WW1 poetry and its history (5HV)
For this part of your exam, you will be examining various WW1 poems. It is your job to analyse and understand the meaning behind what the author of these poems initially meant when writing them.
Firstly, we will be looking at how to read and analyse a poem. Reading poems can be a scary thing for anybody, especially when they are not in your native language. The most important thing to remember when reading a poem is, that you WILL NOT understand every word the first time you read it through. DON'T FREAK OUT, there will be plently of time in class to prepare these poems while reading them through a second, third or fourth time if necessary.
Secondly, I would like to know if you know some basic information about WW1. Please go to the following link and answer the questions.
Thirdly, to better understand the types of questions you will be asked when analysing these poems you can refer to this document called 'exploding a poem'.
To give you some background information it is advisable that you watch the following videos.
1."COWARD" is a 28 minute film set during World War 1 that brings to light some of the brutal treatment soldiers received for suffering what would now be known as shell-shock. It follows two cousins, Andrew and James, from their home in Northern Ireland who join the British Army to fight for their Country and make their families proud. Through their eyes we see the reality of life on the front lines.
2. "Three World War 1 Poems" This video gives visual imagery to that of the soldiers who fought in WW1. Here you can find Dulce et Decorum Est & In Flanders' Fields, two of the eight poems you will be expected to understand for your individual oral in March.
3. "Suicide in the Trenches" by Siegried Sasson, this poet writes about a major theme of WW1. When you go to Ypres you will be able to walk through the trenches that the soldiers themselves had walked through. Here you will find information about these trenches and why soldiers dreaded 'living' in them, many having rather died than spending another day in the horrible conditions provided by these trenches.
4. Perhaps. A Poem written about the loss of a loved one. A viewpoint not seen within the rest of your poems. Listen as the poem is spoken out and think about the meaning behind Vera's message having found out her fiance was dead.
Written in 1919, this poem is dedicated to Vera Brittain's fiancé Roland Aubrey Leighton (1895-1915), killed at age 20 by a sniper. Vera Brittain (1893-1970) was 21 at the time of Leighton's death and had accepted his marriage proposal barely four months earlier.
5. When You See Millions of the Mouthless Dead by Charles Hamilton Sorely (1895-1915).
This difficult poem describes a dream encounter between the living and those killed in the First World War, attempting to instruct the reader that they should avoid pity or praise when speaking to the dead: they have been transformed by death into ghosts of the people they once were, and there can be no meaningful conversation between the two.
To understand these poems better it is advisable to watch the following series on netflix.
*As time progresses more videos will be added to this site in order for you to better understand the meaning behind the poems we will be analysing and discussing in class.
