JOHN MCCRAE’S VIEW OF WAR IN HIS POEMS “IN FLANDERS FIELDS”, “THE WARRIOR” AND “THE ANXIOUS DEAD”
JOHN MCCRAE’S VIEW OF WAR IN HIS POEMS “IN FLANDERS FIELDS”, “THE WARRIOR” AND “THE ANXIOUS DEAD” A THESIS
Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
By
Ari Dwi Nugroho Bobby Student Number: 011214143 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2009 i
JOHN MCCRAE’S VIEW OF WAR IN HIS POEMS “IN FLANDERS FIELDS”, “THE WARRIOR” AND “THE ANXIOUS DEAD” A THESIS
Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
By
Ari Dwi Nugroho Bobby Student Number: 011214143 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2009 ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and references, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, 6 October 2009 The Writer
Ari Dwi Nugroho Bobby 011214143 iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma : Nama : Ari Dwi Nugroho Bobby Nomor Mahasiswa : 011214143 Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :
JOHN MCCRAE’S VIEW OF WAR IN HIS POEMS IN
“FLANDERS FIELDS”, “THE WARRIOR”
AND “THE ANXIOUS DEAD”
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, me- ngalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal : 6 October 2009 Yang menyatakan Ari Dwi Nugroho Bobby v
ABSTRACT
Bobby, Ari Dwi Nugroho. 2009. John McCrae’s view of War in His Poems
“In Flanders Fields”, “The Warrior”, and “The Anxious Dead”. Yogyakarta:
English Language Education Study program, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.
This study is conducted to analyze John McCrae’s view of war from his three poems. They are “In Flanders Fields”, “The Warrior”, and “The Anxious Dead”. These poems are parts of John McCrae poems that he wrote during the First World War. In these poems, the poet reveals some of his view on war.
There is one main question which is going to be discussed in this study, namely (1) How does John McCrae portray his view on war through his poems are “In Flanders Fields”, “The Warrior”, and “The Anxious Dead”?
The study uses library research to gather the data. The primary source was taken from the poems. Some books, articles, the poet’s biography, reviews of the First World War history, specified in the Battle in Ypres, Belgium as the main setting, and some sources from the books and the internet were selected as the secondary sources. This study uses sociocultural-historical approach and biographical approach. The first approach was employed to gather the data about the history of the First World War as it is deal with chronological time line. The second approach was employed to collect data about the poets, because this study deals with the background and the experiences of the poets. These approaches are used to analyze John McCrae’s poems and to answer John McCrae’s view on war.
Through the analysis, the study discovers the explication of the poems. As any other of John McCrae’s poems, these three poems present his experiences in war. The explication of “In Flanders Fields” shows McCrae’s biggest lost in a war. In “The Warrior”, John McCrae presents his vision became a soldier. Then, “The Anxious Dead” shows John McCrae’s expectation of a new hope after the war. Further, the study found some of John McCrae’s view of war, which is: patriotism, loyalty, sacrifice and renewal. These poems also describe John McCrae’s shifting paradigm and point of view on war.
The last, the application of the poems in English language learning. The study used the poems to teach reading. It focuses on the language program of The third semester students of English Education Program of Sanata Dharma University vi
ABSTRAK
Bobby, Ari Dwi Nugroho. 2009. John McCrae’s view of War in His Poems
“In Flanders Fields”, “The Warrior”, and “The Anxious Dead”. Yogyakarta:
Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Studi ini disusun untuk menganalisa pandangan John McCrae tentang perang melalui tiga puisinya. Ketiga puisi tersebut adalah are “In Flanders Fields”, “The Warrior”, and “The Anxious Dead”. Ketiganya merupakan bagian dari puisi- puisi John McCrae yang ditulis selama terjadinya Perang Dunia Pertama. Melalui ketiga puisi tersebut, penyair mengungkapkan pandangannya tentang perang.
Ada satu permasalahan mendasar yang akan dibahas dalam studi ini, yaitu (1) Bagaimana John McCrae menggambarkan pandangannya tentang perang melalui puisi-puisinya are “In Flanders Fields”, “The Warrior”, and “The Anxious Dead”?
