British War Poetry in the 20th Century 3301-LB2060-1ST
Course for BA level students.
This course is designed as a full review of British attitudes to war and peace in the 20th century, particularly those of the soldier poets, who fought in the Great War, the Spanish Civil War, the Falklands War, and the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The poetry of the Great War will be discussed from the perspective of the Empire, the crisis of truth, new trends in writing about war, the image of the enemy, as well as commemorative practices.( (Jessie Pope, Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg). The Spanish Civil War will be analyzed through the poetry of W.H. Auden, Stephen Spender, and John Cornford. The poetry of the Second World War will be discussed according to the themes of the war poet, the difference of the 1940s war experience, the exotic landscapes of war, and the absent enemy (Keith Douglas, Alun Lewis, Sidney Keyes). The course will conclude with an overview of poetry written about the Falklands War, as well as the most recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Type of course
Mode
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
The graduate has familiarity with:
- K_W01 advanced terminology, theory and research methods corresponding to the state of the art
in the disciplines of literary studies and culture and region studies within the domain of English
Studies
- K_W08 concepts and principles concerning the protection of intellectual property and copyright
Abilities
The graduate is able to:
- K_U01 apply advanced terminology, theory and research methods corresponding to the state of
the art in the disciplines of literary studies and culture and region studies within the domain of
English Studies
- K_U08 apply the concepts and principles of intellectual property protection and copyright law
Social competences
The graduate is ready to:
- K_K01 critically appraise their knowledge and content obtained from various sources
- K_K02 recognize the importance of knowledge in solving cognitive and practical problems; consult experts when required
Assessment criteria
3 absences are allowed.
Final grade on the basis of a written test.
Retake on the basis of a written test.
Bibliography
Anthologies:
Jon Stallworthy, ed., The Oxford Book of War Poetry, Oxford University Press, 1988.
Jon Silkin, ed., First World War Poetry, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1979.
'Poetry of World War I', a section of The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Fifth edition, volume 2, pp. 1890-1926. New York: Norton and Co, 1986.
Valentine Cunningham, ed., The Penguin Book of Spanish Civil War Verse. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1980.
Robin Skelton, ed., Poetry of the Thirties. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1971.
'Poetry of World War II' a section of The Norton Anthology, op. cit., pp. 2320-2334.
Brian Gardner, ed., The Terrible Rain: The War Poets 1939-1945. London: Magnum Books, 1977.
Desmond Graham, ed., Poetry of the Second World War: An International Anthology. London: Pimlico, 1998.
Critical texts:
Desmond Graham, The Truth of War. Manchester: Carcanet Press, 1984.
Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory. New York and London: Oxford University Press, 1975.
Samuel Hynes, A War Imagined: The First World War and English Culture. London: The Bodley Head, 1990.
Samuel Hynes, The Auden Generation: Literature and Politics in England in the 1930s. London: The Bodley Head, 1976.
Linda M. Shires, British Poetry of the Second World War. London: Macmillan, 1985.
Vernon Scannell, Not Without Glory: Poets of the Second World War. London: The Woburn Press, 1976.
Jacek Wiśniewski, Mars and the Muse: Attitudes to War and Peace in 20th-Century British Literature. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1988.
Jacek Wiśniewski, Edward Thomas: A Mirror of England. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: