 ➔ 33
Repeat
One
1 For each quotation (A) reply to the questions which accompany it, then match it with the
expectation, feeling or attitude the lines express (B).
*
A
1 “If I should die, think only this of me”
Who does “I” refer to?
2 “There shall be / In that rich earth a richer dust
concealed;”
Why “richer”?
3 “Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,”
What is the subject of “Gave”?
4 “And think, this heart, all evil shed away”
Whose heart?
5 “her sights and sounds;” dreams happy as her day;”
What does “her” refer to?
STEP
➔ key,
p. 64
Band
B
a) The speaker feels gratitude for the
generosity of his mother country.
b) The speaker loves his mother
country.
c) The speaker expects to die at the front.
d) Death in war is seen as a purifying
experience.
e) The speaker is proud of being English
and sacrificing his life for his country.
Two
1 The essay below is about the poem “They” by Sassoon. Complete it using the following
words given in jumbled order.
landscape
attack
imaginary
worse
glorifying
literal
join
first-hand
irony
wounds
bitter
counterpart
boys
confronted
mutilations
front
figurative
any
poem
Bishop
Nash
The poem is an (1) .......................................... dialogue between a Bishop and the soldiers who have
experimented the suffering of war. The Bishop exhorts the soldiers to (2) .......................................... the war.
The boys reply by listing the (3) .......................................... and agony they have gained.
The boys’ actual experience of war is (4) .......................................... with the Bishop’s view of war which is
high-flown and (5) .......................................... only because it is divorced from actual experience. The result
is a harsh (6) .......................................... on those who support war without having (7) ..........................................
experience of the event. The theme is that (8) .......................................... war brings about pain and suffering
which produce a change for the (9) .......................................... and is expressed through bitter
(10) .......................................... . The poem is built on the clash between the type of language used by the
(11) .......................................... (which is subjective, evaluative, (12) .......................................... and high-flown) and the
type of language used by the (13) .......................................... (which is factual, descriptive,
(14) .........................................., conversational, down-to-earth).
* The numbers on the left indicate the maximum number of points for each exercise.
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The painting by Paul (15).........................................., We Are Making a New World, can be regarded as a
visual (16) .......................................... to Sassoon’s poem, especially to stanza two. For example, the
(17) .......................................... devastated by war can be mentally associated to the (18) ..........................................
and sufferings of the soldiers who have been fighting at the (19) .......................................... . The title of the
painting echoes the same (20) .......................................... irony which runs through the (21) .......................................... .
STEP
➔ key,
p. 64
20
Three
1 You have analysed the three texts listed below. Write the appropriate letter (a, b or c) next
to each question.
a) Returning, We Hear the Larks by Rosenberg
b) Futility by Owen
c) A Letter from the Trenches by Owen
10 In which text do we find a logical movement from a specific event to a bitter generalisation?
20 In which text is the mood one of surprise and joy?
30 Which text describes war as “seventh hell”?
40 Which text can be identified as a bitter comment on the creation?
50 Which text hints at the harsh contrast between the life at the front and the life at home?
60 Which text ends introducing two powerful similes?
70 Which text speaks about military action on Sunday?
80 Which text is not set at night?
90 Which text contains the word “stir”?
10 In which text does the central event happen after an exhausting military action?
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
The Essay
1 Write an essay on the following topic: The Great War: how facts are transfigured in poetry
(250-300 words).
2 Write a short paragraph in which you explain the causes for the type of answer the boys
give to the Bishop in the poem “They” by Sassoon (80-100 words).
The Oral Report
1 Consider the two posters on p. 5 and associate words from the poem The Soldier
by R. Brooke to what they show (You can write the words in the margins of the posters
and draw arrows to show the connections). Then use the pictures as visual aids to present
the content and theme of the poem by Brooke to your classmates.
