Books and Bookmarks

B. De Luca, D. J. Ellis, P. Pace, S. Ranzoli

Books and BookmarksCOMPLEMENTARY AND LINK MODULES

Theme: War

LOESCHER EDITORE

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De Luca, Ellis, Pace, Ranzoli - Books and Bookmarks, cod. 2632 © Loescher Editore

© Loescher - 2003http://www.loescher.it

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Beyond Literature■ MUSIC

War Requiem: Dies Irae (Futility) 23

War: Responsibility and Choice 25

The Beginning of the Century 26

THOMAS HARDY The Man He Killed 26

SIEGFRIED SASSOON The General 28STUDY BOX: Responses from the First Half of the Century 29

The Mid-Century 30

KEITH DOUGLAS Vergissmeinnicht 31

ADRIAN HENRI Autobiography 32

PENELOPE LIVELY from Going Back 34Text one, 35 Text two, 36

W. H. AUDEN Refugee Blues 37STUDY BOX: Responses from the Mid-Century 39

The Second Half of the 20th Century 41

BOB DYLAN from masters of war 42

ALICE WALKER from By the Light of My Father’s Smile 44STUDY BOX: Responses from the Second Half

of the 20th Century 45

■■ Assignment Giving an Oral Report 47

STEPThree

STEPTwo

STEPOne

MODULE

2

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 1

World War I: Investigatingand Presenting Themes 2

Patriotic Views of War 3

Collecting Data 3

RUPERT BROOKE The Soldier 4Document 1, 5 Document 2, 5

Presenting Findings 6

STUDY BOX: The Idealisation of War 7

Realistic Views of War 8

Collecting Data 9

SIEGFRIED SASSOON “They” 9Document, 10

Presenting Findings 11

STUDY BOX: Anti-War Attitudes 12

The Futility of War 13

Analysing Responses 13

ISAAC ROSENBERG Returning, We Hear the Larks 14

WILFRED OWEN Futility 15Document 1, 16 Document 2, 18

Organising Data for Presentation 18

STUDY BOX: Waiting for the End: Rosenberg and Owen 19

■■ Assignment Giving an Oral Report 21

B

A

STEPThree

B

A

STEPTwo

B

A

STEPOne

MODULE

1

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TAB LE O F C O NTE NTS

IV

Beyond Literature■ VISUAL ART

Henry Moore, Platform Scene 48

Personal FileQUICK REFERENCE 51

The Thematic Approach to Text 51The Synchronic Thematic Approach 52The Diachronic Thematic Approach 52

■ MODULE 1 53

REVIEW 53EXTENSION 54

from Statement to Commanding Officer by S. Sassoon 54

■ MODULE 2 55

REVIEW 55EXTENSION 56

from Testament of Youth by V. Brittain 57

■ MODULE 1 59

GET READY FOR TESTING 59INTERNAL CERTIFICATION 59

Step One, 59 Step Two, 59 Step Three, 60NES (Nuovo Esame di Stato) 60

■ MODULE 2 61

GET READY FOR TESTING 61INTERNAL CERTIFICATION 61

Step One, 61 Step Two, 61 Step Three, 62NES (Nuovo Esame di Stato) 62

KEYS 63Review 63Extension 63Get Ready for Testing 64

AppendixCROSS-CURRICULAR CARDS 66

World War I (1914-18) 66World War II (1939-45) 67Italian Literary Views of the Great War:

Giuseppe Ungaretti 68

➔ Audiocassettes and music cassette of Books and Bookmarks

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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, Booksand Bookmarks. It can be used by those who have adopted the compact version of Books andBookmarks or any other Course book.

This booklet uses a thematic approach to explore literary texts on the subject of war and itsimpact on the people involved, often combining the thematic approach with the contextual orhistorical approach. It contains two Modules (M1 and M2) of three Steps each: M1 focuses onWorld 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 theSteps into new learning itineraries.

The booklet can act as an extension of M4 of Books and Bookmarks, Volume 1, CompactEdition or it can easily link up with Modules dealing with genres, issues and themes in the 20thcentury from Books and Bookmarks, Volume 2, Compact Edition. It can also be used independentlyand, to facilitate this, an Appendix contains all the literary texts you may need to refer to, over andabove those analysed in detail.

The booklet is not accompanied by a Teacher’s Guide: for keys to the activities, teachers candownload appropriate sections of the Books and Bookmarks Teacher’s Guide from the Loescherwebsite www.loescher.it/booksandbookmarks, or refer to the printed Guide of the main volume ofBooks and Bookmarks.

The booklet does, however, contain self-study materials for review, extension and testpreparation purposes.

TO THE STUDENT

The learning itinerary the booklet outlines develops through two Modules. The first looks at thework 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 inthe 20th century. Contemporary paintings, posters or photographs provide a powerful visualinsight that support or expand the content of the texts, while music in M1 helps you understandthe 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 activitieswhich can facilitate your learning process.

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2

World War I: Investigating and Presenting Themes

This Module will take you through the work of the poets and artists whowere involved in the Great War. Year by year, from the outbreak of theconflict 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.

M O D U L E

1

L E V E L ●●● basic

T Y P E O F M O D U L E thematic, contextual and interdisciplinary

P R E R E Q U I S I T E S • basic knowledge of the conventions of poetry

• basic notion of theme and how to identify it

• an introduction to the language of visual art

O B J E C T I V E S • 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

T I M E approx. 20 hours

L I N K S Siegfried Sassoon (M2)BEYOND LITERATURE: Music, War RequiemCROSS-CURRICULAR CARDS: World War I ; Italian Literary Views of the Great War:

Giuseppe Ungaretti (APPENDIX)

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?

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3

1 Pool your ideas to build up a range of war vocabulary.Complete the spidergram below by adding some more words. The photographmay give you some ideas.

Patriotic Views of War O B J E C T I V E S

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 enteredthe war on August 5 (➔ CROSS-CURRICULAR CARD: World War I, APPENDIX, p. 66).Many young men enlisted in a mood of optimistic excitement.

Collecting DataYou 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.

STEP One

A

E. H

udso

n, 1

988

PEOPLE ARMS

WAR

enemy riflerefugee

mess-tin helmet front-line trench

EQUIPMENT BATTLES

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RUPERT BROOKE (1887-1915) ➔ BIOG RAPHY, 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

If I should die, think only this of me: I refers to…

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; Why richer?

5 A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam2, her refers to…

A body of England’s, breathing English air,

Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away3, Whose heart?

10 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; Her refers back to…

And laughter, learnt of 4 friends; and gentleness,

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

2 Consider the sort of words the poet has chosen to use.

a How would you describe his language? Give reasons.

soft colloquial heroic bitter indignant

b What about the sound aspect of the poem? Write down the rhyme scheme and say if other sounddevices 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 biographyon p. 8).

TH E M E: WAR

4

1. concealed, hidden (nascosta).2. to roam, to explore (da percorrere).

3. shed away, discarded, removed (liberatasi).4. learnt of, learnt from (appreso da).

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5

You are going to consider some visual and written documents which show how the poemThe Soldier fits in with aspects of the historical background.

Document 1 In the early stage of war the government launched an effective recruiting campaignunder the guidance of the War Secretary, Lord Kitchener. Thousands of compellingposters like the two shown here were put up on any available space. As enlisting was notcompulsory, the object was to persuade the passer-by to enlist.

1 Look carefully at the two posters.

Note down what you find in common between the poem by Brooke and the posters. Mention the aspectof the posters you wish to refer to and the word/line/phrase from the poem you associate with them.

Document 2From Hilda D. Spear, Remembering We Forget, 1979

To understand why people had such a glorified view of war, you can turn to a backgroundstudy of the poetry of World War I. The one on the opposite page explains how war wasviewed 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?

Oxf

ord

Uni

vers

ity P

ress

Aus

tral

ian

War

Mem

oria

lA Scottish soldier points to an appealingrural scene – thatched cottages, colourfulgardens and hedgerows – which could bethreatened by the enemy.

An old soldier shakes the hand of a youngsoldier. People who have already enlistedcan be seen in the background.

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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.

