War Literature

Products of Inspiration or Desperation?

Why Literature and War?

• The intense excesses of human emotion would always result in the propagation of creative expression.

• War is such a hugely emotional occurrence because it:– affects people on a massive scale– potentially involves issues of life and death– usually entails intense suffering– gives rise to heroic behaviour– creates demons and monsters as well

Why Literature and War?

• As such, it makes for excellent human drama.• The kind that finds a sympathetic ear or eye in

almost every level of society as it underlies the core of human experience.

• An expedient outlet of such drama lies in various forms of artistic expression, including (but not limited to) literature.

War

MusicNovels

Biographies/Autobiographies

Photographs

Paintings

Sculptures

Installation Art

Poetry

PlaysSongs

Film

Essays

Letters

Cartoons

Posters

Different Modes of Creative ExpressionFélix Vallotton, Le cimetière de Châlons-sur-Marne (The Cemetery of Châlons sur Marne), 1917,

oil on canvas, 54 x 80 cm, Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine - BDIC, Paris.

Speeches

Allied Propaganda Posters

Axis Propaganda Posters

The Real Battle Field

C. R. W. Nevinson, Paths of Glory, 1917, oil on canvas, 45.7 x 61 cm, Imperial War Museum.

Death in the War

Frans Masereel, Arise, You Dead, Infernal Resurrection, 1917, woodcut, 14 x 11 cm, Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine - BDIC, Paris.

Picasso’s Guernica“The Spanish struggle is the fight of reaction against the people, against freedom. My whole life as an artist has been nothing more than a continuous struggle against reaction and the death of art. How could anybody think for a moment that I could be in agreement with reaction and death? ... In the panel on which I am working, which I shall call Guernica, and in all my recent works of art, I clearly express my abhorrence of the military caste which has sunk Spain in an ocean of pain and death.

”

• The Guernica is an iconic work that universally represents the suffering of war victims. While the Spanish Civil War inspired the painting, it is now a timeless piece reminding generations about the ill-effects of war.

Picasso’s The Weeping Woman

Follow-up from Guernica, the final instalment of a series of war paintings.

While inspired by the sufferings of war victims, this painting is now an icon representing human suffering.

• For Picasso, war and suffering was an inspiration for him to display his artistic talent and feelings.

• For many writers, the many great wars provided them inspiration for their art, but some of them were also involved in the war as soldiers, pilots etc.

• For example, Roald Dahl’s experience as a war-time pilot led him to write his book Going Solo

• For some poets, it is more desperation than inspiration, as they write from the perspective of a soldier deeply mired in the complexities of war.

• They can be stuck in trenches with gunfire overhead, they can be victorious, they can be on the verge of death, they may have lost a comrade.

• This term “war poetry” originated after WWI, simply because many prominent war poets emerged after this war.

• Some eventually died in the war, including poets like Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen.

• Others like Siegfried Sassoon survived, and lived on to launch scathing attacks against the idea of war.

The Writers of War

Others

Rupert Brooke Siegfried Sassoon

Wilfred Owen

• By the time WWII came about, the conspicuous absence of war poetry had led people to question “Where are the war poets?”

• By then, war poetry was accepted by the public as necessarily a positive product of war.

Beyond portrayals…

• Other than depicting the human drama, writers, poets, artists, composers etc. have other reasons to create pieces about the war, such as to express:– Anti-war sentiments– Political aspirations/propaganda– Nationalistic fervour

Recurrent Themes

• Each creative persona seeks to highlight a particular aspect of war that they have observed or personally experienced.

• Several recurrent themes can be consistently observed in the literature of war. These themes characterise these pieces as literature of the war.

• The following lists some of these themes though the list is by no means exhaustive.

Themes

Glory & Honour

Pain & Suffering

Courage

Loss

Survival

Peace & Pacifism

Brotherhood

Women & the WarDuty

Death

Guilt

Heroism

Good vs. Evil

PatriotismSacrifice

Futility

Hope

Violence

Power & Dominion

Innocence Lost

Religion

Recurrent Themes

Songs Inspired by War

• When faced with extreme trauma or a profoundly life-changing event, such as war, a person may choose to express it in a manner which is non-threatening as part of psychological recovery.

• This allows a rationalisation of the issue • And if this is in the form of music or a song, it allows the

individual to vocalise and express this problem with others as a means of therapy and warning as well.

• In addition, writing a song that people could identify with would draw in the community in unity through sharing a common experience.

Songs Inspired by War

• Generally speaking, songs can be demarcated along several broad lines of division based on their purpose.

• They include songs that are:– an anti-war protest– an exhortation for peace– a recount of personal experiences of war– a reflection on the effects of war– any combination of the above

• With the combination of words and music, songs are highly successful in sending their message.

A couple of songs about war

• Listen to these 2 songs carefully• They’re actually versions of the same song

(somewhat), performed by the same band, with different tones and moods about them.

• Decide which song you prefer, or can identify with better

• Keep the songs in mind as you embark on an activity after this.

System of a Down - Soldier Side (Intro)

Welcome to the Soldier SideWhere there's no one here but mePeople all grow up to dieThere is no one here but me

System of a Down - Soldier SideThey were crying when their sons leftGod is wearing blackHe's gone so far to find no hopeHe's never coming backThey were crying when their sons leftAll young men must goHe's come so far to find no truthHe's never going home

Welcome to the Soldier SideWhere there's no one here but mePeople all grow up to dieThere is no one here but me

Welcome to the Soldier SideThere is no one here but mePeople on the soldier's sideThere is no one here but me

Dead men lying on the bottom of the graveWondering when saviour comesIs he gonna be saved?Maybe you're a sinner, into your alternate lifeMaybe you're a joker, maybe you deserve to die

They were crying when their sons leftGod is wearing blackHe's gone so far to find no hopeHe's never coming backThey were crying when their sons leftAll young men must goHe's come so far to find the truthHe's never going home

Young men standing on the top of their own gravesWondering when Jesus comesAre they gonna be saved?Cruelty to the winner, Bishop tells the King his liesMaybe you’re a mourner, maybe you deserve to die