“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” ~Christopher Reeve

Focus: In what ways Sebastian Faulks present the idea of heroism and courage in his novel ‘Birdsong’?

Sebastian Faulks, a British novelist is perhaps best known for his historical novels set in France, one of these being ‘Birdsong’, a modern novel written in 1993 two years after the end of the First Iraq War. The novel is written in third person to give an omnipotent view of the action and brutality of war. In the opening of the novel Faulks sets the scene of a pre-war society, examining the courses of the war using historical Literature movements such as Romanticism and Gothic. The second part of the novel concentrates on the war and the brutality faced by the soldiers before moving into the third and final section exploring the ‘new generation’ and a sense of the future.

The novel possesses the ability to depict a sense of heroic nature with a number of characters, the first ones being Azaire’s workers. In the opening chapters of the novel, Faulks depicts the character of Azaire as being a typical upper-class businessman, having no sympathy for his workers and motivated by money: ‘greater use of machinery and a consequent loss of jobs’ the character of Azaire establishes the social tension that were prevalent in Europe and also highlights the competition in trade. The structure of the opening chapters show the worth of the lowers classes which also works as a sense of foreshadowing the use of the soldiers. It is because of Azaire’s uncompassionate nature that the workers then strike against him, suggesting a sense of a heroic nature: ‘I beseech you to support my people. We must stand together in this matter or we will all fall’. This is the first glimpse of heroism Faulks gives to the reader showing the exploitation of workers in contrast to the uncompassionate upper classes.

Primarily, Faulks uses the characters of the soldiers in the second part of the novel to evoke the sense of heroism and courage. Focusing on a number of soldiers specifically such as Stephen and Jack, profound emotions of the novel are voiced. At the novel’s climax both of these characters are trapped underground by a German explosion and it is at this point that Jack and Stephen discuss their perceptions on the worth of life and love. What is spoken by Jack in his last moments certainly evokes emotion to the reader: ‘My world was in his face…I treasured each word he gave me’. Emotion is evoked to the reader through Faulks’ ability to create Jack’s speech in broken, incomplete sentences and allowing his idiolect to switch, changing from blunt to something more lyrical: ‘he was from another world, he was a blessing too great for me’.

Upon the reader’s first knowledge of Jack Firebrace, we see that he thinks of himself being ‘immune to death’, imaging that he will inevitably survive the war but also that death can no longer touch him after the experiences and brutality he has had to face. This thought is quickly dissolved through the letter from his wife Margaret, informing him of their only child, John’s illness: “has been very poorly indeed and the doctor says it is diphtheria”. The very wording of the letter heightens his – and our – apprehensions, enlightening us on not only the life of a soldier but also that of the civilians. The reader shares the experience of the death of his son with Jack, enhancing our attachment to the character and subsequently upon Jack’s death, Faulks is able to evoke emotion from the reader having throughout the novel, continuously referred back to the actions of Jack Firebrace.

Just like the reality of war, death comes quickly and therefore Faulks very rarely pauses for individual deaths, in fact the only extensive narrative death the reader sees is that of Jack Firebrace. The soldiers at the front have learnt not to be shocked, not even to be emotional, at any particular person’s death, and the manner of narration has to reflect this. Deaths are narrated through the eyes of particular characters with a numbed factuality. From Stephen’s original platoon, only three men remain alive at the front. “The names and faces of the others were already indistinct in his memory.” Faulks is able to depict to the reader the realisation of war, in that death comes quickly and so this very rarely depicted in depth. This is a universal fact of war with Faulks not only informing the reader of World War One but also all other wars, including the First Iraq War that finished two years prior to ‘Birdsong’ being written.

During the third and final part of the novel, the reader is given a glimpse at a new generation. Elizabeth, Stephen’s granddaughter seeks to find out more about the war and what was endured. Elizabeth represents the modern, ignorant civilian yet she educated the reader on the shock horror of the war and tries to remind us that the actual dates of the war make it feel like a lifetime away, giving time structure in the novel, however also bringing about a universal truth: that was in any time and century offers sacrifice: ‘People don’t always appreciate what sacrifices were made for them – still are made for them – by the armed forces’.

