A discussion to the extent to which the BBC's "Blackadder Comes Forth" and Pat Barker's "The Ghost Road" are typical of texts written about the First World War.
1,194 words (approx. 4.8 pages), 0 sources, 2004, $ 40.95
Abstract This paper considers a wide range of texts written about the First World War, focusing on "Blackadder Comes Forth" written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton and Pat Barker's "The Ghost Road". It analyses the texts in terms of language form and structure and the way the writers use the genre of their choice to express their thoughts and feelings. The influence of the time of composition and the significance of the gender of the writers is also discussed.
From the Paper "More than in any other previous conflict, the Great War inspired writers of all generations and classes to write about their experiences in a way that was totally new to previous war literature. The new manner in which the First World War was conducted dramatically changed the way war was viewed, which is naturally reflected in the literature written. Before 1914 wars were largely fought abroad, which therefore meant that people wrote about war with a somewhat detached view as they were completely removed from the immediate situation. At this time war was considered, by most, to be a cleansing, almost health giving experience and the literature written, for example Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade", celebrated Victorian values of devotion to duty, patriotic loyalty and sacrifice."
Abstract The paper discusses how A. S. Byatt, in the novel "Possession", succeeds brilliantly in the monumental technical achievement of creating a deeply layered romance in which two twentieth century literary scholars, Roland Michell and Maud Bailey, become themselves romantically involved as they investigate a startling connection between the two Victorian poets of whom they have made specialized study. The author shows that Byatt's feat is an especially remarkable tour de force as she invents and adroitly interlaces the poetic works of both Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte into her narrative. This essay presents a critical analysis of Ash's poem "Swammerdam" as it reveals it's intricate intra textual roles in the novel.
From the Paper "Byatt introduces the word "possessed" (225) as Swammerdam considers his obsession with insects. From the title of the book it is obvious the Byatt herself is possessed with the ways in which humans throughout history become possessed by one thing or another. Scholars are possessed by long dead poets, men and women are romantically possessed by one another, mentally and physically and Swammerdam and Ash are possessed by obsessions to study "forms of life" (225). As Swammerdam "crucified" "frail dark wings," for his own knowledge and "amusement," the reader sees the analogy to Ash's poetic crucifixions of his poetic characterizations and even feels a foreboding knowledge of Christabel's fate as she will succumb to the pins and microscope of Ash's possession."
Abstract The three-dimensional Rubik's Cube - an icon of the 1980s ? brought a certain cerebral quality to the modern toy. This paper shows the similarities in the mechanism of the Rubik's cube and the way in which humor functions. It shows these similarities with reference to relevant academics such as Sigmund Freud and Henry Bergson. Examples used to illustrate the argument are drawn from a variety of sources including novels, live stage performance, theatre and cinema.
From the Paper "Freud's work Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious dissects the technique, purposes and motives of jokes and reveals a remarkably similar mechanism to that of Rubik's Cube. The jumble of colors into matching sets may be likened to ?the ability to find similarity in dissimilar things.? A joke begins in the mind as a puzzle for the audience as they try to guess its outcome or make sense of nonsense. Humor has to be expressed physically - whether it is through voice, mime or writing - but is essentially a materialization of intellectual thought (behind bumbling Mr. Bean in fact lies Cambridge-educated Rowan Atkinson)."
Abstract This paper analyses four texts in terms of language form and structure and the way the writers use the genre of their choice to express their thoughts and feelings.The four pieces are "The Hero" by Siegfried Sassoon, "Goodbye to All That" by Robert Graves, "Journey's End" by R.C.Sherriff and "Black Adder" by Ben Elton and Richard Curtis. It looks at how the texts are typical of World War One literature and the influence of the time of composition and the significance of the gender of the writers.
From the Paper "More than in any other previous conflict, the Great War inspired writers of all generations and classes to write about their experiences in a way that was totally new to previous war literature. The new manner in which the First World War was conducted dramatically changed the way war was viewed, which is naturally reflected in the literature written. Before 1914 wars were largely fought abroad, which therefore meant that people wrote about war with a somewhat detached view as they were completely removed from the immediate situation. At this time war was considered, by most, to be a cleansing, almost health giving experience and the literature written, for example Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade", celebrated Victorian values of devotion to duty, patriotic loyalty and sacrifice."
