Out of Battle: The Poetry of the Great War

by J. Silkin

Overview

The poetry from the Great War is among the most powerful ever written in the English language. Unique for its immediacy and searing honesty, it has made a fundamental contribution to our understanding of and response to war and the suffering it creates. Widely acclaimed as an indispensable guide to the war poets and their work, Out of Battle explores in depth the variety of responses from Rupert Brook, Ford Madox Ford, Seigfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg and Edward Thomas to the events they witnessed. Other poets discussed are Hardy, Kipling, Charles Sorely, Ivor Gurney, Herbert Read, Richard Aldington and David Jones. For this second edition of Out of Battle, a substantial new preface has been added, together with an appendix on the unresolved problems concerning the Owen manuscripts. An updated bibliography provides useful guidance for further reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780333653982
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	06/22/1998
Edition description:	2nd ed. 1998
Pages:	374
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jon Silkin is Fellow of Poetry at the University of Leeds.

Table of Contents

Contents Preface Preface to the Second Edition Acknowledgements Introduction Thomas Hardy Rudyard Kipling and Rupert Brooke Charles Sorley and Others Edward Thomas Edmund Blunden and Ivor Gurney Siegfried Sassoon Herbert Reed, Richard Aldington and Ford Madox Ford Wilfred Owen Issac Rosenberg David Jones Conclusion Appendix Select Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

British poet Silkin's (1930-97) now classic study of the poetry his compatriots distilled from their experience in World War I, first published in 1971. He explores relevant poems by Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, Rupert Brooke, Edward Thomas, Siegfried Sassoon, Richard Aldington, Wilfred Owen, David Jones, and others. He died while the edition was in press, having written a new preface by Silkin and notes on a missing 1918 folio by Wilfred Owen. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

'..through Silkin's subtle and informing consideration the poets take on a new individuality and stature.' - The Daily Telegraph

'a most impressive book.' - Times Higher Education Supplement

'How simulative of ever-fresh speculation is Jon Silkin's logically developed exploration, sometimes impassioned and often exciting.' - The Times

'Should find a permanent place in the literature dealing with the Great War.' - New Statesman

From the Publisher