English Lit class, last lesson ............ really going to miss you guys :(

A Sense Of Place - creative writing assignment

Imagine, if you can, a place where everyone is friendly, happy and approachable, everyone knows each other and no man is looked at with the eyes of suspicion if he says “Hello” to a child. Three cars parked on the street look almost alien.

The houses are set out in five simple rows of twenty dwellings, each row evenly spaced resembling parading soldiers. The view itself is drab and dreary but the lives behind this façade are far from dull. Every house is physically identical except for the little touches of individuality stamped on them by house-proud women - pretty curtains or flowers in pots in the little backyards. The houses are plain but warmth and life emanates from each one giving the whole estate an inviting glow.

Every morning twenty doors open almost simultaneously and out of each one steps the man of the house clad in flat cap and heavy boots. They fall into place as if marching into battle. The women stay at home and get the kids off to school then undertake the daily chores before ensuring a hot meal is on the table when their provider and protector returns home.  

Every hour throughout the day a low hum that ascends into a deafening roar attempts, unsuccessfully, to interfere with neighbourly chats or afternoon naps had by mums and babies who have long been accustomed to the racket of the pit train. It rumbles past, barely twenty feet from the closest dwelling, carrying its precious load of freshly mined coal that glints like glass in the sun.

A woman stands in her backyard chatting to the lady next door, they talk about Saturday nights down at the bingo, the only night when they are released from their duties and are allowed to be women, not just mums. During the whole conversation her curled bottom lip manages to keep hold of the cigarette that seems to be a physical extension of her. No matter how much she chats, moves or shouts at the kids it refuses to release its bond. An endless curl of smoke claws its way forever upwards as if attempting to reach the fresher air above.

In the street, snotty nosed children run round entertaining themselves with the only toy known to them, their imagination! No electricity or batteries are needed for their amusement (with the exception of ‘Simple Simon’ whose creativity with a piece of copper wire and a battery should one day secure him a decent career as a sparky). Squeals of excitement can be heard as an old brass button is found in the rubble of the derelict houses on the next block, the victorious treasure hunter believing it to be solid gold.

These once loved homes now provide an elaborate playground. Fun is found in the secret hiding places created by fallen rubble and broken glass which has long since been evicted from rotten, ancient frames. Roof slates decorate the place where a bright yellow swing set once stood, creating deadly missiles for the neighbourhood children’s rough but fun games. Buildings now stand bald, naked and vulnerable to the weather. The walls that were once lovingly covered with bright, inviting wallpaper are now a magical kaleidoscope of colours and patterns created by seeping, dripping rain water.

This was the early 1980’s in a pit village called Thrybergh. My happiest memories were born here amongst the rubble and cigarette smoke. The rumble of the pit train was my bedtime lullaby.  It was a happy, warm, secure place to be.

When I was seven years old giant yellow machines with iron fists beat the houses to a mountain of rubble, all that remains today is an empty scrap of land that betrays the memories of the place it used to be.

There is never any doubt that Macbeth was bludgeoned into the deed by Lady Macbeth - Discuss

Shakespeare’s Macbeth (2009 [1606]) is a tale of ambition, honour, regicide and remorse. The essay title suggests that Lady Macbeth was responsible for Duncan’s death; however, I intend to explore other theories and produce evidence in order to conclude who was responsible for the murder of a king: Were Lady Macbeth’s powers of rhetorical speech to blame? Did Macbeth’s ambition drive him to commit regicide?  Were The Witches supernatural powers responsible?

The fact the play was written for James I is evident in Shakespeare’s desire for the audience to have pathos with the male protagonist and perceive the females as villains, he clearly intended to portray Macbeth favourably. James was known to have “great contempt for women” (Fraser, 1993 [1975], p220)

Witchcraft at the time of writing was a very topical subject. James I had a particular interest in witches and wrote a book entitled “Deamonologie” in 1597. Allegedly a coven of witches attempted to sink a ship on which he was sailing (Sigmund, 1979, p4). Given the intended audience, witches being responsible for regicide would ensure James’ pathos with Macbeth; just to be sure Shakespeare includes a reference to a sailor in a witch’s scene (I.3.3-24).