Presenting FindingsYou should now be in a position to draw some preliminary conclusions onyour thematic analysis so far. You need to organise your findings in ameaningful 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 andin 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 posterson the relevant dotted lines.

c Does the use of colour signal contrast or agreement of views in the poem and the documents?➔

➔

TH E M E: WAR

6

B

Waris

regardedas .................................................

..............................................................

..............................................................

..............................................................

The Great War: the initial months

.............................................................

.................................................................................

.....................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................

..................................................................................

...........................................................

Early poetryR. Brooke, The Soldier

Recruiting postersThe Veteran’s FarewellYour Country’s Call

�

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7

STUDY BOX The Idealisation of War

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 declamatory patriotic 1914 sacrifice the initial months of war

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.

…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 glorifyingwar 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 pictorialpropaganda of the Great War was perhaps the

most extensive propaganda for political

purposes in history. The poster Britons

[Kitchener] “wants You” alone ran to over five

million copies.

The poster was printed in September1914. It proved so successful that it wasrepeated in many different versions.

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Realistic Views of WarO B J E C T I V E S

In Step Two you will:

• collect data about a realistic view of war in a poem

• compare an artistic response to a literary response

The war soon ceased to beregarded as a greatadventure when theenthusiasm of the openingperiod turned into massslaughter. People hadbelieved the conflict wasgoing to last a few monthsonly. In fact, it lasted years.

TH E M E: WAR

BIOGRAPHY

RUPERT BROOKE (1887-1915)

Rupert 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,

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 T e s t i n g , p . 5 9

STEP Two

Harold Sandys Williamson, A German Attack,oil on canvas, London, Imperial War Museum, 1918.Im

peria

l War

Mus

eum

8

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9

A Collecting DataThe most important war poets were all serving soldiers who reacted to whatthey saw, felt and experienced.

SIEGFRIED SASSOON (1886-1967) ➔ BIOG RAPHY, p . 13

“They” (1916)

You are going to read a poem by another war poet, Siegfried Sassoon and see how theview of the war has radically changed from Brooke’s.

1 The poem consists of two stanzas spoken by different people, yet they have the samestructure: 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”

The Bishop tells us: “When the boys come back us refers to…

They will not be the same; for1 they’ll have fought the same as when?

In a just2 cause; they lead the last attackOn Anti-Christ3; their comrades’ blood has bought their refers to…

5 New right to breed4 an honourable race,They have challenged5 Death and dared6 him face to face.” him refers to…

“We’re none of us the same” the boys reply.“For George lost both his legs; and Bill’s stone blind7

George is one of…

Poor Jim’s shot through the lungs and like to die8

10 And Bert’s gone syphilitic: you’ll not findA chap9 who’s served that hasn’t found some change.” served where?

And the Bishop said: “The ways of God are strange!”

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 Christchallenges 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’.

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In the poem, the Bishop and the soldiers use two different varieties of language orregisters. Registers are characterised for the most part by distinctive vocabulary but mayinvolve 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 thecontrasting 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 realisticc The poet has juxtaposed two different registers. What are the effects and purposes of this juxtaposition?

DocumentWe 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 thepainting 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 torecord his impression of the conflict. He could, therefore, be a direct witness to the warduring the time he spent at the front-line.

1 The picture on p. 11 shows a field after a battle. a 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 .....................................b 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 ofsymbolic 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?

TH E M E: WAR

10

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11

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?

“They”: “George lost both his legs” (l. 8)

“They”: “new right to breed an honourable race” (l. 5)

We Are Making a New World

Presenting FindingsNow use the painting by Paul Nash to present your conclusions aboutSassoon’s poem. Using a transparency, superimpose meaningful quotationsonto the painting as suggested below. Be prepared to justify your decisions.

B

Paul Nash, We Are Making a NewWorld, oil on canvas, 71.1 � 91.4 cm,London, Imperial War Museum, 1918.

In order to understand better what Sassoon and Nash have represented intheir works, it may be useful to know something about the historicalbackground. It can shed light on both texts (➔ CROSS-CURRICULAR CARD:World War I, APPENDIX, p. 66).

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5 The poem “They”by Sassoon juxtaposes two contrasting views of war. Which of the viewsdoes the painting support?

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STUDY BOX Anti-War Attitudes

CHECK… 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.

➔

TH E M E: WAR

12

C. R. W. Nevinson (British painter,1889-1946), Troops Resting,London, The Trustees of theImperial War Museum, 1916.

In Nevinson’s words war was“dominated by machines andmen were mere cogs in themechanism.”

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13


The Futility of WarO B J E C T I V E S

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 WesternFront the horrors and discomforts of trench warfare.

Analysing ResponsesLet’s go on exploring literature that evolved around the issue of World War Iwith its own events, settings, characters and themes.

STEP Three

A

BIOGRAPHIES

SIEGFRIED SASSOON (1886-1967)

S 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.

PAUL NASH (1889-1946)

While 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.

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ISAAC ROSENBERG (1890-1918) ➔ BIOG RAPHY, p . 20

Returning, We Hear the Larks (1917)

The next poem you are going to consider is by the poet Isaac Rosenberg, another of theserving poets of the period.Its title sets the poem in place and time. The poet and his fellow soldiers are returning totheir camp from a night-time military action (probably a night patrol) – all the patrolswere to be back in the trenches before sunrise to avoid being seen in broad daylight bythe Germans. You will see that even though the poet and his fellow soldiers seem to haveleft 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

Sombre1 the night is.

And though we have our lives, we know

What sinister threat lurks2 there. The threat of...

Dragging3 these anguished limbs, we only know Why anguished?

5 This poison-blasted4 track opens on our camp

On a little safe sleep.

But hark5! joy — joy — strange joy.

Lo6! Heights of night ringing with unseen larks.

Music showering our upturned list’ning faces. Whose faces?

10 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,

15 Like a girl’s dark hair for she dreams no ruin lies there,

Or her kisses where a serpent hides.

TH E M E: WAR

14

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 daesplosioni velenose).5. hark, old form for ‘listen’ (ascolta).6. Lo, interjection to signal something surprising (ecco!).

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15

Dawn is close and suddenly the soldiers “hear the larks” – their song brings joy to theexhausted 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 schemeor stress pattern. The absence of traditional elements is compensated for by the followingsound devices: occasional perfect rhyme, internal rhyme, alliteration, assonance, andrepetition of words at line ends.

3 Find one example for each of the above-mentioned devices.

WILFRED OWEN (1893-1918) ➔ BIOG RAPHY, p . 20

Futility (1918)

The next poem was composed by Wilfred Owen in1918, but published only in 1920. It is about anunknown soldier who died while fighting inFrance in World War I. Before reading the poem, be sure you know themeaning of its title.

1 The poem takes the reader through three levelsof time and space:

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.

Impe

rial W

ar M

useu

m

Frank Dobson, In the Trenches, London, Imperial War Museum, 1916.

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Futility

Move him into the sun — Move, who is the speaker addressing? him refers to…

Gently its touch awoke him once,

At home, whispering of fields unsown1. Where is home?

Always it woke him, even in France,

5 Until this morning and this snow.

If anything might rouse him now

The kind old sun will know. What will the sun know?

Think how it wakes the seeds, — it refers to…

Woke, once, the clays of a cold star2. once, when?

10 Are limbs3, so dear-achieved, are sides,

Full-nerved — still warm — too hard to stir4? Why still warm?

Was it for this the clay5 grew tall? for this, for what?

—O what made fatuous6 sunbeams toil7

To break earth’s sleep at all?

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.

Document 1A Letter from the Trenchesfrom 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 onedeath. 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 yourstatements.

TH E M E: WAR

16

1. unsown, where no seeds have been scattered (non seminati).2. a cold star, the Earth.3. limbs, legs, arms (membra).4. 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).

➔ T H E M U S I C : W a r R e q u i e m , p . 2 3

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17

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 it refers to...

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

the top4. It was of course dark, too dark, and the ground was not mud, not

sloppy mud, but an octopus5 of sucking clay6, 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

10 their clothes. High explosives were dropping all round, and machine-guns

spluttered8 every few minutes. But it was so dark that even the German flares9

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 One entrance to...