 Michael Gorra, writing in the ‘New York Times’ commented that the parts of the novel set in modern-day England were ‘weak’ in comparison to the rest of the novel: ‘…it is as if Mr Faulks had bled his own prose white, draining it of emotion in order to capture the endless enervating slog of war’ Gorra is not the only critic to make such comments, with many others thinking that the modern-day sections of the novel are much less powerful but to some extent this interpretation is inevitable, given the events that happen in the trench warfare sections and so the third part of the novel can be argued to act as relieving the reader of the demand and emotion involving Stephen, Jack and Weir.

In conclusion, Faulks successfully displays the heroic nature of both a pre-war society with individuals such a Lucien LeBron through their courage to strike against working conditions and pay, making reference to the miner’s strikes that took place in Faulks time. He also particularly shows the heroic and courageous nature of the soldiers during the war with particular emphasis on characters such as Stephen and Jack Firebrace. Finally it is through the character of Elizabeth in the third sections of the novel that we are reminded of the sacrifice made by these soldiers as well as being given hope for the future with the novel ending optimistically. As noted by Anthony Campbell: ‘By any standards, Birdsong an impressive achievement: not light reading, but it will stay in your mind long after you close the book.’

‘The good man is the friend of all living things’ – Wilfred Owen analysis

“The good man is the friend of all living things” ~ Mahatma Ghandi

Focus: In what ways does Wilfred Owen present his thoughts and feelings about war through nature and agricultural language in his poem ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ and other selected works?

Wilfred Owen, regarded as being the leading poet for the First World War, is eminent for his blunt and unequivocal views on war he is exceptionally successful in conveying the harsh reality and brutality of not just World War One but of war on a universal scale. In his poem ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ Owen passes judgement on his experience of war and uses the poem as a lament for the dead. Written in a sonnet format with a rhyme scheme very close to that of Shakespeare’s, ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’s’ form reflects Owens’s anger with its use of irony through the sonnet format – commonly associated with a love poem, Owen uses the sonnet form ironically. The title of the poem suggests this idea of irony through the use of ‘Doomed Youth’ as a double conflict with common a connation of ‘Youth’ not being ‘Doomed’

One of Owens’ most used techniques is his ability to convey his thoughts through the idea of nature and agricultural language. Owen was believed to be greatly influenced by Romantic poets such as Keats and therefore we see that nature plays a significant role in Owens’ works. In ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ Owen compares soldiers to the treatment of cattle in farming markets; ‘What passing -bells for these who die as cattle’. This immediately compares the young soldiers to the slaughter of animals and provokes the idea that these men are being treated like animals. The use of the ‘cattle’ adds to the poem as a whole as it plays on Owens’ original idea that war dehumanises people. Owen uses this agricultural langue as England was largely an agrarian county at this time also it reminds of Owens’ rural upbringing.

This idea of war dehumanising people can also be seen in Owens’ ‘Arms and the Boy’ where we see the idea of nature and creation being compared to the unnatural actions of war. In this poem Owen conveys how the weapons and soldier are not only in a partnership but the weapon seems to be controlling the young ‘boy’ this can be seen through the personification of the blades ‘hunger for blood’. Whilst it has been claimed that ‘Children were much in Owens’ mind'[1] During Easter 1919 when he wrote this poem I feel that Owen is more concerned with the proliferation of weapons and how young recruits respond to having them is Owens’ concern in this poem. This is shown through the contrast between natural and manmade objects that Owen uses in ‘Arms and the Boy’.  In the third stanza we see that Owen contrasts the natural weapons of animals against the unnaturalness of war and weapons; ‘And God will grow no talons at his heels’ here Owen reminds us of the difference in purpose, provoking the idea that man made weapons are associated with grief and death – killing for killings  sake.

