Extract E, from 1914 by Rupert Brooke,
Extract D, from a letter by Heinrich Beutow, is an interesting piece- differing from the other two texts, in that it is written from the point of view of a German soldier. The piece is both typical and atypical of a World War One text- the view that the war was lasting ‘too long’ is a common one, and one echoed in Sassoon’s declaration; the focus on food also being a typical preoccupation, and one especially evident in soldiers’ letters, as censorship made talking about most other contextual details very difficult. In terms of wider literature, it is easy to see the elements in this letter that point towards the modernist flux at the end of the war- the perception of self, and the establishment of a personal reality being central to the movement. Going back to the role of food then, we can see a number of possible parallels in wider war literature- ‘Journey’s End’, for example, the 1928 play by R.C.Sheriff, has soldiers commonly using food as conversational fuel- and this implies a further role of food in the context of war literature; that of an equalizer. Hunger is relevant to all people, and so eating is part of what makes us human- that thing which links all people together, fundamentally. The literature of impassioned poets such as Sassoon can be difficult to relate to- food gives us a mundane key to unlocking our empathy with the experience of war. The Blackadder goes Forth script also uses food, in a humorous way; to highlight the horrible conditions involved in trench warfare- particularly when Baldric serves mud as a suitable alternative to coffee. Conversely, for a more chilling look at the role of food in wartime, we have Thomas Harris’ ‘Hannibal Rising’, which details the cannibalisation of a young German girl called Mischa by polish soldiers in the black forest. Here, in a subtle inversion, it is characters that we must relate to- as the grisly events are difficult to empathise with, on a non-visceral level. In terms of literary tone, the letter reminds us of the early modernists- Hermann Hesse being particularly relevant as an Austrian writer- hence, as Beutow, on the other side of the war. The parallel continues in ‘The Hard Passage’, which was coeval to the letter- and is a veiled attack on the conduct of war, using the allegory of a ‘Hard Passage’ through which one (a soldier) is forced to climb, away from light and life- gradually becoming what one is not. Beutow presents an equally bleak outlook- repeating twice that the war has gone on too long, before asserting that there is very little chance of winning it. Extract D might therefore be seen as typical in a number of ways, and atypical in others; in terms of subject matter and style it is typical, as it presents food using a style reminiscent of the modernist- yet it was written by an Austrian, in a social context entirely different to our own.
Extract C, Sassoon’s declaration, is a solid staple of war literature. Sassoon is typical of the ‘angry prophet’ stage of reaction to the war- and here, he moves out of poetry and tries to make a political difference with an ‘open letter’ style newspaper publication. Although the message is, in some respects, similar to that of the letter, the piece is still markedly different to the other two- in form and language use. The contrast between the two texts coeval to 1917 and the third text, titled and dated 1914, is shocking- ad acts as evidence of the changing attitude to the war, within only three years. Sassoon here rails against the ‘callous complacence’ of non-combatants- an idea which Pat Barker rejects in her semi-historical novel ‘Regeneration’. Through her portrayal of Sassoon and the people around him, Barker fights Sassoon’s heavy stereotyping of people on the home front, and women. In terms of its suggestion of corruption and the failings of the ‘war machinery’, links might be drawn with Ben Elton’s First Casualty- which interestingly follows the story of a conscientious objector forced to go to war. Elton’s Captain Shannon is an evil character, who represents the higher ranks of the army- his drinking and womanising (often bordering on rape) distances him from the audience. These two themes point towards an important social fact- within our society in 1914, there was a feeling of being united against a common enemy. by 1917, clearly, we can see the development of feelings of animosity between a number of different social groups- old and young, rich and poor, men and women, soldiers and objectors. These tensions are frequently the subject of war literature- and led, ultimately, to modern art and culture.
Add your comment
You need to login or signup to add your comment to this work.