- The poems “I Looked Up From My Writing,” “My Boy Jack,” “The Messages,” “August 1914,” and “For a Girl” all emphasize the distance and disconnect from the war. In reality, I think you could argue that most of these poems emphasize that, but I feel that these provide particular important perspectives. How do you begin to characterize the feelings towards the war in these poems? How does this distance change the way these poets relate to the war and to the people fighting in it?
- Charlotte Mew’s poem “May 1915” is maybe the one that has stuck with me the most. She repeats “sure” and “surely” several times as if to convince the reader, and perhaps herself, that pring will return and life itself will come back. In the most basic way possible: are you convinced? Or are the war and grief too blinding? Are we, as readers, supposed to feel optimistic at the final line of the poem?
- We’ve encountered patriotic characters in all of novels: the BF, Mrs. Evans-Mawnigton, Paul’s father, other soldiers, the General in Hemmingway. Most of the time, though, these characters are set in opposition to the protagonist and narrator; they are the ones blinded by nationalism and propaganda. This is perhaps the first time we’re getting patriotic writing from the author themselves. Particularly in Kipling’s poems (the same guy who wrote “White Man’s Burden”), we see the English nationalism come through. What is Kipling trying to suggest about patriotism and war? Do you feel that the tension between loss and duty in “My Boy Jack” supports or undermines this propaganda that Kipling puts forth?
Literature of the Great War
ENGL 348. Spring 2022. Dr. Scanlon.
