‘It is sweet and right to die for your country’

2. ‘It is sweet and right to die for your country’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMRhZF3FaNs As you watch the clip, think about this statement and these questions: • Is there honour in what they are doing? • Why are they there in the first place? • Are they heroes?

3. Why fight?

4. So, have attitudes towards war changed? Are they more realistic? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZaWvE0xiB8

5. Wilfred Owen From the age of nineteen Owen wanted to be a poet and immersed himself in poetry, being especially impressed by Keats and Shelley. He wrote almost no poetry of importance until he saw action in France in 1917. From 1913 to 1915 he worked as a language tutor in France.  He felt pressured by the propaganda to become a soldier and volunteered on 21st October 1915. He spent the last day of 1916 in a tent in France joining the Second Manchesters. He was full of boyish high spirits at being a soldier.  Within a week he had been transported to the front line in a cattle wagon and was "sleeping" 70 or 80 yards from a heavy gun which fired every minute or so. He was soon wading miles along trenches two feet deep in water. Within a few days he was experiencing gas attacks and was horrified by the stench of the rotting dead; his sentry was blinded, his company then slept out in deep snow and intense frost till the end of January. That month was a profound shock for him: he now understood the meaning of war. "The people of England needn't hope. They must agitate," he wrote home. He escaped bullets until the last week of the war, but he saw a good deal of front-line action: he was blown up, concussed and suffered shell-shock. He was sent back to the trenches in September, 1918 and in October won the Military Cross by seizing a German machine-gun and using it to kill a number of Germans.  On 4th November he was shot and killed near the village of Ors. The news of his death reached his parents home as the Armistice bells were ringing on 11 November. 

6. Is this right? • With mustard gas the effects did not become apparent for up to twelve hours. But then it began to rot the body, inside and out. • The skin blistered, the eyes became extremely painful and nausea and vomiting began. • Worse, the gas attacked the bronchial tubes, stripping off the mucus membrane. • The pain was almost beyond endurance and most victims had to be strapped to their beds. • Death took up to four or five weeks.

7. Today we are: • Listening to ‘And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda’, a song which accounts the true horror of war and illustrates that the soldiers’ belief that they would return home heroes and live out the rest of their lives in glory which was not the reality. • Reading a Listener article about Wilfred Owen and thinking about what his purpose was in writing his anti-war poetry, and in particular, ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ • Paraphrasing the poem – it is a narrative which means that it tells a story. What is the story? Write it in your own words. • Answering some initial close reading questions.

8. Shane McGowan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPFjToKuZQM

9. Wilfred Owen Read the article and make notes on what Owen intended his poems to do. What was their purpose? Use quotes to support your ideas. • To warn young people about the reality of war – not to believe the hype • To speak truth when ‘the truth’ was rarelygiven • Provide truthful and accurate accounts of what he and the other soldiers went through

10. CloseReading Questions: 1. What is the condition of the men as described in stanza 1? 2. What happens to the man in stanza 2? 3. What effects on the reader do you suppose the poet had for his description of the man in stanzas 2-4? 4. Why do you suppose the speaker doesn’t tell the reader where he is or why? 5. How would you describe the speaker’s attitude towards what has happened? 6. Why does the speaker call the Latin expression a ‘Lie’?

11. Jessie Pope The Call Who's for the trench--Are you, my laddie?Who'll follow French--Will you, my laddie?Who's fretting to begin,Who's going out to win?And who wants to save his skin--Do you, my laddie? Who's for the khaki suit--Are you, my laddie?Who longs to charge and shoot--Do you, my laddie?Who's keen on getting fit,Who means to show his grit,And who'd rather wait a bit--Would you, my laddie? Who'll earn the Empire's thanks--Will you, my laddie?Who'll swell the victor's ranks--Will you, my laddie?When that procession comes,Banners and rolling drums--Who'll stand and bite his thumbs--Will you, my laddie?

12. Subject and theme As his illustration of the reality of war, Owen describes an incident of exhausted soldiers trudging through the mud of the battlefield. They are leaving the front line in order to rest for a few days in a safer place. However, the group is attacked by mustard gas. This contains a substance which reacts with water in the lungs to form a corrosive chemical which destroys the lungs. One soldier is too late putting on his mask. Owen describes the symptoms shown by this man as the poison slowly kills him. The theme of ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ is that there is neither dignity in war, nor honour in fighting for your country. Instead there is tragedy, futility and waste of human life. Owen fought in some of the major battles of WW1 and the reality and horror of war shocked him. In the face of terrible suffering he saw around him, it was no longer possible to pretend warfare was adventurous and heroic. Instead Owen recorded how shocking modern warfare was and he sought to describe accurately what the conditions were like for soldiers at the front. Owen’s objective was to tell people who were not in the midst of fighting, specifically those who were back home in England, the reality and misery of war. He also wanted them to stop telling future generations the “old lie” that “it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country”

13. Structure There are 4 stanzas (verses) • the first one has 8 lines. • the second has 6 lines. • the third has 2 lines. • the fourth has 12 lines. Rhythm – the poem is written generally in iambic pentameter. This is when each line consists of 10 syllables, 5 unstressed and 5 unstressed. • Most poets will introduce some changes to the metric structure to avoid the rhythm becoming monotonous, but Owen breaks up the rhythm to the point of sabotaging it. • Can you identify where the metre becomes most broken up? • In the description of the gas attack: • “Gas! Gas! Quick boys! – an ecstasy of fumbling, “As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.” These two breaks act to convey the sense of panic and helplessness. • The last two lines – Owen leaves out iambic pentameter completely, as if he feels it is not worth making an effort to place the words he hates within the proper structure of the poem – emphasises his disgust at the common misconception.

14. Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,Till on the haunting flares we turned our backsAnd towards our distant rest began to trudge.Men marched asleep. Many had lost their bootsBut limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hootsOf disappointed shells that dropped behind.GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;But someone still was yelling out and stumblingAnd floundering like a man in fire or lime.--Dim, through the misty panes and thick green lightAs under a green sea, I saw him drowning.In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams you too could paceBehind the wagon that we flung him in,And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;If you could hear, at every jolt, the bloodCome gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cudOf vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,--My friend, you would not tell with such high zestTo children ardent for some desperate glory,The old Lie: Dulce et decorum estPro patria mori. Rhyme structure: • The rhyming scheme is conventional: • Uses full rhymes eg sacks/backs. sludge/trudge • Alternate rhymes in groups of 4: • ABAB CDCD EFEF etc but these are broken up into irregular length stanzas i.e. not 4 lines each.

15. Imagery ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ is structured around 3 powerful and disturbing images. 1st stanza: a group of soldiers moves through no-man’s land in an attempt to get back to the relative safety of the trenches. Owen wants us to imagine what it was like in these trenches; to see the detail. What were some of the words Owen used to describe the condition of the men? 2nd stanza: The second image is more dramatic. The men are suddenly under attackand one fails to put his gas mask on in time. The last two lines of this stanza change pace again – they have an almost dreamlike quality as the poet watches from behind the mask. 4th stanza: The dream quality gives way to a harrowing picture of the dying man as he is ‘flung’ on a wagon filled with the bodies of dead soldiers.

16. Tone: (Speaker’s attitude towards the subject matter) The tone of the poem is very harsh, angry and cynical which is conveyed through diction (choice of words) • Owen gives us graphic descriptions, speaking in a very direct and straightforward way, using words that convey ugliness, fear, and pain, eg: “coughing like hags”, “cursed through sludge”, “guttering, choking, drowning”, “white eyes writhing” ... • Owen is not afraid to show his own feelings through the use of emotive words such as ‘cursed’, ‘obscene’, ‘bitter’, ‘vile’. • The end of the poem conveys a desperate tone, Owen pleads with us to acknowledge what has happened to many men like those described. He wants those at home to understand the awful reality.

