Extracts B and C represent only a tiny sample of literature relating to one of the most written about and well remembered subjects of 20th Century literature, World War I. Despite having a concurrent theme, war literature, specifically regarding The First World War, is filled with contrasts, differing opinions and ways of presenting the same theme. Naturally there are also many similarities between literature from this period.

The two extracts both present war using a different genre. “Not About Heroes” uses a play setting whilst “Goodbye To All That” is an autobiographical novel. The structure of the extracts is important when considering them in relation to other literature from the time. For example, the stage directions used in “Not About Heroes” create a sense of violence and action, with “an explosion… War noises continue”. This gives the play a sense of dramatic tension and vigorous action, just as the stage directions at the end of “Journey’s End” bring Sherriff’s play to a dramatic climax. A similar technique has also been used in television programmes based on the First World War, even in comedies such as “Blackadder Goes Forth”. The final episode of this series uses a similar “roar of voices” and “thunderous machine-gun fire”, just as with Extract B, to help give atmosphere to the play.

However, “Not About Heroes”, whilst being a play, is written in places as a series of letters which Owen and Sassoon read out to each other on stage, “Very dear Siegfried…” This represents the importance of letters in the war, as they were the only way for soldiers to communicate with each other and with loved ones back at home. The novel “Strange Meeting” by Susan Hill also shows how essential letters were as most of the description of the town of Feuvry is contained in a letter from the narrator. A Sergeant also jokes “did you manage to get a dozen or two written while you were actually marching?” illustrating the sheer volume of them that some soldiers wrote.

Robert Graves’ autobiography, Extract C, bears many similarities to other biographical works of the First World War. “Memoirs of an Infantry Officer”, Sassoon’s fictional autobiography is written in a similar style, as is “All Quiet on the Western Front” which is a fictional biography by a serving German recruit. However Extract C is a work of non-fiction, unlike these other novels. This suggests it may have been easier to soldiers to come to terms with and write about their experiences if they placed other people, rather than themselves, directly in the action.

Both writers come over as being very acceptive of their situation, they are in war and fighting because there is no other choice for them. Owen allowed himself to go back to the front lines so he could “help: directly [and] indirectly”. Graves, however, does not give any hint of his reasons in Extract C, but the tone of his writing is one of acceptance and willing to do his best in the situation “there’s nothing else for it, is there?”, despite recognising “Of course it’s murder, you bloody fool”. Sassoon’s own views towards the war, and his declaration, are hinted at in Extract B as Owen talks of being recommended for the Military Cross, “I don’t know what you’ll think…” Sassoon’s views of war were much stronger and he was one of the few officers brave enough to speak out directly against the war. For this he was placed in Craiglockhart mental hospital, where the action in “Regeneration” by Pat Barker takes place.

The actions and behaviour of the characters in both these Extracts and throughout war literature also helps us to understand the period. Owen wanted to lead his men “as well as an officer can”, just as Graves seems to be doing in Extract C. However there are times when even Owen’s leadership abilities have been put to the test. Owen, in his poem “The Dead-Beat” describes how a broken-down soldier merely “blinked” at his revolver. Owen’s own admission into Craiglockhart hospital makes his behaviour towards this wretched solider seem quite ironic. The leadership abilities of the entire British Army are satirically parodied in the play “Oh What a Lovely War” and the series “Blackadder Goes Forth”. Commonly the command are seen to have no care for the lives of the soldiers whatsoever, and are more interested in “moving their drinks cabinet” a few feet closer to Berlin.

Extract C also shows how jokes and humour were one of the only ways for soldiers to get through the horrors of the war: “The men laughed at my singing”. This laughing contrasts starkly with the C.S.M.’s words later in the sentence “It’s murder, sir”. This was the same for everyone involved, as “All Quiet on the Western Front” shows, “make jokes… what else can we do?” However later in the novel a more sinister comment is made that the jokes get “more bitter” with each month the war continues. Alcohol was also the officer’s friend, as Graves suggests in his autobiography, he drank “a bottle of whisky a day”. This is echoed in “Journey’s End” with Stanhope’s serious drinking problem, often staying up most of the night drunk.

The horrors of war are also presented effectively by both these extracts. Owen talks in a very matter-of-fact manner about how his “excellent batman” was “shot in the head”. His sentences get shorter and more emphatic, creating pauses for the audience to soak up the horror, just as “his blood soaked my shoulder… on my tunic”. Sassoon’s reply to this in the play is a quote from a poem, which echoes Owen’s words, “his round mouth’s crimson deepen as it fell”. This intersperse of poetry with the play is effective in highlighting the horrors of war in different mediums, with an almost beautiful feeling created by the rhythm and rhyme. Extract C also talks of the “heavy and hateful” gas-cylinders as a horrific weapon of war. Gas is commonly mentioned as being a horrific enemy, for example in “Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori” by Owen. Here a vivid image is shown of the attack’s victims, “He plunges at my guttering, choking, drowning” and the effect it has on humans, “froth corrupted lungs”. Extract B bears none of this sickly vocabulary but Extract C goes on to describe the “corpses… swelled and stank” and mention gross detail in the colour progression of corpses “…to black, to slimy.” The disgusting smell is also mentioned here by Graves. Sassoon also talks of “…the stench / Of corpses rotting…” in his poem “Aftermath”.

