Exam Notes on Literature and War

Different Views on War

  • Initial excitement for war changed to doubt and disillusionment after the Battle of the Somme (1916).

  • Life in the trenches was brutal; soldiers' voices unheard by those at home.

  • War Poets:

    • Rupert Brooke

    • Wilfred Owen

    • Siegfried Sassoon

    • Isaac Rosenberg

  • Portrayed realistic warfare, shocking readers back home.

  • Moved away from 19th-century conventions to express the harsh realities of war vividly.

The Modern Novel

  • Transition from Victorian to Modern novels occurred after WWI, reflecting societal changes.

  • New literary role: mediating past values and the confused present.

  • Influential concepts:

    • William James: Continuous flow of experiences.

    • Henri Bergson: Distinction between historical (externally measured) and psychological (internally measured) time.

    • Freud's Theory: Unconsciousness affects personality, eliminating neat chronological plots.

  • New Narrative Techniques:

    • Shift from omniscient narrator to subjective portrayal of characters' thoughts:

    • Stream-of-consciousness

    • Interior monologue

    • Virginia Woolf: Focused on daily consciousness in nonlinear impressions.

  • Groups of Innovative Novelists:

    • Psychological Novelists: Focused on character minds (e.g., Joseph Conrad, D.H. Lawrence, E.M. Forster).

    • Modernist Novelists: Explored subjective thoughts (e.g., James Joyce, Virginia Woolf).

Modern Poetry

  • Pre-WWI Poetry: Divided between avant-garde and traditional Georgian poets.

  • War Poets: Created collective voice addressing the realities of war (e.g., Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen).

  • Imagism: Focused on clear imagery and rhythm, free from traditional constraints; proposed by Ezra Pound.

  • Symbolism Influence: Evoked emotions through dreams and associative language (e.g., W.B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot).

  • Modern poetry emphasized precision, individuality, and complexity.

Rupert Brooke

  • Biography: Born 1887, wealthy family, educated at Rugby and Cambridge, enlisted in Royal Navy.

  • Death: Died of septicaemia in 1915; buried on Skyros.

  • Work: Best-known for "1914 and Other Poems," idealizing war as noble and cleansing.

Wilfred Owen

  • Biography: Born 1893, worked as a teacher, enlisted in 1915 after witnessing wounded soldiers.

  • Experiences: Suffered from shell shock, met Sassoon at Craiglockhart War Hospital.

  • Death: Killed in action just before WWI's end.

  • Style: Graphically depicted war's horrors, used assonance and alliteration for emotional depth.

  • Famous Quote: "Poetry is about the pity of war, not glorification."