Studi ini menggunakan studi pustaka untuk mengumpulkan data. Sumber utama dari studi ini adalah puisi-puisi tersebut. Beberapa buku, artikel, biografi penyair, tinjauan tentang sejarah Perang Dunia Pertama yang di khususkan pada Perang di Ypers, Belgia sebagai latar belakang utama, dan beberapa sumber dari buku-buku dan internet digunakan sebagai sumber lain. Studi ini menggunakan pendekatan sosial budaya dan sejarah serta pendekatan biografi. Pendekatan pertama digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data tentang sejarah Perang Dunia Pertama dalam hubungannya kronologis urutan waktu. Pendekatan kedua digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data tentang pengarang puisi, karena studi ini berhubungan dengan latar belakang dan pengalaman pengarang. Pendekatan- pendekatan ini digunakan untuk menganalisa puisi-puisi John McCare dan untuk menjawab pandangan John McCrae tentang perang Melalui analisa, studi ini menemukan explikasi dari puisi-puisi tersebut. Sebagaimana puisi-puisi John mcCrae yang lainnya, ketiga puisi tersebut menggambarkan pengalaman-pengalamannya selama perang. Explikasi “In Flanders Fields” menunjukkan kehilangan terbesarnya selama perang. Dalam “The Warrior”, John McCrae menunjukkan pandangannya menjadi seorang prajurit. Dalam “The Anxious Dead”, menunjukkan pengharapan seorang John McCrae akan sebuah harapan yang baru setelah perang. Lebih jauh, studi ini menemukan beberapa pandangan John McCrae tentang perang, seperti: sikap patriotisme, kesetiaan, pengorbanan dan pembaharuan. Puisi-puisi ini juga memaparkan perubahan paradigma dan sudut pandang John McCrae tentang perang.
Akhirnya, studi ini sampai pada bagian penerapan puisi dalam pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris. Dalam studi ini, puisi-puisi tersebut digunakan untuk mengajar reading. Pelajaran tersebut ditujukan untuk mahasiswa semester tiga Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris di universitas Sanata Dharma. vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to Jesus Christ for His love and guidance during my life especially the hard times in doing this thesis. He makes my life so beautiful and meaningful. He always gives me the wonderful surprises and blessings.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my sponsor, V.
Triprihatmini, S.Pd., M.Hum., M.A., for her great guidance, encouragement,
understanding, and advice from the beginning until the end of this thesis writing.I also express my gratitude to all lecturers at Sanata Dharma University who have taught and given me valuable and great knowledge. I also would like to thank to the secretary staffs for helping me in the administration and information.
I am sincerely grateful to my beloved parents Bapak Vincentius Marsudi
(†) and Ibu Maria Ratna Herawati, for their endless love and for their prayer for
my success. I also thank my lovely family, Mbak Nuning, Mas Hari, Mbak
Yuyun, Mbak Ninik, Mas Aji, Mbak Linda, Iin, and my little Bonek: Prila,
Vanya, and Vincy for their support and attention.My best gratitude goes to all of my friends at Sanata Dharma University, especially Class F members, with whom I have got through the good and bad times during my study and for sharing their time. I am honored to have such great friends as them. My life will not be the same without knowing them all in my life.
I address my acknowledgement to all my friends in The Gondolz
Boardinghozt: Katz-Onde, Eki, Dj, Dicky, Zomad, Lendhet, Si Black, Sangga,
viii Andre, Landhep, Antz, Maskimal, Drogba, Mas Anton, Texex, Nanda, Dodok, Lambhe, Puput, Kenyot and Pak Sugi. I thank them for encouraging me to keep trying and never give up. It is great to spend time with them.
Last but not least, I would like to thank those whose names are not mentioned here for their support and prayer so that I could finish this thesis. May God bless them all.
Ari Dwi Nugroho Bobby ix
x
TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................... i PAGES OF APPROVAL ................................................................................. ii STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY .............................................. iv LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI
............................. v
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................... vi ABSTRAK
........................................................................................................... vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................. viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................. xCHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................... 1 A. Background of the Study .........................................................................
