Poetry reader

Montello Heldring G4B

9/30/2011

Poetry reader October 7, 2011

Table of Contents 1. The Happy Warrior Herbert Read 2. How to Die Siegfried Sassoon 3. Songbooks of the War Siegfried Sassoon 4. Before Action W.N. Hodgson 5. Back Wilfrid Gibson 6. War Montello Heldring 7. Death a Poem William Butler Yeats 8. George Washington James Russell Lowell 9. Last Stand Alex Cockerill 10. Thats War Kavita Jindal 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Poetry reader October 7, 2011

1. The Happy Warrior - Herbert Read His wild heart beats with painful sobs, His strain'd hands clench an ice-cold rifle, His aching jaws grip a hot parch'd tongue, His wide eyes search unconsciously. He cannot shriek. Bloody saliva Dribbles down his shapeless jacket. I saw him stab And stab again A well-killed Boche. This is the happy warrior, This is he... Vocabulary list (English Dutch) Sob Snikken Strained Ingespannen, Overbelast, Geforceerd Aching Pijn lijdend Parched Verdord, Uitgedroogd Shriek Gillen, huilgeluid Saliva Speeksel Boche Slang term for a German soldier during World War I and II About the author: Sir Herbert Edward Read was an English poet, anarchist, and critic of literature and art. Read was born in 1893 in Kirkbymoorside. He studied at the University of Leeds but was interrupted because WW I broke out during which he served with the Green Howards (British army division) in France. During his life he wrote many books and poems about war and anarchism. Read died in 1968. Interpretation: Herbert Reads Happy Warrior is a poem about a soldier whos fighting in the first World War. It is written from the perspective of a person who is watching the soldier from a distance. The soldier is dehydrated and theres blood coming out of his mouth. The jacket hes wearing is in tatters, it is shapeless. Hes stabbing an already dead German soldier but hes anything but happy. At the end the poem is cut off because the person whos watching stopped watching or simply moved is head away because he doesnt want to keep telling whats happening. Time Frame: Happy Warrior was written after World War I. Read gained his inspiration from his experiences in the war. Happy Warrior was in his second poem collection, called Naked Warriors published in 1919. Cultural Relevance: Herbert Read was part of the so-called Great War generation poets, but Read arguably stood out. W.B. Yeats chose many poets of the Great War generation for the Oxford Book of Modern Verse, but Read stood out because his featured work covered 17 pages. On 11 November 1985, Read was among sixteen Great War poets commemorated on a slate stone unveiled in Westminster Abbey's Poet's Corner.

Poetry reader October 7, 2011

2. How to Die Siegfried Sassoon Dark clouds are smouldering into red While down the craters morning burns. The dying soldier shifts his head To watch the glory that returns; He lifts his fingers toward the skies Where holy brightness breaks in flame; Radiance reflected in his eyes, And on his lips a whispered name. You'd think, to hear some people talk, That lads go West with sobs and curses, And sullen faces white as chalk, Hankering for wreaths and tombs and hearses. But they've been taught the way to do it Like Christian soldiers; not with haste And shuddering groans; but passing through it With due regard for decent taste. Vocabulary list: Radiance Straling Hearses Lijkwagens Sullen Slecht gehumeurd Hankering Hunkeren naar About the author: Siegfried Sassoon, (8 September 1886 1 September 1967) was an English author, poet and soldier. He was member of the wealthy Jewish Sassoon merchant family. On the outbreak of the First World War Sassoon enlisted as a cavalry trooper in the Sussex Yeomanry. After being wounded in April 1917, Sassoon was sent back to England. Sassoon had grown increasingly angry about the tactics being employed by the British Army and in July 1917 published a Soldier's Declaration, which announced that "I am making this statement as an act of wilful defiance of military authority, because I believe that the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it." Sassoon's hostility to war was also reflected in his poetry. During the war Sassoon developed a harshly satirical style that he used to attack the incompetence and inhumanity of senior military officers. These poems caused great controversy when they were published in The Old Huntsman (1917) and Counter-Attack (1918). Interpretation: How to Die is about a soldier dying on the battlefield. It is probably almost dawn since the sun is breaking through at the beginning of the poem. The soldier is dying in the perfect way as he was taught; not with haste, not shuddering, but passing through it. Probably because he knows hes going to a better place. No funeral is waiting for him, only death. Cultural Relevance: On 11 November 1985, Sassoon also was among sixteen Great War poets commemorated on a slate stone unveiled in Westminster Abbey's Poet's Corner. This poem has no particular cultural relevance itself.

Poetry reader October 7, 2011

3. Songbooks of the War Siegfried Sassoon In fifty years, when peace outshines Remembrance of the battle lines, Adventurous lads will sigh and cast Proud looks upon the plundered past. On summer morn or winters night, Their hearts will kindle for the fight, Reading a snatch of soldier-song, Savage and jaunty, fierce and strong; And through the angry marching rhymes Of blind regret and haggard mirth, Theyll envy us the dazzling times When sacrifice absolved our earth. Some ancient man with silver locks Will lift his weary face to say: War was a fiend who stopped our clocks Although we met him grim and gay. And then hell speak of Haigs last drive, Marvelling that any came alive Out of the shambles that men built And smashed, to cleanse the world of guilt. But the boys, with grin and sidelong glance, Will think, Poor granddads day is done. And dream of those who fought in France And lived in time to share the fun.

