Stand in the Trench, Achilles
Classical Receptions in British Poetry of the Great War
ISBN13: 9780199542741ISBN10: 0199542740
Hardback,
480 pages
Jan 2010,
In Stock
Price:
$140.00 (06)Description
Elizabeth Vandiver examines the ways in which British poets of the First World War used classical literature, culture, and history as a source of images, ideas, and even phrases for their own poetry. Vandiver argues that classics was a crucial source for writers from a wide variety of backgrounds, from working-class poets to those educated in public schools, and for a wide variety of political positions and viewpoints. Poets used references to classics both to support and to oppose the war from its beginning all the way to the Armistice and after. By exploring the importance of classics in the poetry of the First World War, Vandiver offers a new perspective on that poetry and on the history of classics in British culture.Features
- A pioneering study that demonstrates the importance of classics in both popular and 'high' culture during the First World War
- Generous quotation from little-known poets as well as canonical ones allows readers to see the range of classical receptions in the poetry discussed
- All Latin and Greek is translated
Reviews
"The most useful as a compendium of information about the poets of the Great War. Her study opens discussion of their body of work to a wide audience and invites others to follow her lead. The work she has done to nail down the facts, particularly biographical details of the authors she cites, is a remarkable as is the exactness she strives for. This substantial volume will be particularly valuable to anyone concerned with or interested in the little-known poets and verse cited." --Bryn Mawr Classical Review
About the Author(s)
Elizabeth Vandiver is Clement Biddle Penrose Associate Professor of Latin and Classics, Whitman College.