1 B. Problem Formulation ............................................................................... 4 C. Objectives of the Study ...........................................................................
4 D. Benefits of the Study ................................................................................
5 E. Definition of the Terms ...........................................................................
5 CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ........................... 8 A. Theoretical Review .................................................................................
8 1. Review of Related Theories on Literature.........................................
8 a. Approaches in Literary Analysis ..................................................
9 b. Intrinsic Elements of the Poem.....................................................
10
B. Historical Review of World War I ...........................................................
12 1. A Brief History of World War I ........................................................
12 2. The Second Battle of Ypres..............................................................
14 C. John McCrae’s Biography........................................................................
15 D. Criticism ................................................................................................... 18 E. Theoretical Framework ............................................................................
19 CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 21
A. Subject Matter .......................................................................................... 21
B. Approach ................................................................................................. 22 C. Data Collection.........................................................................................
23 D. Procedures………………………………………………………………. 24
CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS ............................................................................ 25 A. John McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields” ........................................................
26 1. The Analysis of the Poem “In Flanders Fields”..................................
27
2. John McCrae’s View on War as seen in “In Flanders Fields”………….. 30 B. John McCrae’s “The Warrior” .................................................................
32 1. The Analysis of the Poem “The Warrior”...........................................
33 2. John McCrae’s View on War as seen in “The Warrior”.....................
36 C. John McCrae’s “The Anxious Dead” .......................................................
37 1. The Analysis of the Poem “The Anxious Dead” ................................
38
2. John McCrae’s View on War as seen in “The Anxious Dead”……...... 41 xi
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS .............................. 43 A. Conclusion .............................................................................................. 43 B. Suggestion ................................................................................................ 45 1. For Future Researchers .......................................................................
45 2. The implementation of literature in Language Teaching....................
46 REFERENCES ................................................................................................. 51
APPENDICES .................................................................................................. 53 Appendix 1. “In Flanders Fields” .......................................................................
54 Appendix 2. “The Warrior” ................................................................................
55 Appendix 3. “The Anxious Dead” .....................................................................
56 Appendix 4. Lesson Plan for Teaching Reading ................................................
57 Appendix 5. Material for Teaching Reading ......................................................
60 Appendix 6. Map of The Battle of Ypres............................................................
62 xii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter provides some information about background of the study,
problem formulation, objectives of the study, and benefits of the study and definition of terms. In the background of the study, I explain about the necessity of analyzing the topic and the reason for choosing the topic.
Objectives of the study explain the aim of this study. The problems that will be analyzed in this thesis are stated in the problem formulation. Benefits of the study explain to whom this study will be beneficial. The last part of this chapter is the definition of some terms related to this topic.
A. Background of the Study
The First World War (1914-1918) or known as The Great War or War to End All Wars is a big history in a century of a human civilization. It is called as a Great War because more than ten countries from Europe, America, and Asia through Africa plunge themselves onto this deadly combat. France, British, Russia, Italy, Belgium, Romania, America, and Canada were joining the Allied Powers. And Germany, Austro-Hungarian, Turkey, and Bulgaria were joining the Axis Powers. These two battle groups showed the latest and massive military weapons and a large mount of soldier mobilization.
This war was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
th and his wife Duchess Sophie on Sunday Morning, June 28 in 1914, in Bosnia.
2 No one ever guess that the sounds of a church bell that heard along the country as a sign of the Archduke dead was also the sign for many people in the battle fields.
Some people predict that the battle between Hungarian Empire and the Bosnian only take time for three months. The fact is the war is spread faster through Africa and Asia Pacific and creates a four years battle of horror in the entire world. This war also dragged America to join in the middle of the war in a reason to help the British legion.
There is no doubt that The First World War caused damage, destruction, suffers loss and the death of the soldier and the civilians. More than ten million people died after the war.
Most people do not realize that however negative the effects of a war, there is also a silver lining hidden in it. As it is hard to see, people usually do not pay attention on this part. The most significant evidence is the influence that war contributed for poets at those times. War had given inspirations for few people and somehow they have their own point of views about war that led to a certain form of art work.