17. The New Beetle. Simply unforgettable.

18. Annotation Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,  Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,  Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs  And towards our distant rest began to trudge.  Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots  But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;  Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots  Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind. A group of soldiers are returning to their base after fighting at the front. They are exhausted and in desperate need of rest. Most have been injured, and many have lost crucial gear such as boots which makes their situation even more bleak. The war is still going on behind them, but they are so exhausted that they are oblivious to the danger.

19. Annotation Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,  Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,  Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs  And towards our distant rest began to trudge.  Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots  But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;  Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots  Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind. Alliteration: • Emphasises the tiredness of the soldiers as they walk through the sludge • Gives the poem a slow and heavy rhythm. • Also adds to the insistent tone of the poem. Owen is saying, “Hey! Look! I want you to look at this and remember!” He hammers home his point, so that it is impossible to not engage with what he is saying.

20. Annotation Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,  Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,  Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs  And towards our distant rest began to trudge.  Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots  But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;  Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hootsOf tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind. • Simile: The soldiers are likened to old, crippled, ugly beings. This contrasts with the fact that so many of those who fought in WW1 were very young, and it also contrasts with the pictures of the handsome, tall soldiers so often used in propaganda. • Hyperbole: Emphasises the severity of the soldier’s injuries, and therefore the bleakness of the situation. • Sensory Imagery Asleep, drunk with fatigue, deaf to noise around them – emphasises the miserable state the soldiers are in. They’re so exhausted that they don’t even notice what is happening around them. It is like they’re in their own world. Makes the next event more shocking – the men are caught unprepared and not in the right state of mind or body.

21. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/

22. Gas! GAS! Quick boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime… Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, - My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori. A simile used to express the burning, blistering effect and pain caused by the mustard gas. The thick, greenish glass of the mask, and the greenish fumes of the gas made speaker feel that he is viewing an underwater scene and refers to the effect of the gas. A very ironic simile. Sin to a devil is the be all and end all of existence. If a devil becomes sick of sin, he is effectively questioning everything that has so far been seen of value, and his face shows the extent of his disillusionment as he realises his sacrifice has been for nothing.

23. Alfred, Lord Tennyson1809-1892 This poem was written to memorialize a suicidal charge by light cavalry over open terrain by British forces in the Battle of Balaclava (Ukraine) in the Crimean War (1854-56). 247 men of the 637 in the charge were killed or wounded. Britain entered the war, which was fought by Russia against Turkey, Britain and France, because Russia sought to control the Dardanelles. Russian control of the Dardanelles threatened British sea routes. Many in the west best know of this war today because of Florence Nightingale, who trained and led nurses aiding the wounded during the war in a manner innovative for those times. The War was also noteworthy as an early example of the work of modern war correspondents.

24. Attitude to war: 1. War as glorious – an opportunity for heroism and winning honour. 2. Concentrates on one moment of colourful action. 3. Death dramatic and heroic 4. Need for self-sacrifice accepted 5. Authority unquestioned – obeyed unconditionally

25. Ways of communicating attitudes: 1. tone dramatic and rhetorical, with a strong marching rhythm 2. Speaker is an admiring observer 3. Deals with group action and glosses over the details of means of death 4. Those responsible are remote figures – not clearly identified 5. Addresses question to reader in final stanza, but takes (positive) answer for granted.

26. Annotation ‘Valley of Death’ refers to Psalm 32: faith makes people brave when faced with death. Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. 'Forward the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!' he said: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. The beginning lines throw the reader into the centre of the action – both in description, and in its galloping rhythm, towards battle. The command to charge forward was attributed to Lord Nolan. By changing the speaker to an anonymous “he” – the focus of the poem shifts away from individual actions and decisions, and onto the roles played by leaders in military situations everywhere.

