War edgar wallace
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Transcript of War edgar wallace
WarEdgar Wallace
• Edgar Wallace was a medical orderly in
• South Africa when the war begun.
• Later he became a war correspondent.
• He blended his knowledge of the horrible effects of battle with the vivid style of the journalist in his poem War.
• An eye witness account of the battle field operating theatre.
• Written from point of view of a medical orderly.
• He is observing the surgeon’s attempts to save a wounded man.
• We hear the surgeons instructions to the orderly & they reflect the mounting panic & stress of the situation.
• Lots of repetition, at times almost like a list, this enhances the sense of futility at the constant source of casualties, ‘cannon fodder’. Only just have time to wipe the knife.
I
A tent that is pitched at the base:
A wagon that comes from the night:
A stretcher –and on it a Case:
A surgeon, who’s holding a light,
The Infantry’s bearing the brunt –
O hark to the wind-carried cheer!
A mutter of guns at the front:
A whimper of sobs at the rear.
And it’s War! ‘Orderly, hold the light.
You can lay him down on the table: so.
Easily-gently! Thanks – you may go.’
And it’s War! But the part that is not for show.
IIA tent, with a table athwart,
A table that’s laid out for one:A waterproof cover – and nought
But the limp, mangled work of a gun.A bottle that’s stuck by the pole,
A guttering dip in its neck:The flickering light of a soul
On the wandering eyes of The Wreck, And its War! Orderly, hold his hand.
I’m not going to hurt you, so don’t be afraid. A ricochet! God! What a mess it has made!’
And its War! And a very unhealthy trade.
IIIThe clink of a stopper and glass:A sigh as the chloroform drips:
A trickle of – what? On the grass,And bluer and bluer the lips.
The lashes have hidden the stare…A rent, and the clothes fall away…
A touch, and the wound is laid bare…A cut, and the face has turned grey…
And its War! ‘orderly, take it out.Its hard for his child, and its rough on his wife.
There might have been – sooner – a chance for his lifeBut its War! And – Orderly, clean this knife!’
The ‘message’ of the poem
War! But the part that is not for show…
This is the brutal reality of war.
Where men die on tables, without the surgeon knowing his name.
He is referred to as ‘it’ on a waterproof cover to catch the blood.
A brief thought about his family and then its on to the next casualty with barely time to wipe the knife..
I
A tent that is pitched at the base:
A wagon that comes from the night:
A stretcher –and on it a Case:
A surgeon, who’s holding a light,
The Infantry’s bearing the brunt –
O hark to the wind-carried cheer!
A mutter of guns at the front:
A whimper of sobs at the rear.
And it’s War! ‘Orderly, hold the light.
You can lay him down on the table: so.
Easily-gently! Thanks – you may go.’
And it’s War! But the part that is not for show.
‘A’ simple noun, repeated 3 times,
list effect, reinforces scale &
continuity of actions.
Injured soldier brought in. De
personified, he is a ‘case’, something to be processed.
Infantry, foot soldiers, hand to hand combat,
coming of worst
What is this cheer? Have they won the battle? Contrast of emotions, battle
triumph with injured agony. Wind carries
news, unreliable communication in
war.
Spoken words add realism, continual noises
of battle, difficult to drown out despite physical distance.
Short phrase, like a command, repeated
at same point throughout stanzas. Exclamation mark &
italic, the glory of war yet here is the
reality.
They are gentle & polite, contrast to
later in poem.. Speech marks
convey conversation.
The image of an injured man is not what the public want to see or hear about
IIA tent, with a table athwart,
A table that’s laid out for one:A waterproof cover – and nought
But the limp, mangled work of a gun.A bottle that’s stuck by the pole,
A guttering dip in its neck:The flickering light of a soul
On the wandering eyes of The Wreck, And its War! Orderly, hold his hand.
I’m not going to hurt you, so don’t be afraid. A ricochet! God! What a mess it has made!’
And its War! And a very unhealthy trade.
Interior of tent, an operating table
across the middle. Uses contrast of a
dinner table, laid for one to eat, this is
‘laid’ for one casualty.
Practicalities, waterproof to catch the blood & gore. They have neither
time nor resources to wash the tables down
between men. No sustenance as one would find on a dinner table, this has the mangled body of a man after a gun has inflicted injuries
on him.
Candle stuck in a bottle, flickering,
nearly going out like the life its
illuminating.
The case is now a wreck, he is deterioating
before ours & the surgeons
eyes.
Frightened, in & out of
consciousness
Humanity, recognises the
man’s fear, even though he’s one
of many, compassionate
When a bullet bounces off something
Very visual image of ‘mess’, usually
covered up, here is the horror of
war.
Euphemistic irony. The trade between states and statesmen,
bargaining, treaties etc.
IIIThe clink of a stopper and glass:A sigh as the chloroform drips:
A trickle of – what? On the grass,And bluer and bluer the lips.
The lashes have hidden the stare…A rent, and the clothes fall away…
A touch, and the wound is laid bare…A cut, and the face has turned grey…
And its War! ‘orderly, take it out.Its hard for his child, and its rough on his wife.
There might have been – sooner – a chance for his lifeBut its War! And – Orderly, clean this knife!’
Anaesthetic, sigh of relief from the injured as he loses consciousness,
life?
Probably blood, life blood, the injured mans spirit & life,
lost so easily
Vivid, imagery of blue lips that signify death
Rip away his clothes to locate wound, panic in surgeon now, trying
everything to save him.
Another contrast: case-
wreck-itAnother statistic,
quite sinister image
Brief consideration
for man’s life & family
Recrimination of surgeon of his own skills &
system. If the casualty had got to him
sooner, maybe he could have been saved
No time to dwell for long though. Urgency & abrupt order to clean the knife, ready for the next one in a long line of War’s
reality.
Wallace had first hand experience of war.He had been an orderly so knew the extent of the orderly’s job & how they were treated by the surgeons.
Can’t get too emotionally attached to the casualties
He was also a journalist so did have a dramatic,sensational mode of expression.
He met Rudyard Kipling in S. Africa. I wonder what sortof conversations they had about the war?
Where are the following in the poem?
a) Onomatopoeia- a word that sounds like that it is describingb) Metaphor- two things claimed they are the samec) Assonance-repetition of vowel soundsd) Ironic humour- an obvious understatemente) Emotive word- word that stirs emotional response.f) Impersonal pronoun - itg) Rule of three- concept that points in threes are more effectiveh) Pathos- a poem that makes us feel sorrow for others suffering