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G E T R E A DY
F O R Module
TE STI N G
2
Write your score
.................... / 24
Band
Action
19 ➔ 24
Go on
14 ➔ 18
Review
0 ➔ 13
Repeat
STEP
■b
■c
One
1 Choose the best answer a, b or c.
(➔ key, p. 64)
9 *
1
■a
■b
■c
2
■a
■b
■c
3
■a
■b
■c
4
■a
■b
■c
5
■a
■b
■c
6
■a
■b
■c
7
■a
■b
■c
8
■a
The Boer War took place in:
the last half of the 19th century
the first half of the 20th century
on the cusp of the 19th/20th centuries
the story of Thomas Hardy’s poem The Man He Killed
is told in:
a small English village
a small South African village
a small African bar
The soldier who speaks about the war through the
poem seems:
disgusted and angry
confident and blasé
hesitant and traumatised
Hardy seems to blame the atrocities of war:
on the soldiers of the British army
on the people back home who don’t react
on the strange effects of the state of war itself
Sassoon’s poem The General was written in:
1902
1917
1939
The people who comment in the poem are:
the General and the poet
two soldiers and the General
two soldiers, the General and the poet
The tone used for Harry’s comment is:
ironical
humorous
sentimental
Complete the final line of the poem: “But he did for
them both by…”
his cheery goodbye
9
■a
■b
■c
his staff and his map
his plan of attack
Sassoon assigns most of the blame for war’s
atrocities on:
politicians
commanders
soldiers
STEP
Two
(➔ key, p. 64)
11
1
■a
■b
■c
2
■a
■b
■c
3
■a
■b
■c
4
■a
■b
■c
5
■a
■b
■c
6
■a
■b
■c
The Second World War raged in Europe:
from 1914 to 1918
from 1930 to 1945
from 1939 to 1945
The term ‘axis powers’ refers to:
Britain, France and Russia
Germany, Italy and Japan
The USA and Russia
Douglas’ poem’s title means:
‘the battle scene’
‘the photograph’
‘don’t forget me’
The two important and symbolic objects near the
body of the German soldier are:
a photo and a gun
a copybook and a tank
a dead girl and some military equipment
In his poem Douglas contemplates:
the sadness of the soldier’s girlfriend
the lucky escape of the British soldiers
man’s dual nature
Adrian Henry’s poem Autobiography contains:
multiple references to wartime memories
details of wartime atrocities
details of the bombing of an air raid shelter
* The numbers on the left indicate the maximum number of points for each exercise.
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7
■a
■b
■c
8
■a
■b
■c
9
■a
■b
■c
10
■a
■b
■c
The child in the poem seems:
excited and involved
terrified and traumatised
sad and tired
In the extracts read, Penelope Lively’s novel Going
Back deals with the issue of:
evacuation and separation
Jews in exile
the pacifist stance
Lively presents a wide range of views on the issue
mainly through:
dialogue
interior monologue
description
W.H. Auden’s poem Refugee Blues highlights the
plight of Jews in exile by:
presenting us with a series of descriptive
statements
presenting us with a series of symbols
presenting us with a series of contrasting
statements
11 Complete this line from the poem: “If you’ve got no
passport...”
a
you
must stay here
■
■b you are officially dead
■c you have no rights
STEP
Three
(➔ key, p. 64)
4
1
■a
■b
■c
2
■a
■b
■c
3
■a
■b
■c
4
■a
■b
■c
Bob Dylan’s protest song called masters of war
criticises and blames:
the soldiers who enlisted
the Vietnamese
the ‘administrators’ of war, such as politicians and
industry
Alice Walker’s novel By the Light of My Father’s Smile
focuses on:
the horrors of the life in Vietnam
the plight of the veterans of the war
the injuries of the soldiers
One of the main protagonists of the novel, Mannie,
seems to:
be critical of the care he received when injured and
in hospital
have contradictory feelings of pride and anger about
the war
be unable to give up the life of a soldier
The main female character, Magdalena, seems:
curious about but upset by the war
angry and rebellious about the war
indifferent about and disinterested in the war
The Essay
1 Choose one of the following themes of war writing and discuss its interpretation in one or
more of the works you have read in this Module (200-250 words).