We hear of Macbeth’s qualities well before his entrance. He is described as “brave” (I.2.16), “worthy” (I.2.24) and “noble” (I.2.67). The captain gives explicit details about Macbeth’s role in the victory (I.2.16-23) to present Macbeth as a mighty warrior. Without this initial, favourable, image of Macbeth we would simply see him as a cold, callous murderer as Duncan is murdered very early in the play – we cannot condemn someone we have been led to admire!

Macbeth enters the play at (I.3.36) and converses with the witches who greet him with life changing prophecies. By line 116, the seeds of conspiracy are already sown “The greatest is behind” (I.3.116). He courts Banquo’s thoughts, enquiring if he is having similar thoughts “Do you not hope your children shall be Kings” (I.3.117). According to Holinshed’s Chronicles, Banquo was an accomplice in Duncan’s murder; however as James was Banquo’s descendant this would have been ill received.

Macbeth is troubled by the prophecies. In his aside he speaks of thoughts which “make my seated heart knock at my ribs” (I.3.135). He appears to succumb to reason when he states “If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me: Without my stir.” (I.3.142-143). However, he writes to Lady Macbeth describing the prophecies – does he anticipate her ruthlessness? Did he expect Banquo to be more enthused? This suggests he knew he would be incapable of acting alone.

The point that Macbeth is essentially a good man is played on throughout by attacks of guilt and insomnia. Insomnia is mentioned immediately after the murder “Macbeth shall sleep no more” (II.2.46). Shakespeare wants us to perceive Macbeth as a tragic hero, not a cold blooded killer. In another aside he says “Stars hide your fires, Let not light see my black and deep desires” (I.5.50-51) demonstrating his shame. His soliloquy before the murder (I.7.1–28) shows he is aware murdering Duncan is wrong and he talks of consequences in the afterlife:

“Might be the be all and end all – here,

But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,

We’d jump the life to come. But in these cases,

We still have judgement here that we but teach

Bloody instructions, which being taught, return

To plague th’inventor” (I.7.5-10)

In 1606 people believed strongly in receiving penance for their sins in the afterlife. Macbeth acknowledges Duncan’s endearing qualities and uses alliteration to liken his innocence to that of a “naked, newborn babe” (I.7.21). Hyperbole emphasises Duncan’s goodness even further (I.7.19-25). He ends by concluding that “I have no spur: To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition” (I.7.25-27), he can not justify his intentions.

Our first impression of Lady Macbeth is a callous, ambitious woman. She first appears reading the letter Macbeth sent addressing her as his “dearest partner of greatness” (I.5.10) telling her  “what greatness is promised thee” (I.5.12). Lady Macbeth is plotting immediately in her soliloquy. She acknowledges Macbeth is “too full o’th’milk of human kindness: To catch the nearest way” (I.5.15-16) - incapable of murder! She plots to persuade him. “That I may pour my spirits in thine ear, And chastise with the valour of my tongue” (I.5.25-26)

When the couple are first re-united Lady Macbeth greets her husband with his titles and informs him his letter has served its purpose. She bluntly states that the king will die that night, “O never shall sun that morrow see” ((I.5.59-60).

After Macbeth informs his wife “We will proceed no further in this business” (I.7 31) Lady Macbeth gives a rhetorical speech worthy of a politician. The speech is laced with mockery and ecphonesis. She uses interegatio throughout to make Macbeth see his cowardice. She uses the metaphor of a “poor cat I’th’adage” (I.7.45) to further mock him. She implies that Macbeth has broken a promise to her making him less of a man

”What beast was’t then

That made you break this enterprise to me?

When you durst do it, then you were a man.” (I.7.47-49)

Emotional blackmail is used, questioning his love for her - as though breaking his word is worse than murder. Her desperation to convince him is demonstrated with the ecphonic lines:

“I have given suck and know

How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me:

I would, while it was smiling in my face,

Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums

And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn

As you have done to this” (I.7.54-59)

Extreme imagery is conjured up and we see the turning point - Macbeth asks “If we should fail?” Now she knows she almost has him and continues with the practicalities, demonstrating her callousness. She finishes by explaining they will never be suspected. Macbeth is convinced and we are assured of her success when he elaborates on the practicalities. However, in the last lines of the act Shakespeare uses alliteration reminding us of Macbeths underlying goodness. “False face must hide what the false heart doth know” (I.7.82). This also foreshadows he will be plagued by guilt.