27. By raising this issue as a question and then answering no, Tennyson gives the reader time to let the full extent of the soldiers’ bravery sink in. The command sends the Light brigade to their doom is repeated. Makes the reader wonder if any of the soldiers were fearful upon hearing the command. 'Forward, the Light Brigade!'Was there a man dismayed?Not though the soldier knewSome one had blundered:Theirs not to make reply,Theirs not to reason why,Theirs but to do and die:Into the valley of DeathRode the six hundred Lines 13 – 15, repeat each other, they phrase the rules the soldiers live by. The style suggests the regimented way the members of the LB think as the ride ahead. Strong repetition is to drown out concerns about the blunder. Lines 11 and 12 tell the reader that every member of the Brigade knew that the order was a mistake. Says that the soldiers are supposed to die – T makes it clear that this is the belief of the charging soldiers, for whom such a fate would be the ultimate expression of loyalty.

28. First 3 lines identical, changing only the location of the cannons, presenting the layout of the battlefield visually. By repeating the phrase 3 times, the reader is not only given info about the tremendous odds against the LB, but the poem gives the feeling of being surrounded. Cannon to right of them,Cannon to left of themCannon in front of themVolleyed and thundered;Stormed at with shot and shell,Boldly they rode and well,Into the jaws of Death,Into the mouth of HellRode the six hundred. ‘Stormed’ extends the image of ‘thundered’, making the cannon fire appear almost like a force of nature. Line 23 makes a point of mentioning that the soldiers were brave, but also that they rode their horses well. Their skill is mentioned almost as an afterthought though – poem makes its reader analyse the battle almost entirely in terms of attitude, not ability. Expands the phrase that was used to end the 1st two stanzas – ‘jaws of death’, and extends this metaphor with ‘mouth of hell’. Treating death as the same things as hell, heightens the viciousness of death on the battlefield.

29. This stanza celebrates the LB’s control over the battle at its beginning. They ride into the enemy, and are able to break through the front line of defence. Flashed all their sabres bare,Flashed as they turned in airSabring the gunners there,Charging an army, whileAll the world wondered:Plunged in the battery-smokeRight through the line they broke;Cossack and RussianReeled from the sabre-strokeShattered and sundered.Then they rode back, but notNot the six hundred. Sending a cavalry unit into the confined space of a valley against guns was so obviously hopeless. This is referred to in this line. The Cossacks and Russians, find their defensive line torn apart and have to retreat, with the 600 cavalry members continue to press forward bravely.

30. The first 5 lines override any optimism the reader may have gotten form the LB’s initial success. By repeating the same lines from stanza 3, the poem takes the reader back to the same sense of hopelessness that was established before the battle began. The brief victory that was gained in the 4th stanza has made no difference to the overall success of the battle. Cannon to right of them,Cannon to left of them,Cannon behind themVolleyed and thundered;Stormed at with shot and shell,While horse and hero fell,They that had fought so wellCame through the jaws of Death,Back from the mouth of Hell,All that was left of them,Left of six hundred The group went into hell and back again – alludes to mythology, therefore the survivors are raised to heroic status.

31. In using ‘wild’ to describe the charge, it is implied that thoughtless bravery is to be admired, regardless of concerns about strategy or success. The focus of the poem shifts in this stanza, from describing the battle scene to addressing the reader directly. When can their glory fade?O the wild charge they made!All the world wondered.Honour the charge they made!Honour the Light Brigade,Noble six hundred! Imperatives – the reader is instructed to honour these soldiers. Repeated line – adds to the idea that what the soldiers have done goes beyond the average person’s comprehension: the soldiers are following rules that those who rely on intellect over loyalty might not understand. Because the poem is so straightforward in its message, it is an indicator that it was written for a common, often uneducated, audience, to celebrate the actions of common soldiers who understood what they were being asked to do, and in doing so, made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.They are heroes and should be honoured.

32. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXzCOlPHFmc