tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post5377333437683847514..comments2024-03-26T03:11:42.678-04:00Comments on Behind Their Lines: Wilfred Owen's Coming of Age poemConnie R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00887098543181126157noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-39777711717236649082021-11-04T05:06:57.226-04:002021-11-04T05:06:57.226-04:00The Sambre-Ouise battle was not a futile battle. I...The Sambre-Ouise battle was not a futile battle. It was one of the most important battles of the First World War, breaking the German line and opening their defences all the way back to their gun line. It was the point that German High Command new for definite the war was lost and pushed their reason to sign for an armistice a week later. Owen wasn't killed whilst 'trying to cross', he was last seen directing his men across the canal. Words are important here, your post makes him out to be a tragic and futile loss in a war, where in fact he was an important, albeit small, part of an incredibly important operation that ultimately decided the war's outcome. Abwehrschlachthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17947283932230918452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-70099448255381380882020-04-23T15:19:49.706-04:002020-04-23T15:19:49.706-04:00Your country's and family's tragedies have...Your country's and family's tragedies have powerfully shaped your work on peace, Chris. Thank you for sharing. Connie R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00887098543181126157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-38779304099381390882020-04-22T00:29:38.073-04:002020-04-22T00:29:38.073-04:00Hou may be interested to learn the content of the ...Hou may be interested to learn the content of the inscription on the <br />statue for the fallen in my childhood village, which is about 40 kms from Ypres. It asks the straightforward question "What use is there in the shedding of our blood?" The question is rhetorical and could easily precede Owen's title or the capitalized L in the word Lie. <br />During WWI my village had 3,000 inhabitants. 55 of them 'gave their lives for King and Country.c.spriethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03362112445796023444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-46071295725148915542018-04-15T00:14:00.161-04:002018-04-15T00:14:00.161-04:00Thank you for sharing and introducing me to this p...Thank you for sharing and introducing me to this poignant and powerful poem. <br />Adron, http://aedozat.com/Adron Dozathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16984901682089884141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-439830397266889972017-01-15T10:41:29.853-05:002017-01-15T10:41:29.853-05:00Compelling thoughts, as always, Chris - particular...Compelling thoughts, as always, Chris - particularly on Owen's capitalization of "Lie." Thanks for sharing. Duffy's "Last Post" is on the blog - it's one of my favorite contemporary poems about the war. I'm considering a post on a Jessie Pope -- stay tuned! Connie R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00887098543181126157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-4290619621416285032017-01-15T04:17:53.440-05:002017-01-15T04:17:53.440-05:00In one of its earliest versions Owen (mock-)'d...In one of its earliest versions Owen (mock-)'dedicated' his "Dulce..." to 'a friend'. This was a poetess by the name of Jessie Pope, who had made herself widely popular with early jingoistic poems, the purpose of which basically came up to rallying schoolboys and youngsters to do their duty for King and Country and go off to war. <br />The quotation is from Horace and says that it is meet and sweet to sacrifice one's life for the fatherland. <br /><br />Note that, in using the capital for the word 'Lie', Owen discards the self-sacrifice for the sake of the country as a 'capital lie'. By which I do not mean to say that as a soldier, Owen hadn't been a courageous man and a true comrade. His 'Selected Letters', which, in my opinion, are a human and literary masterpiece prove that beyond the shadow of a doubt. <br /><br />In an earlier reaction to your blog, I think I referred to a later inscription to be found at the base of a headstone (in Tyne Cor cemetery, Passchendaele). The inscription of one soldier Young's grave reads 'Sacrificed to the fallacy that war could end war'. Probably this comes close to the intention Owen had in mind while writing his Dulce.<br /><br />An interesting counterpart to Owen's poem could be (the Poet Laureate) Carol Ann Duffy's poem 'Last Post'. In her own way Duffy revives and rethinks the patriotism to which Owen had already reacted. <br /><br />Best,<br />Chris c.spriethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03362112445796023444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-28806392700569029852014-11-12T10:05:02.116-05:002014-11-12T10:05:02.116-05:00As you wish :)As you wish :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14380063483185583578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-87485895535550497342014-11-12T10:04:26.359-05:002014-11-12T10:04:26.359-05:00As you wish :)As you wish :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14380063483185583578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-63950573125440537562014-11-09T16:04:59.688-05:002014-11-09T16:04:59.688-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Pattyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12440716335714642084noreply@blogger.com