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 we shouldn’t do what?

20 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 Why from behind?

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 these poor fellows are...

poor fellows was my first servant whom I rejected. If I had kept him he would

30 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 this refers to...

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…

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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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 wasconsidering 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 2From 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, it refers to...

majesty, dominion, or power, except War.

Above all, I am not concerned with Poetry. I is...

My subject is War, and the pity1 of War. The subject of...

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.”

Organising Data for PresentationThe theme of war has gradually emerged through the materials you havehandled 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 inorder to be able to present them in a concise but effective way to anaudience which should include your teacher and classmates.The activities at the Check stage of Step One and Two ( pp. 7, 12) havealready ordered the material on similar cards. You now need to complete thecollection 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.

➔

➔

TH E M E: WAR

18

1. pity, the poet’s sadness at the suffering and death war brings about (condivisione partecipata alle sofferenze fisiche e morali della guerra).

B

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19

The fixed format of the card should help you in the organisation of thematerial for a coherent oral report on the theme under discussion.As your thematic investigation has been in chronological order, a time linecan 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.

STUDY BOX Waiting for the End: Rosenberg and Owen

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 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 thehorrors of war showed no sign of decline. Sassoon continued to write aggressiveand bitter lines against the conflict.

Rosenberg’s View of War Rosenberg’s lines, however, do not express any anger. He hated the physicalviolence and the ugliness and suffering of war, but his voice sounds moredetached than, for example, Sassoon and Owen. He usually starts from a precisedetail or event of the trench warfare to generalise about human existence, toconvey a complex idea. The poem Returning, We Hear the Larks captures amoment of peace and joy on a battlefield, but also emphasises the fragility ▼

Events

ViewofWar

1914 1915 1916 1917 1918

Works R. BrookeThe Soldier

1914

A glorioussacrifice

Great Britainenters the war

S. Sassoon“They”1916

�

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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 originalityand vividness.

Owen’s View of War There is a strict correspondence between Owen’s statements about warpoetry ( 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, andits 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 directexperience 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 orperfection of form. The conventions of traditional poetry are not well-suited tothe description of trench warfare or to protesting against the needlesscontinuation of the conflict.

Owen was also a skilful and varied versifier. His major technical innovationwas 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, inkeeping with the tragic themes of his poetry.

The horrors of World War I evoked a wide literary and artistic response inmany other European countries, particularly amongst poets. In Italy the outputof 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).

➔

TH E M E: WAR

20

▼ ▼


BIOGRAPHIES

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

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.

Nat

iona

l Por

trai

t Gal

lery

Mac

mill

an

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21

M1 • WO R LD WAR I : I N V E STI G ATI N G AN D P R E S E NTI N G TH E M E S

APPLYING WHAT YOU KNOW

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 canorganise in the following way:

• brief introduction (say what your analysis is about and what it is based on, mention authorsand titles of poems and documents)

• comparison of subject matter (give a brief description of the content of the poems anddocuments with some quotations)

• author’s attitude to war (define the attitudes to war poems and documents show; explainwhere 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 warregarding the poems and documents you have explored).

Assignment

NES oral

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23

FILM MUSIC VISUAL ART

MUSIC

Beyond Literature

WAR REQUIEM: DIES IRAE (FUTILITY) (1961)

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 hadbeen destroyed in World War II. It is a complex composition which develops on threeplanes. In the foreground there is the tenor and baritone accompanied by the chamberorchestra, 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 consideredBritten’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.

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... That day of tears...Quel giorno di pianto...

2 Qua resurget ex favilla... From the dust of earth returning...In cui risorgerà dalle ceneri...

3 Iudicandus homo reus. Man for judgement must prepareL’uomo colpevole deve essere giudicato

4 Pie Iesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Lord all-pitying, Jesus blest grant them rest.Amen Amen

O misericordioso signore Gesù, dona loro la pace.Amen

b Which of the two accompaniments sounds more dissonant and modern and which sounds moretraditional 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 youuse to describe the chorus?■■ desperate ■■ imploring ■■ soothing

➔

( p. 16)➔

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24

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 followingadjectives may help you.

desperate meditative angry intimate

b What function does the intervention of the soprano and chorus have at this point? How does itsound?

c Does the tenor seem to be pacified when he sings line 12 a second time or does he seem to beembittered? 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 maintainthe sense of unrest?

4 (FOURTH LISTENING) Listen to the whole poem again. Would you say that the interpretation ismeant to convey a sense of justification of what happened in the war or to induce a sense ofwarning against the horror of war? Give reasons for your answer.

BEYOND LITERATURE

BIOGRAPHY

BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-76)

H 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,

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.

Paul Nash, The MeninRoad, oil on canvas,London, Imperial WarMuseum, 1919.

The painting shows a shattered warlandscape after the Battle of the MeninRoad (Flanders, 1917).In Paul Nash’s words he was “a messengerwho will bring back word from the men who are fighting to thosewho want the war to goon for ever”.Th

e Pa

ul P

ress

Ltd

., 19

88

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25

War: Responsibility and Choice

In this Module you will look closely at how authors have responded to waracross 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 inparticular how the themes of assignment of responsibility, of choice or lackof choice regarding involvement in war are treated.

M O D U L E

2

L E V E L ●●● intermediate

T Y P E O F M O D U L E textual, thematic, and contextual

P R E R E Q U I S I T E S • basic knowledge of the conventions of fiction and poetry

• basic knowledge of the notion of theme and of how to analyse it

O B J E C T I V E S • learn about some works of writers who have dealt with the theme of war in the 20thcentury

• 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

T I M E approx. 20 hours

L I N K S Siegfried Sassoon (M1)

BEYOND LITERATURE: Visual Art, Platform Scene

CROSS-CURRICULAR CARDS: World War I; World War II (APPENDIX)

LEAD IN The Armed Forces

What do you feel about the armed forces and what do you know about warsin the past century? Here are some questions for you to discuss with yourclassmates: pool your ideas to answer as many as possible. Don’t worry ifyou can’t answer them all because you will find out more as you study thisModule.

Until a short time ago, Italy had armed forces composed of bothprofessionals (people who choose this as a job) and conscripts (people whoare obliged to do a period of military service). It now intends to have onlyprofessionals in service during peace time.

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TH E M E: WAR

26

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 I1 In World War I, who was involved and on which ‘side’?2 What was its outcome?

WORLD WAR II1 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?

The Beginning of the CenturyO B J E C T I V E S

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 analysea poem by Thomas Hardy and one by Siegfried Sassoon.

THOMAS HARDY (1840-1928) ➔ BIOG RAPHY, p . 30

The Man He Killed (1902)

You are going to read a poem which refers to The Boer War (1899-1902), a Colonial warwhich killed many soldiers from Britain and Boers (mainly farmers of Dutch descent) ofSouth Africa.

STEP One

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M2 • WAR: RESPONSIBILITY AND CHOICE

27

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.

Scene: The settle1 of the Fox Inn, Stagfoot Lane

Characters: The speaker (a returned soldier) and his friends,

natives of the hamlet2.The Man He Killed

“Had he and I but met he refers to…

By some old ancient inn,

We should have sat us down to wet3

Right many a nipperkin4!

5 “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 —

10 Because he was my foe,

Just so: my foe of course he was;

That’s clear enough: although

“He thought he’d ’list5, perhaps, he refers to…

Off-hand like6 — just as I —

15 Was out of work — had sold his traps7 —

No other reason why;

“Yes; quaint8 and curious9 war is!

You shoot a fellow down

You’d treat10 if met where any bar is,

20 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 ameasure 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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TH E M E: WAR

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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 “I only killed him because he was the enemy” (lines ..........)2 “If I had met him in a pub we would have had a drink together.” (lines ..........)3 “War is a strange thing: it makes you kill someone for whom you would normally buy a drink.” (lines ..........)4 “We were both probably in the army because we didn’t have jobs.” (lines ..........)5 “We both shot at each other but I killed him.” (lines ..........)

b 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 ■■ personification ■■ punctuation indicating pauses ■■ metaphor ■■ broken rhythm ■■ assonance

b What can you conclude about how the soldier feels about having killed the man? Choose from thewords below and explain your choices.

defiant unsure confident unconcerned hesitantunconvinced 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) BIOG RAPHY, in M1, p . 13

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 alliedforces of Russia, France, Italy, Britain and the US, and in which approximately 10 million people were killed (➔ CROSS-CURRICULAR CARD: World War I, APPENDIX, p. 66).