One of the examples from the poets who use their own experiences or personalities into their poems is John McCrae. Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander McCrae is one of the greatest war poets during the World War I. He was a Canadian soldier for Ally Forces, and a surgeon doctor in the battle in Belgium. As a part of the Canadian Army Medical Corps that was positioned in Ypres and helped all the wounded and dying soldiers that came in from Ypres, along with other close battles as well.
3 When the Second Battle of Ypres began, McCrae had had never seen anything like the sights he saw there before. He had never seen so many wounded soldiers, dead bodies, and shells and bullets flying before. The death of Helmer had a profound affect on McCrae, and moved him to write the poem. He wrote the poem near Essex Farm, along a canal north of Ypres after Helme’s burial ceremony. He wrote “In Flanders Fields”, which later became his most popular poem, in a lament of his friend dead. From his poems, we can learn what war brought for his life as a soldier and as a human being.
I would like to know how John McCrae expresses his view on war as a soldier who defend his country and his faith and also as a victim of war through his works. We can say that a poem is the representative of the soul and mind of its poet. A work of literature, especially poetry, reflects the emotional and intellectual experience of the writer. Every poet has their own style and characteristic. Guth and Rico (472) in Discovering Literature Stories, Poems, Plays, say that “Poetry can be enjoyed and appreciated by everyone. They use a language richer in meaning than ordinary talk. As we read and study poems, we become more sensitive to the poet’s language”.
Sometimes with poetry we even can have communication. The characteristic of a poet is determined by his education, religion or belief, family and the society background. John McCrae is a unique poet. Most of his poems using war as the main theme. Therefore I would like to analyze John McCrae’s view of war which reflected in his poem.
4 Experience of life and the way the poet’s point of view influence their works of art. Guth and Rico (793) say that “As we read, we are already attuned to the poet’s way of looking at the world”. Therefore, experience held an important role for the poets because through experience the poets want to share their opinion or communicate their feelings.
In order to do so, it would be helpful to see his life background. Many of John McCrae’s poems deals with war, he have ways to view it and also to express it in certain words. In fact he often uses his life experience as the theme for his poems. These experiences let him write poems about war. In his poems “In Flanders Fields”, “The Warrior” and “The Anxious Dead”, John McCrae dig out something more than just a war story, he wants to show what really happens explicitly and implicitly.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the aim of the study, the question to be answered in this study can be formulated as follows:
1. How does John McCrae portray his view on war through his poems: “In
Flanders Fields”, “The Warrior” and “The Anxious Dead”?
C. The Objective of the Study
The main objective of the study is to explore what is John McCrae’s view of war. The other objective is to analyze the reflection of John McCrae’s point of view toward war in his poems, as seen in; “In Flanders Fields”, “The Warrior”
5 and “The Anxious Dead”. I tries to give a clear description in analyze the poem, so that we can get the image of war as similar as what John McCrae had experienced
D. Benefits of the Study
There are benefits that we can obtain from this study for both readers and those who are interested in a literary work. This study can be used as an alternative reading material in teaching reading comprehension or poetry in school and university. It also can be a reference for the students in getting more information about the life of John McCrae and his view on war and also the reflection of it in his poems. Through his poem we can see an image of war in different point of view, because John McCrae’s life and his view on war contribute a great influence on his poems.
This also can be use as a source for the readers who have interest in a different style of poetry, such as this war poetry, to compare with other poems.
Moreover, this study can be such an enjoyment and pleasure.
Through this study, I hope I can help the readers to understand more about literary work especially poem, so that the readers are able to enjoy reading poems.
E. Definition of Terms
In this study, some terms are used. In order to have a clear understanding of this study, I include the definition of terms used in this thesis.
6
1. War
According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1515), war (noun) is a “state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups or people within a nation or state”. In other way, war is a massive effort to deal with or end a particular unpleasant or undesirable situation.
Hillarie Belloc (1) in his book The Elements of The Great War states that “war is the attempt of two human groups each to impose its will (political or civic purpose) upon the other by forces of arms”.
In this study, war refers to The Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium, part of World War I was held on 1915. The battle, which held in the Ypres, later known as the first battle where chemical gas was used as a weapon by the Germany.
