Poems written during World War I differed radically in style from those of Victorian and Georgian poetry. Praise of heroism was buried by the horror of modern trench warfare. Many poets (and others) did not survive. On July 1, 1916 alone, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, British troops suffered 57,000 casualties, 20,000 killed.
In this class we will read the following poets: Thomas Hardy, Rupert Brooke, Margaret Postgate Cole, Ivor Gurney, Isaac Rosenberg, Robert Graves, Charlotte Mew, Siegfried Sassoon, and Wilfred Owen. As time permits, we will take a brief look at paintings by WWI artists. We will read selections from World War One British Poets, edited by Candace Ward (Dover Thrift Editions).
Instructor Geoffrey Robinson earned his B.A. and M.A. in English Literature from Yale University. He has taught in secondary schools in Connecticut; at Maarif College in Samsun, Turkey; and at the Penobscot Language School in Rockland, Maine. Geoffrey has also spent 25 years as a dealer in paintings, specializing in 19th- and 20th-century European and American work.
If you want to register and are not yet a member, Click here for New Member Signup