6V Literature - The Modern Period / The War Poets

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Slide 1: Slide
EngelsMiddelbare schoolvwoLeerjaar 6

This lesson contains 22 slides, with interactive quizzes and text slides.

time-iconLesson duration is: 50 min

Items in this lesson

Slide 1 - Slide

A Survey of English Literature
THE MODERN PERIOD
&
THE WAR POETS

Slide 2 - Slide

This lesson
Introduction to the Modern Period
Introduction to the War Poets

The Soldier by Rupert Brooke

Slide 3 - Slide

What are the main themes
of War Poetry?

Slide 4 - Mind map

Historical context - 1
The First World War  aka The Great War (1914-1918)
  • Trenches
  • Large-scale slaughter in Flanders and Northern France
  • Entire generation of young men wiped out
  • Britain lost place as one of dominant political + economic powers in the world
  • Great Depression (1930s)

Slide 5 - Slide

Historical context - 2
The Second World War (1939-1945)
  • Winston Churchill
  • The Battle of Britain
  • End of once mighty British Empire
  • Britain only played secondary role in Cold War, as ally of USA

Slide 6 - Slide

The War Poets - 1
The horrors of modern warfare
An attempt to find words for their emotions
Four "Trench Poets"

Slide 7 - Slide

The War Poets - 2
Rupert Brooke (1887-1915)
  • Already famous young poet 
  • Joined Royal Navy in 1914
  • Fell ill and died from infected mosquito bite

The Soldier: Characteristic for the mood in very early part of war

Slide 8 - Slide

The War Poets - 3
Charles Sorley (1895-1915)

Arrived at wesrn front in May 1915
Killed in action during the Battle of Loos (October 1915)
Unsentimental style

Sonnet: When you see millions of mouthless dead

Slide 9 - Slide

The War Poets - 4.1
Siegried Sassoon (1886-1967)

Established poet at beginning of war
Joined army in August 1914
Wounded twice
Published many poems on war experiences and feelings

Slide 10 - Slide

The War Poets - 4.2
Characterized by harsh realism; biting sarcasm

Main themes:  
  • incompetence of officers
  • ignorance of people
  • false picture of war
  • frustrations of soldiers

Slide 11 - Slide

The War Poets - 5
Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
  • Most talented of "Trench Poets"
  • Wounded in 1917; wrote most of his poems back in England
  • Went back to France in 1918; killed November 4
  • Poems published in 1920 - edited by Siegfried Sassoon
  • Created tragic vison of world at war, dominated by pain and suffering

Slide 12 - Slide

The Soldier by Rupert Brooke
Read the poem on p. 21
Do assignment 9

Discuss answers at 09:15

Slide 13 - Slide

Modernism - 1
  • Grew out of disillusionment with Victorian attitudes of certainty and conservatism
  • Reflects impact of modern psychology
  • Sigmund Freud
  • Peak between First and Second World Wars
  • Characterized by constant experimentalism

Slide 14 - Slide

Modernism - 2
Stream-of-consciousness
  • James Joyce
  • Virginia Woolf

Free verse
  • T. S. Eliot

Slide 15 - Slide

Post-Modernism
  • Period after 1945
  • Difficult to define! Disagreement on its characteristics
  • Very diverse: various styles of writing and many different areas of interest
  •  "Anything goes" ?
  • Many important writers; selection on pp. 46-49 of survey

Slide 16 - Slide

Which War Poet survived the Great War?
A
Rupert Brooke
B
Charles Sorley
C
Siegfried Sassoon
D
Wilfred Owen

Slide 17 - Quiz

Which year marked the end of the once mighty British Empire?
A
1914
B
1918
C
1939
D
1945

Slide 18 - Quiz

What is another name for the famous War Poets?
A
Trench Poets
B
French Poets
C
Trash Poets
D
Horror Poets

Slide 19 - Quiz

What is the correct time period for Modernism?
A
The beginning of the 20th century
B
Between the two World Wars
C
After the Second World War
D
The beginning of the 21st century

Slide 20 - Quiz

What are the main themes
of War Poetry?

Slide 21 - Mind map

End of lesson
Last introduction to literature!

Next lesson: more war poetry

Slide 22 - Slide