– The position of those left at home while their loved ones go to fight.
– The position of the soldier in relation to those in command.
– The motivation or lack of motivation behind a conflict – for example the gaining of territory, the
belief in the superiority of a race, financial and economic motives, etc.
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A N D Keys
EXTENSION
1
Module 1
1
1 1 concerned, 2 subject, 3 pity, from Preface to The
Collected Poems by Wilfred Owen, stage b. / 2 1 sun,
2 France, 3 cold, 4 fatuous, 5 earth’s, from Futility by Owen,
stage b / 3 1 lives, 2 threat, 3 death, 4 song, 5 dreams,
6 dangerous, from Returning, We Hear the Larks by Isaac
Rosenberg, stage b. / 4 1 worth, 2 for, from Your Country’s
Call, a recruiting poster, Great Britain, stage a. / 5 1 hell,
2 front, 3 flooded, 4 octopus, 5 water, 6 drown, from Wilfred
Owen: Collected Letters by Wilfred Owen, stage b / 6 1 die,
2 foreign, 3 England, 4 gives, 5 peace, from The Soldier by
Rupert Brooke, stage a / 7 1 boys, 2 back, 3 same, 4 just,
5 legs, 6 blind, from “They” by Siegfried Sassoon, stage b. /
8 1 young, 2 you, from The Veteran’s Farewell, a recruiting
poster, Great Britain, stage a.
REVIEW
A N D Keys
EXTENSION
Module 1
1
a) Sassoon had become totally alienated from the war and
its aims: war had lost all positive or moral meaning: war
had become a criminal folly. / b) He was troubled by the
senseless continuation of the war. / c) He attacks the
tactics of the ‘incompetent’ generals and the attitudes of
those at home (ironmongers) who were ignorant of what
the ordinary soldiers had to endure.
2
The poet feels very close to his fellow soldiers and is deeply
moved by the suffering and death he sees around him. In a
sense he feels responsible for them: since he is a poet and
therefore capable of expressing feelings and thoughts
clearly, he assumes the role of speaking against war in
their names.
3
The document has connections by contrast with Brooke’s
The Soldier (which conveys an idealised view of war) and
several points of similarity with Sassoon’s poem “They”
(which emphasises the contrast between those who send
the others to fight at the front and those who suffer
first-hand experience of war), with Rosenberg’s Returning,
We Hear the Larks (in which war is perceived as a
mischievous presence which can hide in the dark and
strike unexpectedly any time), with Owen’s Futility (which
expresses the absurdity of war and the poet’s sadness at
the futile death of so many boys).
Module 2
1
The Boer War: Thomas Hardy, The Man He Killed / The First
World War: Siegfried Sassoon, The General / The Second
World War: Keith Douglas, Vergissmeinnicht; W. H. Auden,
Refugee Blues; Adrian Henri, Autobiography; Penelope
Lively, Going Back / The Vietnam War: Bob Dylan, masters
of war; Alice Walker, By the Light of My Father’s Smile
2
The Man He Killed: responsibility (the state of war is
responsible for the men’s actions) / The General:
responsibility (commanders are responsible for the
atrocities of war) / Vergissmeinnicht: responsibility (man’s
inner nature is responsible for the killing) / Refugee Blues:
choice (the Jews in exile had few choices open to them) /
Autobiography: responsibility (the responsibility of those
back home to maintain a positive spirit) / Going Back:
choice (choosing to take a pacifist stance) / masters of war:
responsibility (the role of politicians, administrators and big
business) / By the Light of My Father’s Smile: responsibility
(responsibility for the veterans of war)
3
a) is from Autobiography. It reveals the little boy's desire to
be busy and involved in the war spirit. / b) is from masters
of war. It is a powerful simile to describe the lying, deceit,
untrustworthiness of those who direct and finance war. / c)
is from The Man He Killed. The soldier is trying to come to
terms with his trauma. / c) is from Vergissmeinnicht. These
lines tell us how in each person we have many potential
facets including the lover and the killer.
