Pre-1914 Poetry Year 10

Some Ideas About War War would end if the dead could return. - Stanley Baldwin -Would they think it was worth the price they paid? War is a series of catastrophes which result in victory. - Albert Pike How can you relate this to ‘After Blenheim’? –(‘Twas a great victory!)

Background to Blenheim THIS battle was fought near the village of Blenheim, in Bavaria, on the left bank of the river Danube, on August 13, The French and Bavarians, under Marshall Tallard and Marsin, were defeated by the English and Austrians, under the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene. The French and Bavarians were taken by surprise in the village, and their armies were badly handled. On the opposite side Marlborough and Prince Eugene showed themselves splendid cavalry leaders and led an attack that proved successful through its very recklessness. The French and Bavarians lost 30,000 in killed, wounded, and prisoners, while Marlborough's loss was only 11,000. The battle broke the prestige of the French king, Louis XIV; and when Marlborough returned to England his nation built a magnificent mansion for him and named it Blenheim Palace after this battle. The poem was written after the war ended!

After Blenheim Southey's poem tells how a little girl found a skull near the battle-field many years afterward, and asked her grandfather how it came there. He told her that a great battle had been fought there, and many of the leaders had won great renown. But he could not tell her why it was fought or what good came of it. He only knew that it was a "great victory." That was the moral of so many of the wars that kings fought for more power and glory; and the peasants fled from burning homes, and the soldiers fell on the fields. The poem gives an idea of the real value to men of such famous victories as that of Blenheim. “When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die.” Jean-Paul Sartre

The Importance of the Skull This poem is separated into 11 equal verses. Rhyme is used to speed up the poem. Southey uses a skull, as it is the most unique part of the human body. This makes you recognise that the skull was once part of a human body that was ruthlessly killed, and again emphasises the pointlessness of war. It is narrated like a story with three characters. What is the purpose of these characters? As in the other poems the poet uses repetition as at the end each verse he repeats the ironic saying: “But ‘twas a famous victory.”

Pointlessness…. It is a poem about the futility or pointlessness of war. “With fire and sword the country round… And newborn baby died:” This shows that the war caused devastation and hundreds of killings.

The Irony of Victory Old Kasper has a casual attitude towards this claiming that ‘things like that must be’. His gruesome descriptions, followed by his casual sayings create an effect of irony. It is ironic that it was a great war but no one knows why.

Farming Old Kasper is a farmer and finds a lot of skulls when he ploughs his fields. This emphasises his casual attitude to the finding of the skull. The idea of farming is important too. Seeds are planted in the ground and are grown showing rebirth, despite there being skulls and death embedded in the earth.

Not a Great Victory at all… Old Kasper continuously repeats this sentence as this is all he knows about the war. Although it is constantly mentioned that it was a great victory this is not what the poem is saying. Southey is using this phase to emphasis that exact opposite, that it wasn’t a great victory. It is a very effective way of making his point The irony in this piece really gets the audience to understand how pointless the war was

Introduction In this _________ on Robert Southey’s poem ________, I will ______ to _______ how the poet uses language, imagery and poetic devices to __________ the _______ of war. Many of the _______ expressed by _________ such as _____, _______ are still ______ today.

Section by Section Section 2: Put a short bit of background to the poem and say why you think it was written. Section 3: Look for some themes and poetic devices used in the poem (Use PQC) Section 4: Conclude by talking about the futility of war and discuss the idea that this is a relevant theme still today.