2. Death
Aiken (6) states that death is “the act of dying; the end of life; the total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism.” He also states that, “this definition is closest in meaning to biological death, the irreversible breakdown of respiration in an organism and the consequent loss of the ability to use oxygen”.
This study is not trying to reveal about the deeper meaning of death, but the fact that between war and death have a close relationship, and also in this poem, the writer sometimes use the word or symbol of death, it is important to know about the meaning of death.
7
3. Patriotism
According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (967), patriotism (noun) is “love of your country and willingness to defend it”. In this study, patriotism refers to the willingness to answer the country calls for recruitment to join the battle as a soldier to defend their country.
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE This chapter contains some theories which are relevant to the analysis of
the poems. There are four main sections in this chapter that can provide us with relevant information. They are theoretical review, the biography of John McCrae, Criticism and theoretical framework.
Theoretical review covers the theories that are relevant to the study. The biography of the poet talks about the life of the poet and the relation with the art- works. Criticism contains experts’ critics and commentary on the poems of John McCrae. Theoretical framework presents how the relevant theories are applied to the analysis.
A. Theoretical Review
This part presents some theories that are relevant to the study including approaches in analyzing the poems, intrinsic elements of the poems, and also the short history of World War I and Second Battle of Ypres.
1. Review of Related Theories on Literature
This study deals with literature, therefore, I believe that it is important to have some theoretical ground of poetry as part of literature. These theories are relevant to this study.
9
a. Approaches in Literary Analysis
According to Rohberger and Woods (6), there are five kinds of approaches in analyzing a literary works. They are Formalist approach, Biographical approach, Sociocultural-Historical approach, Mythopoeic approach, and Psychological approach.
The first approach is the “Formalist Approach.” This approach analyzes the work of art only. In other words, this approach does not need any reference from other resources, like the author’s life, the social condition at the time the author’s live, etc. In short, the approach is mainly focusing on the work only.
The second approach is the “Biographical Approach.” This approach proposes the idea that the only way to understand literature is by asserting the necessity and appreciation of ideas and personality of the author.
The third approach is “Sociocultural-Historical Approach”. Sociocultural- Historical Approach is an approach that examines the work of art in reference to the civilization. Then the attitude and the actions of specific group of people become the subject matter.
The fourth approach is “Mythopoeic Approach”. This approach tries to discover certain universality and recurrent patterns of human thoughts in the works of art which are believed to have expression in the works.
The fifth approach is “Psychological Approach.” Critics that involve the effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns of human psychology in the works of art.
10 This study will apply the Sociocultural-Historical and Biographical
Approaches. Sociocultural-Historical Approach is used because it is appropriate approach to apply in analyzing the poems using the history time line and moments that happened that time, in this study specified in the Second Battle of Ypres as part of the First World War.
Rohrberger and Woods (8) mention that Biographical approach is the necessity for an appreciation of the ideas and personality of the author to an understanding of the literary object. This approach insists that a work of art is a reflection of a personality that in the esthetic experience of the reader shares the author’s consciousness and that at least part of the reader’s response is to the author’s personality.
According to Mario Klarer (90-91), biographical approach gives a direct link between the literary text and the author’s background, which means that inside the author’s works there is a connection between the author’s life and the text in the literary works that he or she creates.
The biographical approach is also useful to analyze the author’s background of creating his or her works which might also be important to catch the meaning of the literary works. However, it is important not to go too deeply because the main discussion is not on the author but on the works.
b. Intrinsic Elements of the Poem
Guth and Rico (472) say that poetry can be enjoyed and appreciated by everyone. Sometimes with poetry we even can have communication. Poems demand our attention. They use a language richer in meaning than ordinary talk.
11 As we read and study poems, we become more sensitive to the poet’s language.
Poem has some meanings that are usually different from the literal meaning of the words. Abcarian and Klotz (1099) says, “Words have dictionary or denotative meaning as well as associative or connotative meanings; they also have histories and relationship with other words”.