1
Module 2
1
the soldier is her brother
2
5 (June 16th), 1, 9, 6, 4 (June 17th/18th), 3, 7, 10, 8 (June
24th?), 2
3
a) When a short period of time is described over many lines
we can read much more detail about events and feelings
thus the importance of the events and feelings are
emphasised to the reader. / b) she certainly gives us a
clear idea of what an important time this was for her, that
her brother’s death affected her greatly. / c) that each set
of numbers and statistics in reports and newspapers hides
innumerable individual and personal tragedies as those left
behind come to terms with the results of war.
4
a) She doesn’t assign blame. / b) She feels responsibility as
a writer to let people know about the tragedies of war.
63
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G E T R E A DY
F O R Keys
TE STI N G
11
Module 1
STEP
1
1
Two
1c, 2b, 3c, 4a, 5c, 6a, 7a, 8c, 9a, 10c, 11b
STEP
1
One
1c, 2a, 3c, 4c, 5b, 6c, 7a, 8c, 9b
STEP
1
Two
1 imaginary, 2 join, 3 wounds, 4 confronted, 5 glorifying,
6 attack, 7 first-hand, 8 any, 9 worse, 10 irony, 11 Bishop,
12 figurative, 13 boys, 14 literal, 15 Nash, 16 counterpart,
17 landscape, 18 mutilations, 19 front, 20 bitter, 21 poem
STEP
1
STEP
“I” refers to the poet. / 2 Because it contains the dust of a
soldier who died for his country. / 3 The subject is England.
/ 4 The heart of the speaker. / 5 “Her” refers to England.
1c), 2e), 3a), 4d), 5b)
STEP
1
One
Module 2
Three
1c, 2b, 3b, 4a
Three
1b, 2a, 3c, 4b, 5c, 6a, 7c, 8b, 9b, 10a
64
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Appendix
2632 pp. I-IV/001-068:2632 pp. I-IV/001-068 16/09/09 12:10 Page 66
Cross-curricular Cards
HISTORY
World War I (1914-18)
The early years of the 20th century were characterised
by a gradual realignment of the Powers which brought
Britain, France and Russia together in a Triple Entente
aimed at containing German expansion, while Germany
joined with Austria and Italy in a Triple Alliance with
defensive purposes. No longer checked by the policy of
balance of Bismarck, Europe was rapidly heading
towards war which was supported and welcomed by a
militaristic-minded European generation emotionally
prepared for what was regarded as an inevitable clash.
• Long-term causes
The long terms causes for the war are to be traced as
far back as 1870. They can be summarised as follows:
– growing tension between France and Germany after
the defeat of France in 1870
– growing power of Germany both at economic and
military level
– colonial expansion and rivalry among the countries
for colonial control
– development of armaments
– the Eastern Question, derived from the weakening of
the Turkish Empire and the growing Slav nationalistic
aspirations.
• Immediate cause
– the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand
at Sarajevo on 18 June 1914 by a Serbian nationalist.
• The outbreak of war
Austria attacked Serbia. Serbia was backed by Russia which
aimed at gaining an outlet on the Mediterranean. Germany
sided with Austria, backed by the declining Ottoman empire
fighting for its survival. France joined the war to support
Russia, and the violation of Belgian neutrality on the part of
Germany brought Britain into the war. The local conflict
soon transformed into a world conflict, including the
colonies. When World War I broke out in 1914, it was
generally held that it would be brief and would not
necessitate mass mobilisation, but in the event it turned out
to be a long and bitter struggle that lasted five years.