1 Read the poem and say:1 who the speaker(s) in the poem is/are, the General and/or his soldiers2 where you think the General is and where the soldiers are going.

➔

A scene from the First World War.

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The General

‘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. his refers to...

5 ‘He’s a cheery2 old card3,’ grunted4 Harry to Jack He refers to...

As they slogged up5 to Arras6 with rifle and pack.

But he did for7 them both by his plan of attack. 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.

3 Focus on the last line of the poem.

a Who makes this comment?

b What has happened to Harry and Jack?

c Who is given responsibility for what has happened?

1. swine, pigs (maiali).2. cheery, pleasant (simpatico).3. card, (informal) amusing person (tipo).4. 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).

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)

STUDY BOX Responses from the First Half of the Century

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 .................................................................................................................................................................................................

Author’s response to war (concerning choice/responsibility) ...........................................................................................▼

Impe

rial W

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m

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…AND LEARN There can be many shades of response to a common theme such as war – anexperience which evokes strong responses in the arts – and it is important to read a textin depth to get at its specific message in order to fully appreciate the writer’s point ofview. In this step we have seen how author’s responses concerning responsibility andaccountability can shift and alter as the historical and social context changes.

The two poems considered were from the first half of the 20th century. ThomasHardy writes in his poem The Man He Killed about the tragedy of the death of a youngsoldier and the trauma of the soldier who killed him. Hardy clearly lays the blame at thefeet of ‘war’, an abstract and curious force which he sees as somehow altering humanbehaviour. The young soldier seems upset and baffled about what has occurred and inneed of reassurance that his act was an inevitable result of the situation.

Siegfried Sassoon, on the other hand, tells of the cowardice andincompetence of commanders in the forces who find it so easy to send soldiersto their deaths from the safety of their military bases. Sassoon lays the blamewith these commanders and vividly describes the muted anger of the soldierswho are their pawns in the game – cannon fodder.

▼ ▼

BIOGRAPHY

THOMAS HARDY (1840-1928)

H 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

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-CenturyO B J E C T I V E S

In Step Two you will:

• analyse poems and a novel regarding World War II

• compare how the texts deal with the theme ofresponsibility and choice

You 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).

STEP Two

Responses to War

The Man He Killed

The General

Anonymous, Back Them up!, 1942.

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KEITH DOUGLAS (1920-44) ➔ BIOG RAPHY, p . 40

Vergissmeinnicht (1943)

1 Read this poem by Douglas and say:

1. Vergissmeinnicht, (German) forget-me-not (nontiscordardimé).2. sprawling, lying with open arms and legs (disteso in modoscomposto).3. frowning, with an angry, threatening expression (accigliata).4. barrel, metal tube forming part of a gun (canna del fucile).

5. gunpit, trench (trincea per bocca da fuoco).6. spoil, remains of a dead man (spoglia).7. script, handwriting (scrittura).8. abased, degraded (degradato).9. swart, blackish (nerastre).

1 who is dead 2 what two things he has with him.

Vergissmeinnicht1

Three weeks gone and the combatants gone,returning over the nightmare groundwe found the place again, and found we refers to…

the soldier sprawling2 in the sun.

5 The frowning3 barrel4 of his gunovershadowing. As we came onthat day, he hit my tank with one he refers to…

like the entry of a demon. one is a shell

Look. Here in the gunpit5 spoil6

10 the dishonoured picture of his girlwho has put: Steffi. Vergissmeinnichtin a copybook gothic script7.

We see him almost with content,abased8, and seeming to have paid paid what for?

15 and mocked at by his own equipmentthat’s hard and good when he’s decayed.

But she would weep to see today she refers to…

how on his skin the swart9 flies move; his refers to…

the dust upon the paper eye20 and the burst stomach like a cave.

For here the lover and killer are mingled who had one body and one heart.And death who had the soldier singledhas 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.

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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) ➔ BIOG RAPHY, p . 40

Autobiography (1971)

Although similarly set in World War II, you will find the next poem extract in sharpcontrast 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?

Images of World War II.M

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Autobiography

Carrying my gasmask to school every day Why did the poet have to carry it?

buying saving stamps1

remembering my National Registration Number2

(ZMGM/136/3 see I can still remember it)

5 avoiding Careless Talk3 Digging for Victory4

looking for German spies everywhere

Oh yes, I did my bit5 for my country that long dark winter, that long dark winter during…

me and Winston6 and one or two others,

wearing my tin hat whenever possible

10 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

15 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

20 bright barrage-balloons13 flying over the docks

morning curve of the bay seen from the park on the hill

after coming out of the air-raid shelter

listening for the “All Clear” siren14

listening to Vera Lynn15 Dorothy Lamour16 Allen Jones17

25 and The Andrew Sisters18

clutching my father’s hand tripping over19 the unfamiliar kerb20

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 ofNational Savings, to help the war effort.2. National Registration Number, number to be remembered in caseof invasion (numero che permette l’identificazione).3. Careless Talk, talking about military information that might beoverheard by the enemy (notizie eventualmente utili al nemico).4. Digging for Victory, growing one’s own vegetables (tenere un ortodi guerra).5. I did my bit, I made my useful contribution (ho fatto la miaparte).6. Winston, Sir Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister duringWorld 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 disbarramento).14. “All Clear” siren, sound meaning danger is over (sirene di fineallarme 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).

A poster urging people to start watching out for fires.

Way

land

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b What effect does the repetition of this active form have? Choose from the alternatives.

■■1 It creates a busy, excited atmosphere. ■■3 It makes the boy seem tired.

■■2 It creates an atmosphere of sadness. ■■4 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 andin particular about children in wartime? Choose from these alternatives or suggest your own.

■■1 Children can find war terrifying and therefore need the presence of parents in wartime.

■■2 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 inall that is going on around them.

➔

PENELOPE LIVELY (b. 1933) ➔ BIOG RAPHY, p . 41

Going Back (1975)

During World War II, as Germany intensified its bombing raids on Britain, thousands ofpeople were evacuated from towns and cities and sent to the relative safety of countryvillages. In the countryside, villages temporarily expanded their populations as theyplayed host to evacuees (mainly children and teachers) and the ‘land army’ – groups ofmainly 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.

➔ T H E I M A G E : P l a t f o r m S c e n e , p . 4 8

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Penelope Lively, a contemporary British author, wrotea 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 youngman called Mike.

a Why isn’t Mike a soldier?

b What kind of war work is Mike probably going to do in the country?

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 they refers to...

10 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?”

“Bolshies5, 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 They refers to...

cowardice, see.”

2 Focus on the other characters. What are the opinions of Betty, Susie and Sandy regardingMike’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 ofcommunist tendencies (Bolscevichi).6. white feathers, sign of cowardice (penne bianche).

Children sheltering from a planefight over Kent.

Popp

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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 who Edward is speaking to 2 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. we refers to...

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 He refers to...

like that. I just don’t care for his type, that’s all.”

10 “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.

2 Focus on feelings.

a What does the extract tell us about:

1 Edward’s feelings towards Mike?2 Edward’s father’s feelings about Mike?3 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 hisdecision 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 understandhis decision?

Who is Edward referring to as stupid?

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, throughdescription, or through dialogue?

b How many points of view on the issue is the reader invited to consider? List them and saywhose 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) ➔ BIOG RAPHY, p . 41

Refugee Blues (1939)

The poem you are now going toread, inspired in this case by theplight of Jews in World War II, iscalled Refugee Blues. Blues aremelancholic songs which sing ofsadness and misery. The expression,“I’m feeling blue” does, in fact, mean“I’m feeling sad.” European Jews were faced withtwo choices in the late 30s –leave their homes, jobs andfriends 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,risked Hitler’s ‘Final Solution’ – hisdream of the extermination of allEuropean Jews. By early 1945,Hitler had murdered 5,800,000 Jews from all over Europe. 9,000 of these people camefrom Italy.Auden’s poem, on the other hand, highlights the plight of those who chose to leave.