Vocabulary list: Morn Ochtend Kindle Onbranden Jaunty Blij, modieus Haggard Moe, dun (uitgeput van werken) Mirth Blijdschap Absolved Onschuldig gemaakt Marvelling Verwonderen (over iets fantastisch) Shambles Slagerij, een ongeorderde staat van zijn Interpretation This poem is about the young people who never experienced war and want to fight. They heard stories from their grandfathers and dream of fighting a war. The last sentence says And they lived in time to share the fun, which probably means the young people who longed for war eventually lived to experience it.

Poetry reader October 7, 2011

4. Before Action W.N. Hodgson By all the glories of the day And the cool evening's benison, By that last sunset touch that lay Upon the hills where day was done, By beauty lavishly outpoured And blessings carelessly received, By all the days that I have lived Make me a solider, Lord. By all of man's hopes and fears, And all the wonders poets sing, The laughter of unclouded years, And every sad and lovely thing; By the romantic ages stored With high endeavour that was his, By all his mad catastrophes Make me a man, O Lord. I, that on my familiar hill Saw with uncomprehending eyes A hundred of Thy sunsets spill Their fresh and sanguine sacrifice, Ere the sun swings his noonday sword Must say goodbye to all of this;-By all delights that I shall miss, Help me to die, O Lord.

Vocabulary list: Benison Zegen Lavishly Rijkelijk Ere the sun swings his noonday sword Wanneer het middag is Personification of the sun, it simply means that it is noon. About the author: W. N. Hodgson was born on January 3rd 1893. He had occupations including author, serviceman and poet. He died in July 1916 at the age of 23 years and 6 months old. His cause of death was military conflict. Interpretation: This poem is written from the perspective of a man who is already dying or is about to fight on the battlefield. Hes telling about the beauty of the universe and all of lifes experiences, and asking the lord for help. Cultural Relevance: Before action is the best remembered poem written by Hodgson , which was written two days before he died. He probably already knew he was going to die, because he knew the positions of the German Machine guns which is why he wrote Help me to die, O Lord in the last line of the poem. Two days after he died because he was shot by a German machine gun.

Poetry reader October 7, 2011

5. Back Wilfrid Gibson They ask me where I've been, And what I've done and seen. But what can I reply Who know it wasn't I, But someone just like me, Who went across the sea And with my head and hands Killed men in foreign lands... Though I must bear the blame, Because he bore my name. Vocabulary list: Foreign buitenlands About the Author: Wilfred Wilson Gibson (2 October 1878 - 26 May 1962) was a British Georgian poet, associated with World War I but also the author of much later work. Gibson was born in Hexham, Northumberland and left the north for London in 1914 after his mother died. He had been publishing poems in magazines since 1895, and the collections Stonefolds, On the Threshold, were published by the Wayland publishers in 1914, and followed by The Web of Life in 1908. Interpretation: Back is a poem about a soldier who returned home, it is not about Gibson, since Gibson did join the army but never left England. The soldier has changed a lot since he came back and doesnt wants to be reminded of his deeds in the war anymore, because he is ashamed of himself.

Poetry reader October 7, 2011

6. War Montello Heldring When battles are fought, And families get torn When our old heroes die, And when new heroes are born War it is, a game which costs lifes With guns, rockets, stones and knifes

Poetry reader October 7, 2011

7. Death a poem William Butler Yeats Nor dread nor hope attend A dying animal; A man awaits his end Dreading and hoping all; Many times he died, Many times rose again. A great man in his pride Confronting murderous men Casts derision upon Supersession of breath; He knows death to the bone Man has created death. Vocabulary list: Dread, Dreaded Veroorzaken van angst en terreur, beangstigend, angstig, bang Supersession Vervangen (achterelkaar ademen) About the author: William Butler Yeats; 13 June 1865 28 January 1939) was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years Yeats served as an Irish Senator for two terms. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and, along with Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn, and others, founded the Abbey Theatre, where he served as its chief during its early years. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for what the Nobel Committee described as "inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation." He was the first Irishman so honoured. Yeats is generally considered one of the few writers who completed their greatest works after being awarded the Nobel Prize; such works include The Tower (1928) and The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1929). Yeats was born and educated in Dublin but spent his childhood in County Sligo. He studied poetry in his youth and from an early age was fascinated by both Irish legends and the occult. Those topics feature in the first phase of his work, which lasted roughly until the turn of the 20th century. His earliest volume of verse was published in 1889 and those slow-paced and lyrical poems display debts to Edmund Spenser, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the Pre-Raphaelite poets. From 1900, Yeats' poetry grew more physical and realistic. He largely renounced the transcendental beliefs of his youth, though he remained preoccupied with physical and spiritual masks, as well as with cyclical theories of life. Interpretation: This poem is about a soldier whos dying. The soldier has killed many men and has been injured many times. He killed many murderous men and knows death to bone which makes me think its about some kind of especially high skilled and trained soldier.