Poems must first be read for their literal meaning. Then after we grasped the literal meaning of a poem, we can proceed to its figurative language. Parini (9) says that “The implicit, often hidden reality that the poem is trying to suggest”. According to Guth and Rico (482), “To give the poem a close reading, take as much as you can be open to whatever the poem has to offer”
It is important to understand the use of figurative language in this study. In order to have one relevant information for the discussion, I believe it is necessary to present a brief discussion on figurative language. Barnet, Bermon, and Bruto (768) state, “Words have their literal meaning, but they can also be used so that something other than literal meaning is implied”.
In analyzing the poems I used the intrinsic elements of the poems that are included in the figurative language. Since John McCrae uses a lot of symbols in his poems, therefore, here I limited the intrinsic elements into personification, and symbol. The following is explication of some intrinsic elements of the poems discussed in this thesis.
According to Kennedy and Gioia (676), “Personification is a figure of speech in which a thing, an animal, or an abstract term is endowed with human characteristics”. Personification allows an author to dramatize the nonhuman
12 world in tangibly human terms. “Personification is a metaphor or simile that treats something non-human as if it were human”
Symbol can be defined as a person, place, or thing in a narrative that suggest meanings beyond its literal sense. Symbol is related to allegory, but it works more complexly. In an allegory an object has a single additional significance. By contrast, a symbol usually contains multiple meanings and association. According to Guth and Rico (561), “A symbol is something that you can see but that taken on a meaning beyond itself”.
B. Historical Review of World War I
Most of John McCrae’s poems are talk about war as the main theme. In analyzing his poems it is important to have enough knowledge about World War I in general and The Second Battle of Ypres in specific, where John McCrae made his poem “In Flanders Fields”. This section presents a brief story about World War I, and The Second Battle of Ypres.
1. A Brief History of World War I
In early 1914, the continental of Europe was the focal point of the entire world, a distinction it had enjoyed for centuries. Most of the world’s great industrial, military, and naval powers were European states. Europe’s trade was massive and worldwide in scope. Its intellectual and cultural achievements were still the envy of most other country.
All of this would chance dramatically as the result of a conflict that broke out on the continental in the summer of 1914. It proved to be of unprecedented
13 ferocity and lasted more than four years. The generation suffered through it called it the Great War. We remember it as World War I.
World War I, erupted in Balkan, commenced between 28th of July 1914 until 11th of November 1918. On June 28, 1914 the Austria-Hungary Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, along with his wife, Duchess Sophie, was assassinated in Sarajevo Bosnia by the Serbian nationalists, Gravilo Princip. Endorsed by the Germany, Austria-Hungary decided to punish Serbia. Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia on 28th of July 1914. Russia, which supported Serbia, attacked by German.
In order to arrive in Paris as soon as possible, the German army struck Belgium, a small nation. Belgium fought back.
German won the war yet French, Britain and Russia kept fighting. German, Austria-Hungary were called the Axis Powers while the nations which opposed it were called the Alliance. During the war, other nations stated their involvement. Being interested in conquering Austria, Italy joined the Alliance in 1915 and the USA entered the war within the Alliance in 1917.
German almost won the war regardless how powerful the Alliance was. On late 1914, German conquered Luxemburg, most part of Belgium and some part of north French. German also trounced over Eastern Front while Russian attempts were a total failure. Around 1918, German armies were dead-tired. Their rations were insufficient and social drift within their country add up the tense. In the meantime, the USA armies were just arrived to aid the Alliance. In summer 1918, German signed an armistice in November 11.
Under Versailles Treaty which was signed after World War I, German
14 administered its colonies and some part of its European land as in Poland, Silesia and West Prussia. Alsace and part of Lorraine were administered to French.
French was also given the power to rule Saar for 15 years. This treaty also put Rhineland under the Alliance power for 15 years. German armies were shrunken to no more than 100,000 soldiers and air forces were prohibited. German also paid a large sum to the Alliance for the war damage.
There were roughly 8,6 millions people died during World War I. The Alliance lost 5,1 millions people while the Axis Powers lost 3,5 millions. The war caused massive destruction to all nations involved. It also put an end to German, Russia, Ottoman and Austria-Hungaria Empires. World War I known as the war that ends all wars until World War II commenced.