The witches are the backbone of the story. Although not physically present throughout much of the play, they have the most significant role. The fact they are the first characters we see foreshadows this. The audience is forced to consider the implicitness of their presence. Without the prophecy “All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter” (I.3.49) Macbeth would have never thought of being king and would never have conveyed the idea to Lady Macbeth. It is possible Shakespeare intended the audience to believe the witches had bewitched Macbeth. There are references to Macbeth being “rapt” (I.3.55) (I.3.141) (I.5.5).

Was there ever any doubt that Macbeth was ‘bludgeoned’ into the deed by Lady Macbeth? Yes! The term ‘bludgeoned’ implies Macbeth was forcibly persuaded to commit murder. Lady Macbeth would never have been aware of the prophecies had Macbeth chose not to tell her. Her persuasiveness only helped Macbeth fight his conscience; the seed was sown when the witches hailed him King. The couple worked together to acquire greatness – even if only in title! The witches planted the seed and the couple fed and watered it. Duncan’s demise was a result of ‘The Power of Three’.

Bibliography

Fraser, A, (1993 [1975]) The Lives of The Kings & Queens of England. LONDON, Orion Publishing Group

Shakespeare, W (ed, Gill R) (2009 [1606]) Macbeth: Oxford School Shakespeare. OXFORD. Oxford University Press

Sigmund, EJ. (1979) Yorkshire Witchcraft. CORNWALL. James Pike Ltd

Compare & Contrast the use of ‘horror’ in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

The gothic horror genre is a favourite for many readers. They love the suspense and mystery, the desperation, the doom and gloom, the claustrophobia, even the blood. But most of all they love the fear - the feeling they get that gives them pathos with the protagonist that keeps them on the edge of their seats and propels them to turn the page. How do Shelley and Shakespeare provoke these reader reactions in Macbeth (Shakepeare, 1606) and Frankenstein (Shelley, 1818)?  When comparing and contrasting the two texts an awareness of the different formats is necessary: Macbeth is a play and Frankenstein a novel written in the epistolary format. In a novel the use of descriptive language, often including metaphor or simile, enables the reader to visualise the scene. When Victor Frankenstein is describing the monsters ‘birth’ he tells us:

“it was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out” (Ch5, pg59)

In a play, the scene will be set by a director. We take clues from the dialect regarding environment, “so foul and fair a day I have not seen” (I, 3, 36), we know the battle is won so foul must refer to the weather. Thoughts are conveyed through asides “Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor: The greatest is behind” (I, 3,115-116), Macbeth has thoughts which he cannot share with Banquo, but Shakespeare needs to emphasise that the seed is planted. Another contrast between the two works is the date; In Elizabethan times the genre of horror was not referred to. The works of authors such as Shakespeare, Sackville, and Webster were referred to as ‘Tragedies’ although they had many gothic elements. They were based on history, mainly Greek mythology - interesting to note as Shelley’s novel is based on the tale of Prometheus, the titan who was challenged by Zeus to form a man from clay, (Theoi, 2010).

The main ingredient of the gothic novel is an atmosphere of mystery and suspense. Shelley and Shakespeare use similar techniques to create this atmosphere. Shelley, writing in an age of discovery, uses the fear of the unknown; whereas Shakespeare bases Macbeth on fear of the supernatural. Frankenstein was written in a time when scientists were going crazy in the quest to find answers to everything - the concept of a mad scientist would not be so unbelievable. In the mid 1700’s Franklin discovered that lightening was electrical, Volta invented the battery in 1800 and in 1818 Blundell performed the first human blood transfusion (Bone, 2007) – three relevant discoveries that demonstrate the novels appeal. When Shakespeare wrote Macbeth human thinking was very different from today; every misfortune was blamed on supernatural forces, hence the popularity of superstition. There are many elements of superstition in Macbeth, including the owl, the raven and of course numerous references to the power of three - three witches, three prophecies and the use of “thrice” in the witches’ incantations:

 “ thrice to thine, and thrice to mine,                                                                                  and thrice again, to make up nine” (I, 3, 33-34).