The idea of how young recruits respond to weapons can also be seen in the sound devices used. Alliteration is used in close triplets to imitate the noise created by the use of the weapons; ‘blind, blunt, bullet-heads’ the repetition of this ‘b’ sound reflects the harsh sound made by the weapons being used. It is these triplets of sounds that govern the rhythm of the poem rather than the actual syllables in each line. This alliteration can also be seen in Owens’ ‘Miners’ where he discusses the idea of these soldiers sacrificing themselves for civilians at home to be able to live comfortably; ‘murmuring of their mine, and moans’ Owen uses this alliteration to create sound as he develops the idea and image of those who have died in tunnel collapses. We see that in ‘Miners’ Owen takes upon the Big Bang Theory and earth pre-mankind, this can be seen in the first stanza with Owens’ reference to ‘a former earth’. In this stanza we see Owen discuss the time it has taken to create earthly materials such as coal.

It is with reference to ‘a former earth’ that then links with one of Owens’ most famous poem, ‘Futility’  resembling the form of a sonnet however split into two seven line stanzas ‘Futility’ depicts the scene of a soldier who has recently died in battle. Owen seems to ponder nature’s power to create life and how this contrasts to the mass killings in war. We see in the opening that Owen creates a scene; in this case it is one of a dying or perhaps already dead soldier. He uses the sun metaphorically in which he hangs his thoughts. ‘Move him into the sun’ this can be seen to the reader as a command however we feel that the movement must be gentle just as we feel the command has been quietly spoken. Owen then moves onto personify the sun as its ‘touch’ awakens the soldier. We see that in the first stanza Owen again uses the idea of nature and agricultural language, and in this particular poem he uses the semantic field of farming with the use of words such as ‘fields’ and ‘seeds’  this then gives an ironic contrast as we feel that nature itself is now turning on mankind.

In ‘Futility’ Owen personifies the sun as it awakens the soldier, a similar technique can also be seen in ‘The Show’ where an environmental hell is depicted with Owens’ personification of the battle field; ‘warts that might be little hills’ From this we are given the grotesque sights of the battle field which subsequently puts in shock with what was endured and suffered from soldiers. The form of ‘The Show’  takes up irregular and illogical stanzas, however with the use of half-rhyme although separated lines they share one rhyming couplet, for example lines 10 -13; ‘hill/holes’ This use of half rhyme can also be seen in ‘Exposure’ where Owen continues his use of landscape and nature when discussing the brutality of war; ‘silent/salient’ Owen here uses half-rhyme and also the harsh sound of ‘s‘ to depict the conditions faced by these soldiers and how the weather itself has now become an enemy.

In conclusion Owen takes on the idea of the Romantics by using landscape, nature and agricultural language in many pieces of his work. He compares and contrasts the image of nature to that of the war and using this to show the treatment of soldiers and the sickening actions. I feel that with his use of agricultural language Owen successfully shocks the reader into the reality of war and subsequently opens our minds to realise what has been and is still being fought for.

Wilfred Owen; Introduction to Poetry

The coursework task set for the A2 English literature course entails a three thousand word essay on two texts and a poet. As previously mentioned the two novels that we will be studying for this, are ‘Catch 22’ and ‘Birdsong’. Now we begin work on the poetry aspect of the task. As the theme in all these pieces of literature is World War One the poet being studied is, Wilfred Owen, a leading poet of the First World War One.

Today was introduction to his works, beginning with his poem ‘Futility’, a poem narrated in third person in an almost story-like manner. The poem uses the semantic field of the sun awakening life and this is conveyed through extended oxymorons of religious and scientific language.

Owen’s work commonly features seven poetic devices. These can be seen in a number of his works and are what makes his poems identifiable:

1. An opening that creates a scene
2. Use of nature and religious language
3. Questions – rhetorical
4. Punctuation that evokes emotion
5. Contrasts – extended oxymorons
6. Para-rhyme that add melancholic sound
7. Assonance

These seven features can be seen in not only ‘Futility’ but many other of Owen’s works and are what helps us distinguish his work from other World War One poets.