Felix Nussbaum (1904-44), Self-Portrait with Jewish Passport, oil on canvas, 55 � 48.5 cm, Osnabrück, Kulturgeshichtlichen Museum.

“If you’ve got no passport you are officially dead.”(from Refugee Blues, line 11)

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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.

Once we had a country and we thought it fair,

5 Look at the atlas and you’ll find it there:

We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now.

In the village churchyard there grows an old yew2,

Every spring it blossoms anew3:

Old passports can’t do that, my dear, old passports can’t do that.

10 The consul banged4 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:

15 But where shall we go to-day, my dear, but where shall we go to-day?

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.

Thought I heard the thunder rumbling5 in the sky;

20 It was Hitler over Europe saying: “They must die;”

O we were in his mind, my dear, O we were in his mind.

Saw a poodle6 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 Went down the harbour and stood upon the quay7,

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:

30 They weren’ t the human race, my dear, they weren’t the human race.

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.

Stood on a great plain in the falling snow;

35 Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro9;

Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me.

Who does us refer to?

it refers to…

can’t do that stands for…

they are…

What is the speaker’s attitude?

They refers to…

Whose mind?

Who Saw a poodle?

Who are the German Jewsin the poem?

They refers to…

1. holes, here ‘small, unpleasant houses/rooms’ (tuguri).2. yew, a type of tree (tasso).3. anew, literary for ‘again’.4. banged, banged his fist on the table (batté il pugno sul tavolo).5. 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 theirgoods (banchina).8. at their ease, relaxed and freely (con gioia e liberamente).9. to and fro, from place to place (avanti e indietro).

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2 Each stanza of Auden’s poem highlights one aspect of the refugees’ misery and presentsus 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?

STUDY BOX Responses from the Mid-Century

CHECK... 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 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.

Human Nature 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.

A Child’s View 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.

➔

▼

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Choices In Going Back, PenelopeLively deals with the delicateissue of choice regardingwhether or not to adopt apacifist stance in spite of thestate of war and in spite of theweight of public opinion. GoingBack presents us with a many-sided view of the issue and asksquestions about how real thechoice actually is.

Refugee Blues by W. H.Auden deals with one aspect ofthe plight of the Jews, that is tosay the misery of the refugees.The Jews were the people inWorld War II left with no choices– their fate was in the hands of amaniac. If they fled, their fatewas in the hands of the countriesin which they arrived. Audenvividly shows through simpleexamples and language, how thislack of choice and lack ofidentity left Jews in desperateand depressing situations.

BIOGRAPHIES

KEITH DOUGLAS (1920-44)

K 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.

ADRIAN HENRI (1932-2000)

Apoet-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.

Ben Shahn, This is Nazi Brutality, Stanford University, Hoover InstitutionArchives, 1942. Printed by the Government Printing Office for theOffice of War Information.

The Czech village of Lidice was destroyed by the Nazis in retaliationfor 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.

▼ ▼

▼Le

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do A

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PENELOPE LIVELY (b. 1933)

Novelist 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.

W. H. AUDEN (1907-73)

Educated 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).

The Second Half of the 20th CenturyO B J E C T I V E S

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, theAmerican public was ready to be convinced about any action the US

decided to take in countries where communism had a firm hold. In Vietnam, theNorth of the country was under communist control. The South was under theregime of Ngo Dinh Diem who was supported by the US. Through falsepropaganda, the US brought people to believe that South Vietnam was at risk ofinvasion from the North. South Vietnam needed US assistance and PresidentEisenhower moved in battalions of US marines in 1965. The Vietnam War hadbegun. 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 theGovernment began drafting soldiers. Many young people were outraged, theyprotested for peace and some fled to Canada to avoid being called up.Of those who fought, many died and those who returned – Vietnam WarVeterans – many were physically and mentally scarred for life.

STEP Three

Effig

ieEf

figie

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TH E M E: WAR

42

BOB DYLAN (b. 1941) ➔ BIOG RAPHY, p . 46

masters of war (1963)

One popular form of protest was through music and the 1960s in the US gave rise tosome of the greatest folk, ballad, blues and protest songwriters ever. Bob Dylan was oneof the foremost exponents.

1 Read the extract from his song, masters of war, on the opposite page and say who youthink the “masters” are.

■■ members of the government ■■ generals and commanders of the forces

■■ industrial giants ■■ members of the secret services such as the CIA

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Images of the Vietnam War.M

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43

masters of war

come you masters of war

you that build the big guns

you that build the death planes

you that build all the bombs

5 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?

you that never done nothing1

10 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

15 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

20 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

25 you fasten all the triggers6

for the others to fire the others are probably…

and then you sit back and watch

when the deathcount gets higher

you that hide in your mansion What kind of a house is a mansion?

30 as young people’s blood

flows out of their bodies

and is buried in the mud

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, whodoes 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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TH E M E: WAR

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ALICE WALKER (b. 1944) ➔ BIOG RAPHY, p . 46

By the Light of My Father’sSmile (1998)

You are now going to read an extract concerningVietnam from a very recent novel by an AfricanAmerican writer.

1 Before you read the extract, look at this brief storysummary and say who the main characters are.

s u m m a r y

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?

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

out of Nam2 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.

10 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

1. swathed, wrapped (fasciato).2. Nam, abbreviation for Vietnam.3. wire, thin piece of metal (fil di ferro).4. swoozy, a smell which makes you think of alcohol and

drunkenness (odore di alito da alcolizzato).5. driving cattle, moving herds of cows from one place to another(spostare mandrie di bestiame).

it refers to...

this country refers to...

her refers to...

Bal

lant

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Boo

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ork,

199

8

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45

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

20 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 Reagan7, 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

30 and his race.

I had begun to cry.

Whatsa matter? he asked drunkenly.

And before I could reply, he started to snore.

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 warhas had on Mannie?

c What can you understand about Mannie’s feelings about his experience in Vietnam? Are theystraightforward or complex and contradictory?

4 Focus on Magdalena. How would you describe her feelings about the war? Choose fromthe options below and justify your choice(s).

■■ curious ■■ excited ■■ upset ■■ frightened ■■ indifferent

STUDY BOX Responses from the Second Half of the 20th Century

CHECK… Return to the table that you copied into your notebook ( p. 29). Make moretables for your findings concerning the works in Step Three.

…AND LEARN The final part of our research into changing and shifting themes hasconcerned the second part of the 20th century and one of its most infamouswars. The Vietnam War was a TV war, a war of misinformation, of drug-crazedsoldiers terrified and fighting to survive in a place they should never have beensent. As the historical and social context shifts, we can see how the responsibilityfor 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 mostrandotutti i denti).9. Caspar Weinberger, US Secretary of Defense (1981-89).

10. Kissinger, (Henry) President Nixon’s Security Assistant and laterSecretary of State.11. crippled, disabled (storpio).12. shuffled forward, moved without lifting his feet in short paces(avanzò strisciando i piedi per terra).

there refers to...

her refers to...

Which race?

▼

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TH E M E: WAR

46

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)

Born 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.

ALICE WALKER (b. 1944)

Novelist, 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).


C. R

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▼ ▼

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M2 • WAR: R E S P O N S I B I LIT Y AN D C H O I C E

APPLYING WHAT YOU KNOW

GIVING AN ORAL REPORT

The findings you have collected provide you with a useful analysis of specific themesacross a period in history, in this case, the 20th century. You are going to use yourfindings 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 coherentgroup. You may choose as few as three works or as many as you need. You may want to use worksfrom 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 timeline, a graphic organiser or a spidergram. It is important that the organisation reflects the order ofyour talk.

c Think about how you might make your materials more interesting and coherent. You can usecolour, 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.

➔

Assignment

NES oral

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FILM MUSIC VISUAL ART

In M2 you have read a poem by Adrian Henri called Autobiography ( p. 33). The linesgive 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, Germanplanes bombed cities like London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Cardiff. The bombing raids onLondon brought death and destruction to the capital. The population lacked proper airraid shelters and people sheltered in underground stations, as the photo in black andwhite on the opposite page shows.