2. The Second Battle of Ypres
The Second Battle of Ypres began on mid-April 1915, in an old town of Ypres, Belgium. Ypres has a strategic position for German army to concentrate against the Russian on the Eastern Front. Unfortunately, the Allied army also saw Ypres as a right place to gather the troop’s power of France, British and Canadian to attack German army.
Had an urgency to accomplish the mission to attack Russian on the Eastern Front, the German army ambush the coalition of France, British and Canadian army with the poisonous gas. This battle, later, known as the first war using the deadly gas.
In the afternoon of April 22, the Germany started to bombardment the Allied with the gas attack. Basically there are three main types of gas used by the
15 German army, chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas. The first is chlorine. A greenish, yellow heavier than air gas which in its pure form is an oxidizing agent.
This means that it will react in the presence of water to cause a chemical burning effect on organic matter. This gas will make the victim vomiting, difficulty in breathing, a burning sensation in the lungs, eyes, nasal and mouth passages and death.
The second is Phosgene. Phosgene is a colorless, odorless, and heavier than air gas formed by heating carbon tetrachloride. It is highly poisonous in that it will preferentially replace oxygen in the cells and quickly causes an oxygen debt within the body, unconsciousness and death.
Third is Mustard gas. Mustard gas a caustic gas with a distinctive mustard smell, it causes blistering and huge sores on any exposed tissue, internal or external. Probably the most used gas, with phosgene, in the war.
Losses during the Second Battle of Ypres are estimated at 69,000 Allied troops (59,000 British, 10,000 French), against 35,000 German, the difference in numbers explained by the use of poisonous gas bomb. The Germans’ innovative use of gas set the trend for the rest of the war.
C. John McCrae’s Biography
John McCrae was born in Guelph, Ontario Canada, on November 30, 1872. He was the second son of Lieutenant David McCrae and Janet Simpson Eckford. As a boy, John took a deep interest in the military. At age 14, he joined the Hatfield Cadet Corps. When he turned 17, he joined in the Militia field battery
16 commanded by his father.
John began writing poetry while attending Guelph Collegiate Institute. He graduated at age 16, and was the first Guelph Student to win a scholarship to the University of Toronto. After studying there for three years, John was forced to take a year off due to severe asthma.
During his absence from the university, John was Assistant Resident Master at the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph. He graduated in 1894, with a Bachelor’s Arts degree. He then attended the University of Toronto Medical School. While becoming educated, John continued his military career. He became a gunner with the Number 2 Battery in Guelph in 1890; Quartermaster Sergeant in 1891; Second Lieutenant in 1893 and Lieutenant in 1896.
The South African War started in 1899. John McCrae felt it his duty to serve in South Africa. John and his company sailed to South Africa in December 1899. They spent one year there. John was still convinced of the need to fight for his country but was shocked by the unsophisticated equipment and unprofessional treatment of the sick, injured and dying men, though he still believed that a man must fight evil wherever he encountered it.
Canada declared war on Germany August 14, 1914. John hurried to sign up. He was appointed brigade-surgeon to the First Brigade of Canadian Forces Artillery. In 1915, John was in the trenches near Ypres, Belgium. This area is traditionally known as Flanders. Some of the heaviest fighting of the war took place during the Second Battle of Ypres. On April 22, 1915 the Germans used deadly chlorine gas against the Allies.
17 Granfield and Wilson (9) said that as a doctor, John McCrae was dedicated to saving lives of the injured soldiers; he was equally committed to the war effort.
“It is a terrible state of affair,” John McCrae wrote, “and I am going to war because every bachelor, especially if he has experience of war, ought to go. I am really rather afraid, but more afraid to stay at home with my conscience”.
In the trenches, John McCrae tended hundreds of soldiers and was surrounded by dead and dying men. And it had been affected John McCrae personality. He spent more time alone and looked older than he actually was. “I am very tired of it,” he wrote to his friend. It had been an ordeal that he had hardly thought possible. McCrae later wrote to his mother: "Seventeen days of Hades! At the end of the first day if anyone had told us we had to spend seventeen days there, we would have folded our hands and said it could not have been done."