The narrator in “All Quiet on the Western Front” argues that “tanks… embody the horror of war for us” and he also speaks of “electrified barbed wire”, showing that new abominations were being developed all the time to kill the enemy.

The inactivity and waiting mentioned in Extract C is also a common theme in First World War literature, “We waited on the fire-step from four to nine o’clock” before the attack was eventually called off. When Raleigh first arrives in the front line in “Journey’s End” he comments on how quiet things seem and also in “Spring Offensive”, another of Owen’s poems, the waiting, like a calm before a storm, is discussed.

The episode in Extract C where “a cry arose from No Man’s Land” is also a common scene in war literature. In “All Quiet on the Western Front” the soldiers hear “him shout out… crawling around in No Man’s Land” and the wounded recovering “consciousness after two days” is also mentioned in “Birdsong” by Sebastian Faulks. The scene there is like the dead on the battlefield returning to life after the carnage has ended, with troops wandering the field, dazed. Extract C also mentions that it “was death to put one’s head over the parapet”, something proven, in a comedic way, by “Blackadder Goes Forth” with the throwing of a helmet, and in a very serious way in both “Not About Heroes” and “Birdsong” when Sassoon and Weir respectively receive a sniper’s bullet in the head.

The way the “Germans fired to frighten” the solider crossing No Man’s Land to help his comrade shows us that both sides would rather not shoot to kill the ‘enemy’ if they could avoid it. This is shown from the German’s point of view in Remarque’s novel, as the characters never refer to the English as ‘the enemy’. The Christmas Truce scene in “Oh What a Lovely War” also demonstrates the brotherhood felt between the trenches along some parts of the line. In Extract B, Sassoon suggests that the Germans lost “their faith in ultimate victory”. This is supported again by “All Quiet on the Western Front” where Remarque describes how most of the infantry did not believe Germany could win the war any more, but saw the war continuing regardless of this.

Heroic actions are also rewarded in both of the extracts. Owen’s bravery and “fine leadership” in Extract B earn him the M.C. and Graves recommends one of his company for the V.C. for the part he played in walking across No Man’s Land alone. These medals are rewards for “gallant” actions, but do not prove anything for the soldiers. Sassoon threw his medal in a river as part of his protest against the war, showing how little it meant to him. This makes us wonder if a solider does indeed “fight long and hard for a bit of coloured ribbon.”

Unlike Graves’ autobiography, “Not About Heroes” deals mostly with the personal relationship between Sassoon and Owen during the war, a relationship which is also discussed in “Regeneration”. The great importance of male relationships is made clear through this play, and much other literature. It is these relationships with others that formed the backbone of coping the First World War. These bonds are shown to be part of the universal experience of war in “All Quiet on the Western Front” as the narrator explains that his comrades voices “mean more than my life… the strongest and most protective thing there is”. Extract C also gives this point of view, “The relations of officers and men… no insubordination, a greater freedom of speech” but from a different angle, explaining that the relations between officers and infantry on the front are very different to back in training. The peril on the front lines brings men closer, and this is again proven to be universal through the men’s defiance of their superiors in “All Quiet on the Western Front”: “the front is no parade-ground”. This relationship boundary caused by class and rank also becomes apparent in “Journey’s End”. Here Stanhope, a commanding officer veteran of the war, receives a new officer and old friend on his company. There is a rift of rank between them as, despite being good friends previously, they can no longer even address each other by first names. Extract C also mentions how discipline reasserted itself, so Graves “only occasionally… found them intimate.”

Both of the extracts are written by male authors and deal with the male aspects of war, such as trench warfare. It must not be thought however that the horrors of war were only a male experience. Female authors such as Vera Britten have also written about their experiences in war, which are just as traumatic as those of the men. Youth is also mentioned in Extract B as “a seraphic boy-lance-corporal” becomes Owen’s sergeant-major. “All Quiet on the Western Front” often talks of the tragedy of youth entering the war just to be killed. The major characters are all fresh from school, persuaded to join up by their teachers. Symbolism is also used in Extract B as Owen talks of losing earthly faculties and fighting “like an angel”, religious symbolism which occurs in Sassoon’s poetry. “The Redeemer” compares all men who fight on the front lines to Christ, being sacrificed.

In conclusion, both extracts are typical of first World War literature because of the matter they are dealing with and their presentation of it. The horrors of war and behaviours of the troops in particular shed light on the traumatic experiences of the front-line soldier and help the reader or audience to understand the situation better.

_{Mark achieved: 14\20 (B)}

_{Teacher’s comments: This is a splendid effort. Lots pulled out of the extracts and good use of wider reading. But over-use of “All Quiet…” to the exclusion of other novels. Try to analyse more comparatively from the actual extracts.}

_{References: A variety of wider reading from the First World War, all mentioned within the text.}

comparisons, ww1 || Academia