➔

VISUAL ART

Beyond Literature

PLATFORM SCENE (1941)

Henry Moore, pen and ink, watercolour and chalk, 27.9 x 22.2 cm.,Much Hadam Herts, The Henry Moore Foundation.

Hen

ry M

oore

Fou

ndat

ion

( p. 34)➔

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Artists were employed by the State to record the fighting at the front or the civilianexperience of war. As an Official War Artist, Henry Moore filled sketchbooks withdrawings 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 thecivilians was like in Great Britain during World War II, but they render it in a different wayand 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 imaginarydiagonal line from bottom left to top right.

2 What effect does this composition produce?How different is the setting from that of thephotograph?

b Consider the sheltering people in the drawingand in the photo. Can you identify at least onedissimilarity between them?

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 wordsgiven in jumbled order.

brownish individuality beingsdepth faces

Moore has increased the 1) .................... of thetunnel which seems to have no ending. Thesheltering people have lost their 2) ................... .With a few exceptions it is not easy todistinguish male from female 3) ................... ;children from grown-ups and 4) ................... lookalmost all alike. Clothes which add toindividuality have disappeared too; humanbeings are lying in the passage way wrapped inblankets.The blankets are all 5) ................... apartfrom the two red ones in the foreground.

People sheltering in the passageways of the London Underground.

VISUAL ART

Henry Moore, Sleeping Child Covered with Blanket, London, Henry Moore Foundation, 1941.

The children look as if they really are asleep. Henry Moore Foundation

Wayland, 1990

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b The following statements suggest the reason/s why Moore has made such changes. Read themand 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, likespace and line.Consider how Moore has overcome the flatness of the actual surface he worked uponand 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 expressfeelings.

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 doesMoore’s work you have just analysed. The poet experienced the German raids on thetown 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)

Henry 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.

BEYOND LITERATURE

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Personal FileThe Personal File consists of several sections students can use to meettheir 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 internalcertification are objective and self-assessed. Those for the Nuovo Esamedi Stato (NES) are of various kinds and more complex.

Keys for self-correction are on pp. 63-64.

The Thematic Approach to Text

■ THE THEMATIC APPROACH means studying and analysing texts according totheir themes. It can be within one genre or across genres (looking at one thematicarea in texts from fiction, poetry and drama), at one specific moment in time (lookingat differences and similarities in treatment of theme synchronically as in M1), or acrossperiods (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 theauthor’s message which is the very motivating force behind writing – you ask what theauthor really wants to say, how s/he goes about saying it and how and why that differsfrom or reflects another author’s view of a similar issue.The thematic approach often combines with the contextual or historical approachwhich means finding out what the information you can gather concerning context cando to help in your deeper understanding of a text. This contextual information canconcern the historical period in which a work was written, biographical informationabout the author, information about the socio-cultural context and information whichplaces a work in a wider context than the purely national or literary one.

M1M2

Q U I C K R E F E R E N C E

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Q U I C KR E F E R E N C E

The Diachronic Thematic Approach.War: Responsibility and Choice

One approach to theme can be to see how specific messages concerning a common themechange and develop over a period of time – for example: how do various poets’ andnovelists’ 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 alteringhuman behaviour. The young soldier seems upset and baffled about what has occurredand 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 incompetenceof commanders and assigns much of the responsibility to them.

■ THE SECOND WORLD WAR In the poem Vergissmeinnicht, Douglas clearly blamesthe inner nature of man. In Autobiography Adrian Henri highlights the responsibilitiesof those back home to maintain and reinforce community and patriotic feelings to renderthe war bearable, even pleasurable. In Going Back Penelope Lively deals with thedelicate 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 nochoices. Auden shows how this lack of choice and lack of identity left Jews in desperateand depressing situations.

■ THE VIETNAM WAR In his protest song masters of war, Bob Dylan assigns blame to allthe administrators to whom the war was useful – politicians and their secret services and theindustrial giants making money out of the arms race. Alice Walker brings home to us theconsequences of war in her novel By the Light of My Father’s Smile and makes us thinkabout its long-term effects and what our responsibilities are concerning war veterans.

M2

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 andbulk of poetry produced at the time. The initial period of the war gave rise to patriotic poetryin which poets such as Rupert Brooke viewed war as a noble cause and death in war as aglorious end. The language of the poetry reflects its tone and is sweet and musical; imagery isidealized. As the war progressed, poets expressed their anger and disgust at the horrors oftrench warfare. One of the most outspoken voices was that of Siegfried Sassoon who wrotedirect and aggressive poems in colloquial language to express his disgust and to put over thetruth about war. By 1917, soldiers on all sides were becoming war-weary, their poetryexpressed feelings of frustration and futility or examined the human condition in a moredetached 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.

M1

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R E V I E WA N D

E X T E N S I O NModule 1Module 1

1 The statements below are all incomplete quotations from the texts and documents whichin Module 1 outline how war poetry evolved as the conflict was being fought. Complete thequotations, write down the title and the author of the corresponding text or document and addthe 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.

“Above all I am not (1) .......................................... with Poetry. My (2) .......................................... is war and the (3) .......................................... of War.”

“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?”

“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.”

“Isn’t this (1) .......................................... fighting (2) ..........................................?”

“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.”

“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.”

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) .......................................... .”

“I only wish I were (1) .......................................... enough to go with (2) ..........................................!”

➔ key, p. 63

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

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R E V I E WA N D

E X T E N S I O NModule 1

In 1917, while in Britain on sick leave, Sassoon posted an anti-war protest to his commanding officer toexplain his grounds for refusing to serve further in the army. The protest, which is an importantdocument if you want to understand the soldiers’ changing attitude to war, was read out in the House ofCommons on July 30, 1917 and printed in full in “The Times” the following day.

1 Read Sassoon’s declaration against war.

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)

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).

2 What is Sassoon’s attitude to his fellow soldiers?

3 Present the document to the teacher and to the class concentrating on the connectionsyou 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.

➔ key, p. 63

10

➔ key, p. 63

➔ key, p. 63

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R E V I E WA N D


1 Associate each of the following works with its author and the war it describes.

Works Authors WarsVergissmeinnicht Bob DylanAutobiography Keith DouglasThe Man He Killed Penelope Lively The Boer Warmasters of war Thomas Hardy The First World WarGoing Back Siegfried Sassoon The Second World WarThe General W. H. Auden The Vietnam WarRefugee Blues Adrian HenriBy the Light of My Father’s Smile Alice Walker

2 For each of the works you have listed above, say whether they deal with the theme ofresponsibility or choice and say in what way.

3 Read the following quotations from the works listed in activity 1 and say where they arefrom and what their significance is.

a) "... looking for German spies everywhereOh 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."

➔ key, p. 63

➔ key, p. 63

➔ key, p. 63

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R E V I E WA N D


You are going to read an extract from an autobiographical account of the youth of Vera Brittain, anEnglish 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.

1 Read the extract and say what the relationship is between Brittain and the soldier in theaccount.

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

1. I, it refers to Vera Brittain herself.2. at a standstill, held up (a un punto fermo).3. ablaze, under heavy fire (in fiamme).4. countered, opposed (contrastata).

5. pretence, false claim (finzione).6. Edward, Vera Brittain’s brother.7. thrusting, pushing forcefully (spingendo).8. glumly, in low spirits (tristemente).

➔ key, p. 63

10

20

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R E V I E WA N D


2 Review the subject matter of the extract by putting these events in the correctchronological 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.

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)

9. casualties, person killed or injured (vittime).10. clattering, resounding noise (bussare).

11. delphiniums, type of flowers, usually blue (delfini).

30

40

➔ key, p. 63

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R E V I E WA N D


3 An autobiography usually covers long periods in aperson’s life. In the extract you have read, just one week isdescribed in great detail.

a Why do you think Brittain chose to do that?

b Does this choice concerning the structure help reinforce hermessage in this section? Why/Why not?

c What does Brittain want her readers to know and to learnabout war?

