Literature and Peace

Polidori Chiara

cl. 4°D

Finding out how literary texts may promote peace.

Materials:

S.SASSOON, “Glory of Women” from handout S.SASSOON, “They” from handout W.OWEN, “A Poet’s Statement” from Collected

Poems by C. Day Lewis W.OWEN, “Futility” from Collected Poems by C.

Day Lewis W.SHAKESPEARE, “Hamlet” Act III, Scene 1

from handout W.SHAKESPEARE, “Macbeth” , Mondadori

2004 (English and Italian version)

Working Method:

Textual analysisFinding relationship between texts and

peaceClass discussion

The World Today

The scenery of the contemporary world is terrible: there are a lot of wars which are destroying the balance! Now if we watch Tv, we will find a lot of war’s imagines from Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa.

The Role of Literature

The theme of peace has been an object of discussions for a long time and literature is a very important way to promote it.

Shakespeare

Shakespeare wanted to underline the importance of peace through his tragedies, especially with Macbeth and Hamlet.

Macbeth

It is the story of a man who killed the king of Scotland to satisfy his ambition but he destroyed the balance inside the kingdom.

Ambition of Macbeth

Falseness Will to obtain more

power Murder of the king Murder of Banquo Murder of Macduff’s

family

SENSE OF GUILT

Peace in Macbeth

The word “Peace” is mainly used to stop a discussion between the characters or to underline their worry in front of a difficult situation.

Similarities between the Contemporary World and

Macbeth

Large amount of wars, murders of innocent people and terror

Big loss of valuesUse of excuses to satisfy himselfUse of ambition to obtain more power

Hamlet

It is the story of a man who tried to find a way out to his problem: to kill his uncle or not.

REFLECTION ABOUT LIFE

Peace in Hamlet

The importance of lifeDeath like questioning pointThe decision to kill or not somebodyThe destruction of the balance after death

Death like questioning point

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

The main problem of philosophers of all times.

Important reflection to all people.

The decision to kill or not somebody

In Hamlet the decision to kill or not somebody becomes a very difficult problem.

ACTUAL SITUATIONS IN WAR

Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Sassoon wanted to send a message in favour of peace.

We remember his poems: “Glory of women” and “They”.

Glory of Women

You love us when we’re heroes, home on leave,Or wounded in a mentionable place. You worship decorations; you believe That chivalry redeems the war’s disgrace. You make us shells. You listen with delight,         By tales of dirt and danger fondly thrilled. You crown our distant ardours while we fight,And mourn our laurelled memories when we’re killed. You can’t believe that British troops ‘retire’ When hell’s last horror breaks them, and they run,  Trampling the terrible corpses—blind with blood.   O German mother dreaming by the fire,   While you are knitting socks to send your son  His face is trodden deeper in the mud. Textual analysis

The reflection’s points

The ignorance of people in front of war’s atrocity.

The reality of war.

The ignorance of people in front of war’s atrocity

“You worship decorations”. (Line 3)

“ You crown our distant ardours when we fight”. (line 7)

The Reality of War

“they run, trampling the terrible corpses, blind with blood”.(Line 11)

“..his face is trodden deeper in the mud”.(Line 14)

They

The Bishop tells us: 'When the boys come backThey will not be the same; for they'll have foughtIn a just cause: they lead the last attackOn Anti-Christ; their comrades' blood has boughtNew right to breed an honourable race,They have challenged Death and dared him face to face.'We're none of us the same!' the boys reply.For George lost both his legs; and Bill's stone blind;Poor Jim's shot through the lungs and like to die;And Bert's gone syphilitic: you'll not findA chap who's served that hasn't found some change. And the Bishop said: 'The ways of God are strange!'

Textual Analysis

The Religious’ Point of View

The Bishop is a religious man and so he has a different vision of life. His point of view is idealistic war is a source of moral change for the soldiers.

The soldiers’ Point of View

The soldiers know what war is in reality and so they have a negative consideration about it!

THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!

The Poet’s Point of View

The poet wants to send a very important message in favour of peace He has a negative opinion about war. It consists of violence and it changes men and their life!

Wilfred Owen

Owen wants to promote peace through the description of war’s reality as you can see from his poem “Futility” and from “A Poet’s Statement” by The Collected Poems.

Futility

Move him into the sun, -Gently its touch awoke him once,At home, whispering of fields unsown.Always it woke him, even in France,Until this morning and this snow.If anything might rouse him nowThe kind old sun will know.

Think how it wakes the seeds, -Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.Are limbs, so dear-achieved, are sides,Full-nerved, -still warm, - too hard to stir?Was it for this the clay grew tall?O what made fatuous sunbeams toil- To break earth's sleep at all?

Textual Analysis

The Meaning of Life

Man represents life and life is not war Man’s life is not useless War doesn’t respect human rights because it

consists of violence

The End of War

The end of war brings again the “sun” inside men’s life!

The end of war brings peace!

A Poet’s Statement

This book is not about heroes. English poetry is not yet fit to speak about them. Nor is it about legends, or lands, or anything about glory, honour, might, majesty, dominion, or power, except War.Above all, I am not concerned with Poetry. My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the Pity. Yet these elegies are to this generation in no sense consolatory. They may be to the next. All a poet can do today is warn. That is why the true Poets must be truthful.

War

Is a problem of the world in past times and now

Destroyes the balance inside a comunity of people

Is caused by men’s ambition

Brings violence and murders

Poetry

Contributes to send a message in favour of peace

Helps the reader to understand the atrocity of war

Underlines the soldiers’ feelings after a war

What Can We Do?

We should learn to love

We need to concentrate ourselves on moral values

We should give a sense to our life

• MACBETH: I am settled; and bend up each corporal agent to this terrible feat. Away, and mock the time with fairest show: False face must hide what the false heart doth know

Act I, Scene 7

• Macbeth: […] and though I could with bare-faced power sweep him from my sight and bid my will avouch it, yet I must not, for certain friends that are both his and mine, whose loves I may not drop, but wails his fall who I myself struck down.

Act III, Scene1

• Macbeth: […] And even now, to crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought the castle of Macduff I will surprise, seize upon Fife, give to the edge o’the sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line.

(Act IV, Scene 1)

• Hamlet: to die, to sleep; to sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub: for in that sleep of death what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause: there’s the respect that makes calamity of so long life

Act III, Scene 1

Textual Analysis

• TITLE consists of 2 words, Glory and Women, that are strictly connected.

• DENOTATION Women love the soldiers when they are heroes ignoring their suffering in war.

• CONNOTATION semantic field of war

alliterations to underline the soldiers’ sarcasm

used of run-on line to underline the accusative tone of the soldiers.

Textual Analysis

• TITLE consists of one single word which underlines the distance between he who speaks and they.

• DENOTATION A Bishop and some soldiers explain their considerations about war.

• CONNOTATION semantic field of war use of particular sounds to

remember the soldiers’ tenseness use of abstract nouns to

underline the bishop’s point of view.

Textual Analysis

• TITLE consists of one single word which underlines what is useless in men’s life.

• DENOTATION the text is a metaphor to illustrate the atrocity of war.

• CONNOTATION semantic field of nature special rhythm to

underline the atmosphere of war

importance of the word “Star”