Shelley builds a fear of the unknown through vagueness in several parts of the story. When Walton describes his first encounter with the monster,

“We perceived a low carriage, fixed on a sledge and drawn by dogs, pass on towards the North, but at the distance of half a mile: a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature, sat in the sledge, and guided the dogs. We watched the rapid progress of the traveller with our telescopes, until he was lost among the distant inequalities of the ice” (Letter IV, pg 26)

No explanation is given about where he came from or how he got there; therefore we are forced to look at the implicitness of this inclusion. Walton then changes subject making the previous subject seem indifferent, however the reader is left wondering what unnatural event has been foreshadowed.  In chapter four Victor tells Walton of his obsessive behaviour but will not divulge his secret, leaving the reader in as much suspense as Victor’s audience.

“I see by your eagerness, and the wonder and hope which your eyes express, my friend, that you expect to be informed of the secret with which I am acquainted; that cannot be” (Ch4, pg54)

Like Shakespeare, Shelley uses elements of supernatural forces, the monster seems to appear from nowhere at various stages – always foreshadowing tragedy, much the same way as the witches do in Macbeth. However, unlike the characters in Macbeth, Victor is not affected by superstition,

“I do not ever remember to have trembled at a tale of superstition, or to have feared the apparition of a spirit” (Ch4, pg53).

This is a complete contrast to the eponymous hero in Shakespeare’s play. Macbeth is traumatised by the appearance of several apparitions including that of Banquo’s ghost:

  “thou canst not say I did it; never shake                                                              thy gory locks at me!” (III, 4, 50-51).

Although Shakespeare’s play is predominantly supernatural, Shelly focuses on the unnatural rather than supernatural. The very ‘birth’ of the monster is unnatural, but the same can be said of Macbeth, being born by caesarean section. Macbeth’s creation is completely natural and within Gods laws, in Shelley’s novel Victor is playing the role of God by creating a living being that is not conceived and nurtured in the womb. The monster although designed by Victor to be “beautiful” (Ch5, pg59) is actually quite the opposite:

“ his yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriance’s only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight, black lips.”(Ch5, pg59)

The imagery the reader conjures up is of a horrid, hideous zombie-like creature.  The witches in Macbeth are also described as unnatural;

“What are these,                                                                                                                   so wither’d and wild in their attire,                                                                                         That they look not like th’inhabitants o’th’earth                                                                    And yet are on’t? Live you, or are you aught                                                                    That man may question?” (I, 3, 37- 41)

What both works definitely have in common is the element of madness brought on by ambition. However the subject of the ambition is a huge contrast; Frankenstein wishes to create a life, while Macbeth wishes to extinguish a life. The reasoning for both is the same; they believe they are acting for the good of mankind; Macbeth believes that if the witches have proclaimed it then it must be so; the king’s murder is a necessity. Macbeth is an ambitious man who on hearing the witches’ prophecy, seeks the opinion of his wife and takes advantage of her ruthfulness. However after the murder, Macbeth becomes indifferent to his wife’s needs and determines to maintain his greatness. Macbeth murders anyone who stands in his way, including children; similarly, the creature Frankenstein creates murders innocents, including a child, in his quest for revenge on Victor. Throughout the play hallucinations and apparitions haunt Macbeth, and we get a sense that his lack of sleep and his conscience are sending him mad. In Frankenstein, Victor is driven by his ambition to “banish disease from the human frame, and render man invulnerable to any but violent death!” (Ch2, pg41). He becomes obsessed with his quest and like Macbeth his sleep suffers:

“I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health” (Ch5, pg59)

The main contrast here is Frankenstein loses sleep prior to the event due to his obsession to reach his goal; Macbeth loses sleep after the event as a result of his conscience and paranoia:

 “sleep no more,                                                                                                                   Macbeth does murder sleep’, the innocent sleep” (II, 2, 38-39).

Both Frankenstein and Macbeth have many elements of gothic horror within their texts. Shelley’s Frankenstein also meets the criteria of the science fiction novel through its focus on fear of the unknown. Both have examples of stormy weather precluding a drama, settings within castles and macabre, explicit descriptions. The use of extreme emotion is apparent in both, with both Lady Macbeth and Victor Frankenstein fainting at crucial moments.  Both protagonists attempt to play God; Frankenstein actually acknowledges this, “A new species would bless me as its creator” (Ch4, pg54). The tragic hero is evident in both works - both built up then brought down by a tragic flaw, their obsessive ambition. The tragic irony is that both can only be redeemed by their own deaths. Both works are didactic pieces, intended to make the reader take haste when pursuing unrealistic ambitions, as Walton does and abandons his quest. The moral of both stories is a classic basis for the gothic horror:

 “El suano del la razon produce montruos” - Francisco Goya 1797                                                    (The sleep of reason produces monsters)                      

Bibliography

Bone, M. 2007. Timeline of Scientific Discoveries. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wattpad.com/22971-timeline-of-scientific-discoveries.html. [Accessed 23 February 11].

Goya F, 1797. The Artchive. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/G/goya/goya_sleep_of_reason.jpg.html. [Accessed 20 February 11].

Shakespeare, W 2009 [1606]. Macbeth: Oxford School Shakespeare. Oxford University Press, UK.

Shelley, M  2001[1818]. Frankenstein (Cliffs Complete).. Cliffs Notes. Wiley. New Jersey

Theoi Greek Mythology. 2010. Prometheus: Greek Titan. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanPrometheus.html. [Accessed 20 February 11].

Compare and Contrast three poems from World War One

On August 4^th, 1914, Britain declared war on Germany in response to events leading up to, and following, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. The war was dubbed “the war to end all wars” and the human cost was immense; by the Armistice of November 11^th 1918 almost 9 million lives were lost, including 780,000 British, (Abrams, Greenblat et al, 1993: p1825).  When war broke out literary and poetic trends were romantic, pastoral works, but the horrors of war and human loss, combined with patriotic, disillusioned propaganda poetry, provoked trench poets such as Sassoon and Owen to write satirical, sombre poems detailing the realities of war. Poets like Brooke, whose poem The Soldier (1914) adorns cenotaphs nationwide, continued to write in the romantic, patriotic style, but the later works of Sassoon challenged them. Sassoon’s satirical poems directly contrasted with pro-war propaganda poems by authors like Jessie Pope.  However, it was not only servicemen who were enraged by the realities of war and propaganda; writers such as Helen Hamilton directed poetry at authors who glorified war and mocked civilian men. The poets of the era fought their own literary battle, challenging each others’ opinions. Some had direct opposition; Wilfred Owen dedicated his poem, Dulce Et Decorum Est (1917) “to Jessie Pope”, others had poetic allies. Three poems that demonstrate this are Siegfried Sassoon’s Glory Of Women (1917),  The Romancing Poet (1917) by Helen Hamilton and Jessie Pope’s  The Beau Ideal (1915).

Siegfried Sassoon, Mad Jack as he was affectionately known by his comrades (Campbell, 1999, p14), came from a privileged background and was educated at Cambridge. He left before graduating to pursue his literary interests after discovering a love for poets like Tennyson and Yeats. Leaving the upper-middle class lifestyle behind him he moved to London. In 1914 he enlisted with the Sussex Yeomanry but went on to serve as an officer with the Royal Welch Fusiliers (Trueman, 2011) His early war poetry was typical of the era, patriotic and romantic, however the loss of both his brother and best friend changed his attitude. During a period of convalescence, after being shot by a sniper, his enthusiasm and patriotism diminished and he wrote poems criticising his senior officers, similar to Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade (1854). He sent one of these to his colonel and it was only the intervention of fellow trench poet Robert Graves that saved him from punishment. After a period of convalescence at Craiglockhart War Hospital he was sent to France where he was injured ending his war career. He died in 1967.