4 Look in the text for evidence that Brittain is blaming someone or something for herbrother’s death.

a 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 towar?

➔ key, p. 63

➔ key, p. 63

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Vera Brittain (1893-1970), author of autobiography, poetry andfiction. During World War I she served as a Voluntary AidDetachment nurse, an experience which she recounted as part ofher autobiographical Testament of Youth, 1933.

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Women played an active role in World War I, as these posters show.

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59

INTERNAL CERTIFICATION

STEP One

1 For each quotation (A) reply to the questions which accompany it, then match it with theexpectation, feeling or attitude the lines express (B).

A B1 “If I should die, think only this of me” a) The speaker feels gratitude for the

Who does “I” refer to? generosity of his mother country.2 “There shall be / In that rich earth a richer dust b) The speaker loves his mother

concealed;” country.Why “richer”?

3 “Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,” c) The speaker expects to die at the front.What is the subject of “Gave”?

4 “And think, this heart, all evil shed away” d) Death in war is seen as a purifying Whose heart? experience.

5 “her sights and sounds;” dreams happy as her day;” e) The speaker is proud of being English What does “her” refer to? and sacrificing his life for his country.

STEP Two

1 The essay below is about the poem “They” by Sassoon. Complete it using the followingwords given in jumbled order.

landscape attack imaginary worse glorifying literal join first-hand irony wounds bitter counterpart boys confronted mutilations front Nashfigurative any poem Bishop

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).

Module 1G E T R E A DY

F O RT E ST I N G

➔ key, p. 64

*20

➔ key, p. 64

21

Write your score Band Action

49➔61 Go on

.................... / 61 34➔48 Review

0➔33 Repeat

* The numbers on the left indicate the maximum number of points for each exercise.

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60

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 Three

1 You have analysed the three texts listed below. Write the appropriate letter (a, b or c) nextto each question.

a) Returning, We Hear the Larks by Rosenbergb) Futility by Owenc) 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? ■■

NES (Nuovo Esame di Stato)

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 boysgive 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 Soldierby 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.

➔ key, p. 64

20

GET READY FOR TESTING

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Module 2G E T R E A DY

F O RT E ST I N G

INTERNAL CERTIFICATION

STEP One

1 Choose the best answer a, b or c. (➔ key, p. 64) *

1 The Boer War took place in:

■■a the last half of the 19th century

■■b the first half of the 20th century

■■c on the cusp of the 19th/20th centuries

2 the story of Thomas Hardy’s poem The Man He Killedis told in:

■■a a small English village

■■b a small South African village

■■c a small African bar

3 The soldier who speaks about the war through thepoem seems:

■■a disgusted and angry

■■b confident and blasé

■■c hesitant and traumatised

4 Hardy seems to blame the atrocities of war:

■■a on the soldiers of the British army

■■b on the people back home who don’t react

■■c on the strange effects of the state of war itself

5 Sassoon’s poem The General was written in:

■■a 1902

■■b 1917

■■c 1939

6 The people who comment in the poem are:

■■a the General and the poet

■■b two soldiers and the General

■■c two soldiers, the General and the poet

7 The tone used for Harry’s comment is:

■■a ironical

■■b humorous

■■c sentimental

8 Complete the final line of the poem: “But he did forthem both by…”

■■a his cheery goodbye

9

■■b his staff and his map

■■c his plan of attack

9 Sassoon assigns most of the blame for war’satrocities on:

■■a politicians

■■b commanders

■■c soldiers

STEP Two

1 Choose the best answer a, b or c. (➔ key, p. 64)

1 The Second World War raged in Europe:

■■a from 1914 to 1918

■■b from 1930 to 1945

■■c from 1939 to 1945

2 The term ‘axis powers’ refers to:

■■a Britain, France and Russia

■■b Germany, Italy and Japan

■■c The USA and Russia

3 Douglas’ poem’s title means:

■■a ‘the battle scene’

■■b ‘the photograph’

■■c ‘don’t forget me’

4 The two important and symbolic objects near thebody of the German soldier are:

■■a a photo and a gun

■■b a copybook and a tank

■■c a dead girl and some military equipment

5 In his poem Douglas contemplates:

■■a the sadness of the soldier’s girlfriend

■■b the lucky escape of the British soldiers

■■c man’s dual nature

6 Adrian Henry’s poem Autobiography contains:

■■a multiple references to wartime memories

■■b details of wartime atrocities

■■c details of the bombing of an air raid shelter

11

Write your score Band Action

19➔24 Go on

.................... / 24 14➔18 Review

0➔13 Repeat

* The numbers on the left indicate the maximum number of points for each exercise.

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NES (Nuovo Esame di Stato)

The Essay

1 Choose one of the following themes of war writing and discuss its interpretation in one ormore 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, thebelief in the superiority of a race, financial and economic motives, etc.

GET READY FOR TESTING

7 The child in the poem seems:

■■a excited and involved

■■b terrified and traumatised

■■c sad and tired

8 In the extracts read, Penelope Lively’s novel GoingBack deals with the issue of:

■■a evacuation and separation

■■b Jews in exile

■■c the pacifist stance

9 Lively presents a wide range of views on the issuemainly through:

■■a dialogue

■■b interior monologue

■■c description

10 W.H. Auden’s poem Refugee Blues highlights theplight of Jews in exile by:

■■a presenting us with a series of descriptive statements

■■b presenting us with a series of symbols

■■c presenting us with a series of contrastingstatements

11 Complete this line from the poem: “If you’ve got nopassport...”

■■a you must stay here

■■b you are officially dead

■■c you have no rights

STEP Three1 Choose the best answer a, b or c.

(➔ key, p. 64)

1 Bob Dylan’s protest song called masters of warcriticises and blames:

■■a the soldiers who enlisted

■■b the Vietnamese

■■c the ‘administrators’ of war, such as politicians andindustry

2 Alice Walker’s novel By the Light of My Father’s Smilefocuses on:

■■a the horrors of the life in Vietnam

■■b the plight of the veterans of the war

■■c the injuries of the soldiers

3 One of the main protagonists of the novel, Mannie,seems to:

■■a be critical of the care he received when injured andin hospital

■■b have contradictory feelings of pride and anger aboutthe war

■■c be unable to give up the life of a soldier

4 The main female character, Magdalena, seems:

■■a curious about but upset by the war

■■b angry and rebellious about the war

■■c indifferent about and disinterested in the war

4

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Module 11 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 IsaacRosenberg, stage b. / 4 1 worth, 2 for, from Your Country’sCall, a recruiting poster, Great Britain, stage a. / 5 1 hell, 2 front, 3 flooded, 4 octopus, 5 water, 6 drown, from WilfredOwen: Collected Letters by Wilfred Owen, stage b / 6 1 die, 2 foreign, 3 England, 4 gives, 5 peace, from The Soldier byRupert 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 recruitingposter, Great Britain, stage a.

Module 21 The Boer War: Thomas Hardy, The Man He Killed / The First

World War: Siegfried Sassoon, The General / The SecondWorld War: Keith Douglas, Vergissmeinnicht; W. H. Auden,Refugee Blues; Adrian Henri, Autobiography; PenelopeLively, Going Back / The Vietnam War: Bob Dylan, mastersof war; Alice Walker, By the Light of My Father’s Smile

2 The Man He Killed: responsibility (the state of war isresponsible for the men’s actions) / The General:responsibility (commanders are responsible for theatrocities of war) / Vergissmeinnicht: responsibility (man’sinner nature is responsible for the killing) / Refugee Blues:choice (the Jews in exile had few choices open to them) /Autobiography: responsibility (the responsibility of thoseback 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 bigbusiness) / 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 tobe busy and involved in the war spirit. / b) is from mastersof 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 toterms with his trauma. / c) is from Vergissmeinnicht. Theselines tell us how in each person we have many potentialfacets including the lover and the killer.

Module 11 a) Sassoon had become totally alienated from the war and

its aims: war had lost all positive or moral meaning: warhad become a criminal folly. / b) He was troubled by thesenseless continuation of the war. / c) He attacks thetactics of the ‘incompetent’ generals and the attitudes ofthose at home (ironmongers) who were ignorant of whatthe ordinary soldiers had to endure.