Poetry reader October 7, 2011

8. George Washington James Russell Lowell Soldier and statesman, rarest unison; High-poised example of great duties done Simply as breathing, a world's honors worn As life's indifferent gifts to all men born; Dumb for himself, unless it were to God, But for his barefoot soldiers eloquent, Tramping the snow to coral where they trod, Held by his awe in hollow-eyed content; Modest, yet firm as Nature's self; unblamed Save by the men his nobler temper shamed; Never seduced through show of present good By other than unsetting lights to steer New-trimmed in Heaven, nor than his steadfast mood More steadfast, far from rashness as from fear, Rigid, but with himself first, grasping still In swerveless poise the wave-beat helm of will; Not honored then or now because he wooed The popular voice, but that he still withstood; Broad-minded, higher-souled, there is but one Who was all this and ours, and all men's Washington Vocabulary list: Unison Samenwerking Eloquent Duidelijk Steadfast Standvastig Rashness Roekeloosheid Swerveless Onbewogen About the author: (Born Feb. 22, 1819, Cambridge, Mass., U.S. died Aug. 12, 1891, Cambridge) U.S. poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He received a law degree from Harvard but chose not to practice. In the 1840s he wrote extensively against slavery, including the Biglow Papers (1848), satirical verses in Yankee dialect. His other most important works are The Vision of Sir Launfal (1848), a long poem on the brotherhood of mankind; and A Fable for Critics (1848), a witty evaluation of contemporary authors. After his wife's death in 1853, he wrote mainly essays on literature, history, and politics. A highly influential man of letters in his day, he taught at Harvard, edited The Atlantic Monthly and The North American Review, and served as minister to Spain and ambassador to Britain. Interpretation: This poem is about George Washington, a dominant military and political leader of the United States of America. He defeated Great Britain in the American Revolutionary war and then became the first president of the United States of America. This poem is praising Washington and his deeds. Cultural Relevance: Because George Washington was such an important person during the American Revolutionary War many Americans love him and feel like hes hero of the nation. Many Americans share the thought of this poem.

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Poetry reader October 7, 2011

9. Last Stand Alex Cockerill My last day in the desert My last day in this sand I hope I never come back To this tragic barren land Many hot days And many moons have passed I dont want to fight this war anymore My sanity wont last Towns have been taken Towns have been lost Towns have been taken back again How many lives has it cost? This war will not end The stakes are far too high A few friends are gone already How many more will die? About the author: Alex Cockerill was born in April 1985. He was a Royal Marines Commando from 2005-2009 and served on Operation Herrick five and seven in Helmand province for a total of fourteen months. How he came to write his poems. He explains, "During my fourteen months in Afghanistan, I had many feelings and thoughts that I was unable to share with anyone. Under the stars; in the desert, rhymes would manifest in my head. I would write them down, construct them into poems and somehow I felt better for getting it off my chest." Interpretation: Last Stand was probably written during Alex Cockerills last night in Afghanistan. He was probably reflecting on the war he fought and felt like it didnt cause a lot of change. He is skeptical about the war and the future of the war in Afghanistan, which is shown and repeated in the last sentence of each part of this poem. Cultural relevance & Time frame: This one of the newer poems around, thats because its about the war in Afghanistan, a war that cost many peoples lifes. The Afghanistan war is a cause of a lot of lifelong traumas of soldiers and relatives.

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Poetry reader October 7, 2011

10. Thats War Kavita Jindal At the end, you wonder how you bombed a truckload of civilians, just following orders. At the end, you declare if you had your time as a genius again you would not have invented the atomic bomb. At the end, you ask why your life is easily snuffed out while the world watches on TV. At the end, you say how is it politicians dont step on to battlefields? Who decides at the end who is honorable and who is not? Those who make weapons sell to all sides. About the author: Kavita writes fiction and poetry. She also writes reviews, essays and articles on the Arts. Her work has appeared in literary journals, anthologies and newspapers including The Independent, The South China Morning Post, Dimsum, The Mechanics' Institute Review, Cha, In Our Own Words, Asia Literary Review and Not a Muse. Kavita was born in India and has lived in both Hong Kong and England for several years. Her work is inspired by her observations of different cultures, landscapes and people. Kavita reads from her fiction and poetry regularly in London, where she now lives, as well as at universities and literary festivals in Asia and Europe. Interpretation: This poem is about war and mostly its consequences. The poem criticizes war and is written from the perspective of more than one person. In the first part its about a soldier who has killed many innocent people by just following orders, the second part is about the person who invented the atomic bomb, which caused the deaths of millions of people and will cause even more in the future. In the other parts of the poem questions are being asked which makes the reader think war is bad, which was the writers goal.

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