• The five years of war
1914: After the shock assault of Germany on the
Western front, when Paris itself was threatened, the
Germans were eventually stopped at the battle of the
Marne. In October 1914 the Western front had already
stabilised along a double trench line running from
Switzerland to the Channel and hardly moved in the
next three years. The Eastern Front, which ran through
the heart of Poland, was more mobile and did not know
the hell of trench warfare.
1915: Italy left the Triple Alliance and entered the war
on the side of the Allies, aiming to gain its lost
territories. Another front was set up in the north
eastern part of Italy, the site of some of the most
bloody and decisive battles. The war changed from a
war of movement to a war of position.
1916: a Russian counter-offensive pushed back the
Germans on the Eastern front, but soldiers were killed
by the thousands every hour on the Western front at
Somme and Verdun.
1917: Germans and Austrians regained their positions
on the Eastern front, taking advantage of Russian
internal difficulties due to the Bolshevik revolution.
Russia withdrew from the war. Another bitter defeat for
the Entente was on the Italian front at Caporetto, with
the withdrawal of the Italian front as far back as Mount
Grappa. Russian withdrawal, however, was
counterbalanced by the intervention of the US on the
side of the Allies because its maritime economy was
severely threatened by the extension of unrestricted
submarine warfare in the Atlantic on the part of the
Germans.
1918: the US entry was decisive in ending the conflict.
The war ended in 1918 with the defeat of Germany and
the collapse of the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires.
• Peace Treaties
Before the end of the war, President Woodrow Wilson
had issued his famous Fourteen Points on which peace
should be negotiated. His main emphasis was on the
right to self-determination and the need for a league,
later the League of Nations, to preserve peace.
The peace settlement of Versailles of 1919, however,
because of its too severe treatment of Germany,
created grievances and aroused widespread criticism
for its alleged injustice and severity and is now
considered one of the main long-term causes of
World War II.
1 How could you exploit the information as a background for an oral report about World War I
literature?
66
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APPENDIX
HISTORY
World War II (1939-45)
The Versailles settlement after World War I, though very
unsatisfactory, held for almost ten years, but the beginning
of the 1930s saw its total collapse. The world economic
crisis of 1929-33 with its ensuing mass unemployment led
to political unrest and hostility between the States. The
League of Nations revealed its weakness as an institution as
it was unable to mantain peace in two major international
crises: the Japanese conquest of Manchuria in 1931-33 and
Mussolini’s conquest of Abyssinia in 1935.
• Long-term causes
The long-term causes of the war are to be traced back
to the grievances unsolved by the Treaty of Versailles of
1919 which resurfaced in the 1930s with Hitler’s policy
of aggression and the weakness of the League of
Nations. They can be summarised as follows:
– the withdrawal of Hitler from the League of Nations in
1933 to reverse the ‘humiliation’ of the Versailles Treaty
– Hitler’s setting up of conscription and the creation of
a military air force
– Hitler’s policy of acquiring ‘Lebensraum’ (living
space) for German people in the East at the expense
of the Slavs
– Hitler’s reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936
– the Spanish Civil War (1936-39)
– German occupation of Austria and its annexation
(Anschluss) in 1938
– Germany-Russia non-aggression pact 1939.
• Immediate cause
– Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939.
• The outbreak of war
After the invasion of Poland, the British and French first
issued an ultimatum and then declared war.
• The seven years of war
1939: defeat of Poland, divided between Germany
and Russia.
1940:
– Germany attacks on the Western front
– German troops enter Paris and Italy joins the war
– birth of French Resistance movement led by Charles
de Gaulle
– establishment of new fronts in Greece and in the
colonies.
1941:
– German invasion of Yugoslavia and attack on the USSR
– the Japanese attack the American fleet at Pearl Harbour
and the US join the war.
1942:
– climax of power for Germany, Italy and Japan
– counteroffensive of English and American troops in
North Africa.