2 The poet feels very close to his fellow soldiers and is deeplymoved by the suffering and death he sees around him. In asense he feels responsible for them: since he is a poet andtherefore capable of expressing feelings and thoughtsclearly, he assumes the role of speaking against war intheir names.

3 The document has connections by contrast with Brooke’sThe Soldier (which conveys an idealised view of war) andseveral points of similarity with Sassoon’s poem “They”(which emphasises the contrast between those who sendthe 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 amischievous presence which can hide in the dark andstrike unexpectedly any time), with Owen’s Futility (whichexpresses the absurdity of war and the poet’s sadness atthe futile death of so many boys).

Module 21 the soldier is her brother

2 5 (June 16th), 1, 9, 6, 4 (June 17th/18th), 3, 7, 10, 8 (June24th?), 2

3 a) When a short period of time is described over many lineswe can read much more detail about events and feelingsthus the importance of the events and feelings areemphasised to the reader. / b) she certainly gives us aclear idea of what an important time this was for her, thather brother’s death affected her greatly. / c) that each setof numbers and statistics in reports and newspapers hidesinnumerable individual and personal tragedies as those leftbehind come to terms with the results of war.

4 a) She doesn’t assign blame. / b) She feels responsibility asa writer to let people know about the tragedies of war.

R E V I E WA N D

E X T E N S I O NKeys 1 Keys 1

R E V I E WA N D

E X T E N S I O N

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Module 1

STEP One1 “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 Two1 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 Three1 1b, 2a, 3c, 4b, 5c, 6a, 7c, 8b, 9b, 10a

Module 2

STEP One1 1c, 2a, 3c, 4c, 5b, 6c, 7a, 8c, 9b

STEP Two1 1c, 2b, 3c, 4a, 5c, 6a, 7a, 8c, 9a, 10c, 11b

STEP Three1 1c, 2b, 3b, 4a

Keys 11G E T R E A DY

F O RT E ST I N G

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Appendix

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Cross-curricular Cards

World War I (1914-18)

The early years of the 20th century were characterisedby a gradual realignment of the Powers which broughtBritain, France and Russia together in a Triple Ententeaimed at containing German expansion, while Germanyjoined with Austria and Italy in a Triple Alliance withdefensive purposes. No longer checked by the policy ofbalance of Bismarck, Europe was rapidly headingtowards war which was supported and welcomed by amilitaristic-minded European generation emotionallyprepared for what was regarded as an inevitable clash.

• Long-term causesThe long terms causes for the war are to be traced asfar 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 nationalisticaspirations.

• Immediate cause– the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand

at Sarajevo on 18 June 1914 by a Serbian nationalist.

• The outbreak of warAustria attacked Serbia. Serbia was backed by Russia whichaimed at gaining an outlet on the Mediterranean. Germanysided with Austria, backed by the declining Ottoman empirefighting for its survival. France joined the war to supportRussia, and the violation of Belgian neutrality on the part ofGermany brought Britain into the war. The local conflictsoon transformed into a world conflict, including thecolonies. When World War I broke out in 1914, it wasgenerally held that it would be brief and would notnecessitate mass mobilisation, but in the event it turned outto be a long and bitter struggle that lasted five years.

• The five years of war1914: After the shock assault of Germany on theWestern front, when Paris itself was threatened, theGermans were eventually stopped at the battle of the

Marne. In October 1914 the Western front had alreadystabilised along a double trench line running fromSwitzerland to the Channel and hardly moved in thenext three years. The Eastern Front, which ran throughthe heart of Poland, was more mobile and did not knowthe hell of trench warfare.1915: Italy left the Triple Alliance and entered the waron the side of the Allies, aiming to gain its lostterritories. Another front was set up in the northeastern part of Italy, the site of some of the mostbloody and decisive battles. The war changed from awar of movement to a war of position. 1916: a Russian counter-offensive pushed back theGermans on the Eastern front, but soldiers were killedby the thousands every hour on the Western front atSomme and Verdun.1917: Germans and Austrians regained their positionson the Eastern front, taking advantage of Russianinternal difficulties due to the Bolshevik revolution.Russia withdrew from the war. Another bitter defeat forthe Entente was on the Italian front at Caporetto, withthe withdrawal of the Italian front as far back as MountGrappa. Russian withdrawal, however, wascounterbalanced by the intervention of the US on theside of the Allies because its maritime economy wasseverely threatened by the extension of unrestrictedsubmarine warfare in the Atlantic on the part of theGermans. 1918: the US entry was decisive in ending the conflict.The war ended in 1918 with the defeat of Germany andthe collapse of the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires.

• Peace TreatiesBefore the end of the war, President Woodrow Wilsonhad issued his famous Fourteen Points on which peaceshould be negotiated. His main emphasis was on theright 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 criticismfor its alleged injustice and severity and is nowconsidered one of the main long-term causes of World War II.

HISTORY

1 How could you exploit the information as a background for an oral report about World War Iliterature?

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APPENDIX

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HISTORY World War II (1939-45)

The Versailles settlement after World War I, though veryunsatisfactory, held for almost ten years, but the beginningof the 1930s saw its total collapse. The world economiccrisis of 1929-33 with its ensuing mass unemployment ledto political unrest and hostility between the States. TheLeague of Nations revealed its weakness as an institution asit was unable to mantain peace in two major internationalcrises: the Japanese conquest of Manchuria in 1931-33 andMussolini’s conquest of Abyssinia in 1935.

• Long-term causesThe long-term causes of the war are to be traced backto the grievances unsolved by the Treaty of Versailles of1919 which resurfaced in the 1930s with Hitler’s policyof aggression and the weakness of the League ofNations. 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 expenseof 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 warAfter the invasion of Poland, the British and French firstissued an ultimatum and then declared war.

• The seven years of war1939: 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 theregular 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 suicideon 30 April.

– on the Pacific front atomic bombs dropped on theJapanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on theorders of President Truman.

• Peace TreatiesThe end of the war saw all the countries involveddestroyed morally and materially. Only the UnitedStates emerged from World War II as the mostpowerful 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 SovietUnion. As Winston Churchill – the British PrimeMinister 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 IIliterature?

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TH E M E: WAR

68

ITALIANLITERATURE

Italian Literary Views of the Great War:Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888-1970)

Giuseppe Ungaretti was one of the leading twentieth-century poets in Italy. At the outbreak of World War I heenlisted in the Italian army and served on the Isonzofront from 1915 until early 1918. In the spring, he wastransferred 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 trenchwarfare. The first ones appeared in Il porto sepolto(The Buried Port) in 1916 and were included in his firstcollection Allegria di naufragi (Gay Shipwrecks) in 1919.The poet gives a ‘truthful’ description of the trenchexperience, but at the same time goes beyond thatexperience to meditate on life.

1 Read the poems Veglia and Fratelli.

a What aspects of war do they concentrate on?

VegliaCima Quattro il 23dicembre 1915

Un’intera nottatabuttato vicinoa un compagnomassacrato

5 con la sua boccadigrignatavolta al pleniluniocon la congestionedelle sue mani

10 penetratanel mio silenzioho scrittolettere piene d’amore

Non sono mai stato15 tanto

attaccato alla vita

Vigil

A whole night long

crouched close

to one of our men

butchered

with his clenched

mouth

grinning at the full moon

with the congestion

of his hands

thrust right

into my silence

I’ve written

letters filled with love

I have never been

so

coupled to life

FratelliMariano il 15 luglio 1916

Di che reggimento sietefratelli?

Parola tremantenella notte

5 Foglia appena nata

Nell’aria spasimanteinvolontaria rivoltadell’uomo presente alla suafragilità

10 Fratelli

Brothers

What regiment d’you belong to

brothers?

Word shaking

in the night

Leaf barely born

In the simmering air

involuntary revolt

of the man present at his

brittleness

Brothers

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 thewords 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 ortwo English lines which in your view best render/s the Italian text.

Ungaretti’s poetry can be associated with the output of Sassoon ( p. 9), Rosenberg ( 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 poemsin the volume.

➔➔➔

b How does life appear in the light of war?

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