The Oxford Book of War Poetry
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Author Description
This anthology of 250 war poems was first published in 1988 to coincide with the 70th Anniversary of the Armistice of 1918. They range from Homer and the Bible to John Betjeman, Randell Jarrell, James Fenton and Roy Fuller by way of Chaucer, Coleridge, Emily Dickinson and Hardy to name a few of the poets included. The selection is arranged chronologically by conflict, to produce a history of warfare as seen by some of the most eloquent observers and chroniclers of its effects. It reveals the shift of social awareness of the state of war and includes a selection from the classics, medieval poetry and poetry of the Civil War and the 18th and 19th centuries, plus a scrutiny of the two World Wars and Vietnam, violence in Northern Ireland and El Salvador ending with visions of the "next war". Jon Stallworthy is editor of the "Penguin Book of Love Poetry". His biography "Wilfred Owen" won the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize, the W.H. Smith Literary Award and the E.M. Forster Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This anthology investigates the evolution of human perception regarding armed conflict through the lens of poetic expression across centuries. Editor Jon Stallworthy, a distinguished biographer and literary scholar, curates a selection of 250 poems to illustrate how the social and psychological impact of warfare has been documented by observers from antiquity to the late 20th century. The work argues that poetry serves as a primary historical record, capturing the shifting attitudes toward violence, heroism, and the human cost of battle.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- A chronological arrangement of poems spanning from Homer and the Bible to contemporary conflicts like Vietnam and Northern Ireland.
- A diverse range of poetic forms and historical perspectives, including medieval, Civil War, and 18th-century compositions.
- Editorial commentary that contextualizes the shift in social awareness regarding the state of war.
Scope Limits
- The collection focuses primarily on Western literary traditions and conflicts, omitting extensive coverage of non-Western poetic responses to war.
- The selection concludes with the late 20th-century geopolitical landscape and does not address 21st-century warfare.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Critics and scholars frequently cite this anthology as a definitive reference for the study of war literature due to Stallworthy's meticulous selection process. Readers often note that the chronological structure provides a clear, sobering narrative of how the romanticization of battle has transitioned into the stark realism of modern conflict.
Page Count:
388
Publication Date:
1988-10-20
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0192825844
ISBN-13:
9780192825841
Poetry
History
War poetry
Military History
Anthology
Literature
War