Glory of Women is written in sonnet form using iambic pentameter, the same form as Shakespeare’s love sonnets. The title is a sarcastic play on the way women glorified the men serving overseas.  The first octave describes the way women take the credit for the actions of their men, how they glorify the war. He feels they value medals and heroic stories over their safety. The last two lines of the octave demonstrate this sentiment and express Sassoon’s bitterness:

“You crown our distant ardours while we fight,

And mourn our laurelled memories when we’re killed.” (7-8)

The word “laurelled” alludes to Christ’s crucifixion and intimates that women prefer martyrs rather than survivors.  Sassoon believes that women live in a fantasy world fuelled by propaganda, and are blind to the true horrors their men are experiencing. His accusatory bitterness is made powerful by his repetitive use of you throughout the poem.

The final sestet emphasises the horror, turning fantasy to reality, using imagery. He opens the sestet by mocking their belief that their men would not retreat when faced with “hells last horror”, alliteration emphasises his point. Using words like ‘blood’ and ‘corpses’ forces the reader to visualise their heroes’ predicament. The mention of German mothers is especially strong, it demonstrates his own compassion for all soldiers regardless of their side but also produces a knock-out blow - mothers of serving soldiers would visualise their son with “His face trodden deeper in the mud”. This didactic poem has a very bitter tone and exposes Sassoon’s disdain toward women. Its objective is to inform women of the realities and is fuelled by frustration with propaganda and censorship that manipulated women’s perceptions.

The works of pro-war propaganda poets, such as Jessie Pope, would have infuriated Sassoon. Pope, like Sassoon was well educated, which would indicate that she too was from a privileged background (Potter, 2008). A working journalist for The Daily Mail when war broke, she utilised her journalistic, rhetoric skills and humour to write propaganda verse for publication, with the sole purpose of encouraging men to sign up.

 Pope’s jingoistic poems reflect that she never experienced trench warfare first hand, unlike her literary opposition. Her poems typically alluded to sports and games with simple sing-song rhythms making them sound like nursery rhymes. The naive and jovial themes support Sassoon’s view that those at home did not grasp the seriousness of the situation. This light hearted approach made the war sound like an insignificant game rather than the bloodbath it was; this can be likened to Baldrics opinion that the war started when “Archie Duke shot an ostrich ‘cause he was hungry” in Blackadder Goes Forth (BBC, 1989).

The Beau Ideal strengthens Sassoon’s argument immensely. It tells the tale of Rose, who once dreamt of her ‘Beau Ideal’ and describes who she would have considered her perfect beauty. He would have been the stereotypical idea of beauty - “Belvidere Apollos”( 4), strong, virile, brave and beautiful. Alliteration emphasises that he must be “full of verve and vigour”(12), ironically not at all what an injured soldier would be. This is where the poem changes. Half way through the second stanza the theme changes from fantasy - “a maggot in her brain”(15) to reality - “Germany has killed it”(16), similar to Sassoon, she mocks Roses’ fantasies, utilising the German reference to strengthen the reality, she personifies Germany and uses metonymy. The next two stanzas go on to describe what Rose, now finds attractive. The “sound in wind and limb” (17) now signifies weakness and cowardice. A worthy man must now bear the “cicatrices”(21) to prove his manliness. The last four lines of the poem are very controversial:

“Who buys her an engagement ring

And finds her kind and kissing,

Must have one member in a sling

Or, preferably missing.” (29-32)

The comedic tone feels wrong considering the implication. Not surprisingly, poems like this would have angered serving soldiers and anti-war protesters. The poem makes light of the atrocities and glorifies the actions of war by challenging the manhood of those who do not fight and have no visible war wounds. It is highly rhetorical in a very playful way. It’s happy, comedic theme starkly contrasts with the sombre, bitter mood of Sassoon’s poem.

Helen Hamilton is not a very well known poet. Very little is known about her, except that she was a schoolteacher who enjoyed rock climbing (Reilly, 1997). Her war poems demonstrate an alliance with poets like Sassoon, however, unlike Sassoon, it is assumed that she lacked personal experience of the trenches. Her poem, The Jingo-Women (1917), was a direct attack on women like Pope and the White Feather Brigade, a group of women who organised mass sign up events prior to conscription, and defended the men they ridiculed.