In the early morning battle, an armor burst killed his close friend, Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, Ontario. He was buried in a small cemetery outside John’s covering station. In the absence of the chaplain, John performed the service. A rough, wooden cross marked Helmer’s grave.
Hundreds of crosses marked graves in the field. Already poppies were beginning to bloom between them. The next morning, May 22, while under heavy fire, John wrote In Flanders Fields. It was the last poem he ever wrote.
By mid-winter, the wet climate had affected John’s health. He was ordered to a warmer location to no purpose. The night he arrived, he took to his bed. John died at 1:30 am on January 28 if complications from pneumonia and meningitis. He was buried in Wimereux Cemetery, north of Boulogne, France, with full
18 military honors. In attendance were his many friends, military dignitaries, nursing sisters and colleagues. His horse, Bonfire led the procession with John’s riding boots reversed in the stirrups.
Following his death in 1918 the book In Flanders Fields and Other Poems was published. McCrae House, the home where he was born in Guelph, Ontario, is now a museum and includes a garden of remembrance with a memorial cenotaph.
D. Criticism
John McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields” is, without a doubt, the best-known Canadian poem. Written in the trenches in 1915 during the Battle of Ypres when Canadian troops distinguished themselves as a “national” unit for the first time, the poem was published soon after in the British magazine Punch.
David Kelly, in his article Poetry for Students, Gale, 1999, says that John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields” fits perfectly into the category of phenomenal success. It is one of those achievements that could never have been anticipated. McCrae was, by all accounts, a decent and responsible man, a good and steady friend, a valuable citizen, doctor, and soldier, but the poetry he produced can generally be considered as a hobbyist’s dabbling. Like most great inventors, his one outstanding success was a singular conflux of inspiration and its time (http:/www.galegroup.com/poets/bio/htm).
“In Flanders Fields” addresses a particular place mired within a particular conflict, but death is death and courage is courage, so the subject of the poem doesn’t have to be foreign to readers who take the trouble to meet it halfway in trying to understand it.
Unlike other war poems, whose warn against war and dismiss its horrors, John McCrae’s poems: “In Flanders Fields”, “The Warrior” and “The Anxious
19 Dead” offer a covenant between the dead and the living: future generations should not “break faith with us who die” and should value the peace that was won at such an enormous cost
Granfield and Wilson (3), in their book “In Flanders Fields” The Story of the Poem by John McCrae say that: “In Flanders Fields” is one of the most popular poems ever written on the subject of war. Its underlying message of respect for the fallen and the longing for peace has touched the hearts of million of people around the world. From the perspective of the soldiers, “In Flanders Fields”, “The Warrior” and “The Anxious Dead” recognized their sacrifice and their suffering in the trenches. From the public’s point of view, the poem was understood in a poetic language that made the experience of the war accessible to the general reader, it speaks little of the horrors and attaches symbolism to experiences that would be too painful to convey if expressed in realistic terms.
The poems: “In Flanders Fields”, “The Warrior” and “The Anxious Dead” are great poem to encourage people. Those poems can trigger the patriotism spirit and teach us to sacrifice without breaking our faith. From this poem, we can learn to be patient and work hard to achieve a new hope. The writer would like to analyze these poems to dig out what is John McCrae view on war from his point of view as a soldier and a victim of war.
E. Theoretical Framework
This part presents the theoretical frameworks of the study. It is intended to clarify how the theories related to the study are applied. This study applies some
20 theoretical review on the intrinsic elements of poems in order to help us understand the use and the function of figurative language in John McCrae’s poems.
This study also applies Biographical approach to analyze John McCrae’s background of life. By using this approach, this study tries to reveal how John McCrae’s life experiences are reflected in his poems: “In Flanders Fields”, “The Warrior” and “The Anxious Dead”.
To obtain more specific background deal with John McCrae’s life at that time, we need Sociocultural-Historical approach. It also helps us to understand the exact situation during John McCrae’s life and also the war itself.
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY This chapter presents the methodology in analyzing the poem. There are
three subtitles in this chapter, which are discussed. The first is the subject matter, second is the approaches, and third is the procedures of the discussion of John McCrae.