1943:
– Russian counteroffensive on the Eastern front
– US counteroffensive in the Pacific
– landing in Sicily of British and American soldiers
– collapse of Italian Fascist State
– Italy split between North and South, between the
Republic of Salò and the Monarchy and between the
regular army and Partisan groups
– research started on atomic power.
1944:
– landing in Normandy of the Allies and liberation
of Paris.
1945:
– end of war on the Western front, with Mussolini
murdered on 28 April and Hitler committing suicide
on 30 April.
– on the Pacific front atomic bombs dropped on the
Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the
orders of President Truman.
• Peace Treaties
The end of the war saw all the countries involved
destroyed morally and materially. Only the United
States emerged from World War II as the most
powerful nation in the world, followed by
the USSR. The Peace Treaties determined
clear spheres of influence. Lack of agreement
on German unification brought about the division
of Berlin into four Zones under the control
of the US, Great Britain, France and the USSR
and marked the beginning of the Cold War, a period
of tension between the Unites States and the Soviet
Union. As Winston Churchill – the British Prime
Minister at the time – put it in a speech in 1946 an
iron curtain divided the Western world from
the Communist world.
1 How could you exploit the information as a background for an oral report about World War II
literature?
67
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T H E M E : WA R
ITALIAN
LITERATURE
Italian Literary Views of the Great War:
Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888-1970)
Giuseppe Ungaretti was one of the leading twentiethcentury poets in Italy. At the outbreak of World War I he
enlisted in the Italian army and served on the Isonzo
front from 1915 until early 1918. In the spring, he was
transferred to the Western Front: in his poem, Fiumi
(Rivers), he alludes to his service on both fronts.
Ungaretti wrote several war poems which draw directly
on his traumatic first-hand experience of trench
warfare. The first ones appeared in Il porto sepolto
(The Buried Port) in 1916 and were included in his first
collection Allegria di naufragi (Gay Shipwrecks) in 1919.
The poet gives a ‘truthful’ description of the trench
experience, but at the same time goes beyond that
experience to meditate on life.
1 Read the poems Veglia and Fratelli.
a
b
What aspects of war do they concentrate on?
5
10
15
Veglia
Cima Quattro il 23
dicembre 1915
Vigil
Un’intera nottata
buttato vicino
a un compagno
massacrato
con la sua bocca
digrignata
volta al plenilunio
con la congestione
delle sue mani
penetrata
nel mio silenzio
ho scritto
lettere piene d’amore
A whole night long
Non sono mai stato
tanto
attaccato alla vita
I have never been
crouched close
to one of our men
butchered
with his clenched
5
mouth
grinning at the full moon
with the congestion
of his hands
thrust right
into my silence
10
How does life appear in the light of war?
Fratelli
Mariano il 15 luglio 1916
Brothers
Di che reggimento siete
fratelli?
What regiment d’you belong to
Parola tremante
nella notte
Word shaking
Foglia appena nata
Leaf barely born
Nell’aria spasimante
involontaria rivolta
dell’uomo presente alla sua
fragilità
In the simmering air
Fratelli
Brothers
brothers?
in the night
involuntary revolt
of the man present at his
brittleness
I’ve written
letters filled with love
so
coupled to life
The poems Ungaretti wrote during World War I broke with a traditional use of language and conventional poetic forms.
2 Read the two texts again and comment on the innovative aspects of language and form. Consider the
words he chooses and look for the use he makes of the layout, stanzaic division, rhyme scheme, punctuation.
Ungaretti’s war poems were translated and included in The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry, London,
Penguin Books, 1979 edited by John Silkin.
3 Compare the Italian text and the English version of the two poems. For each poem choose one or
two English lines which in your view best render/s the Italian text.
➔
p. 9), Rosenberg (
➔
➔
Ungaretti’s poetry can be associated with the output of Sassoon (
p. 14) and Owen (
p. 15).
4 Choose one of his World War I poems and compare/contrast it with one of the English war poems
in the volume.
68

- Loescher Editore

Transcription

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