The Romancing Poet is a monologue written in the same tone as Glory of Women. It supports Sassoon’s view yet challenges it. Hamilton writes in the form of non-rhyming, free-verse. In the first instance she uses enjambment but switches to short, sharp sentences intended to emphasise her point and draw the target in. It reads like a personal address to a specific person. Line three mocks the talent of the poet she speaks to, and the satirical theme continues throughout the poem. She mocks the content of the poetry of her offender:

            “If you have words –

Fit words, I mean,

            Not your usual stock in trade,

                        Of tags and clichés –

                        To hymn such greatness,

                                    Use them.

                                    But have you?

                                    Anyone can babble.

            If you must wax descriptive,

            Do get the background right,

                                    A little right!” (11-21)

Like Sassoon she uses words like “blood”, “filth” and “horrors” (23) to prompt imagery in the reader, emphasised by the rule of three. In line 29, again like Sassoon, she makes religious references with a paradox “doomed to be crucified”(28) - doomed conjures thoughts of hell while crucified alludes to Christ’s martyrdom. The poem, at this point, seems to address both Sassoon and its original target. Hamilton supports Sassoon, pleading for the glorification of war to cease. The last line of the poem directly responds to Sassoon’s poem “We are not Glory-snatchers!”  This emphasises that although she supports Sassoon, he must not stereotype women as ignorant and apathetic.

In conclusion, these three poems demonstrate the poems’ ability to create empathy in the reader. In Sassoon and Hamilton’s poems the reader can visualise the horrors of trench warfare. Pope’s poem has a rhetorical function and it is easy to see why works like these were fundamental recruitment tools. However, Pope was not the villain she has been portrayed as over the years; she was probably as naive as the men she seduced. One professor says, “I sometimes feel that of all the victims of the war, the one we should feel sorriest for is poor old Jessie Pope” (Simmers, 2009). It is important to keep in context the topic of these poems; discussing war will always provoke differences of opinion. Some will be supported by allies, attacking common enemies. In this instance Hamilton and Sassoon are allies, ironic given Sassoon’s bitterness towards women, but the work of poets like Pope created a common enemy. A poem works in a rhetorical manner, manipulating the feelings of the reader, it works because of its relationship with the reader, not the author, so on that basis all three poems are similar.

“Poetry is not the turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotion know what it means to want to escape from it”

 Emily Dickinson, 1886

Bibliography:

 Poems taken from the following sources:

Siegfried Sassoon - Glory Of Women:

Stallworthy, Jon. 1988. The Oxford Book of War Poetry. Edition. Oxford Paperbacks.

Helen Hamilton - The Romancing Poet:

Reilly, Catherine, 1997. The Virago Book of Women’s War Poetry and Verse. Omnibus Edition. Virago Press Ltd.

Jessie Pope - The Beau Ideal:

Walter, George. 2007. The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry (Penguin Classics). Edition. Penguin Classics.

Essay references:

Abrams, Greenblat et al. 1993. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 2. 6th Edition. W W Norton & Co Inc. London

BBC. 1989. Blackadder Goes Forth. [Online Video]. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk37TD_08eA. [Accessed: 30 April 2011].

 Campbell, Patrick.  2007. Siegfried Sassoon: A Study of the War Poetry. McFarland. North Carolina.

Dickinson, Emily. 1886 Quote by Emily Dickinson: [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/148356. [Accessed 25 April 2011].

Hart, Peter J. 2010. "The White Feather Campaign: A Struggle with Masculinity During World War I." Student Pulse Academic Journal 2.02. Available at: http://www.studentpulse.com/a?id=151  [Accessed 25 April 2011]

Potter, Jane. 2008 ‘Pope, Jessie (1868–1941)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oct 2008 http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/98109, [accessed 25 April 2011]

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SimmerSSimmer, George. 2009. Poor Old Jessie Pope:  Great War Fiction. [ONLINE] Available at: http://greatwarfiction.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/poor-old-jessie-pope/. [Accessed 25 April 2011].

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