 |
| Hugh MacDiarmid, Controversial WWI Poet Pic: Wiki, public domain |
Hugh
MacDiarmid (1892-1978) was the pen-name of Christopher Murray
Grieve, a former journalist. McDiarmaid was a Scot, a
Communist and a staunch supporter of Stalin and he caused
considerable controversy with his confrontational verse, especially
with the poem: "Another Epitaph on an Army of
Mercenaries."
It is a God-damned lie to say that these
It is a God-damned lie to say that these
Saved or knew, anything worth any man's pride.
They were professional murderers and they took
Their blood money
and impious risks and died
In spite of all their kind some elements
of worth
With difficulty persist here and there on earth."
All soldiers are mercenaries
If this poem were not arranged into lines, complete with its rhyme scheme, abcbdd, it could almost pass for prose. In the poem, Hugh MacDiarmid makes it clear he has no pity for these "professional murders", who took their "blood money and impious risks." These men fought, says MacDiarmid, without knowing "anything worth any man's pride." There is no lyricism, imagery, alliteration or assonance in this poem; it is simply a statement of fact, as seen by the poet. The last two lines are an almost grudging acknowledgement that there might be something left worth fighting for. "With difficulty persist" in line 6 is more sarcastic than ironic, and as cynical as it is angry.
For some readers, the different, more distanced perspective might not engage in the same way as the impassioned expressions of feeling displayed by other war poets. The poet is simply saying that all soldiers are, in essence, mercenaries.
Crude allegations against soldiers
Tim Kendall, a professor at Exeter University, says that MacDermiad is writing about the British Expeditionary Force, sent in 1914, by a democratic government and supported by an overwhelming majority of the population. They were sent to:
All soldiers are mercenaries
If this poem were not arranged into lines, complete with its rhyme scheme, abcbdd, it could almost pass for prose. In the poem, Hugh MacDiarmid makes it clear he has no pity for these "professional murders", who took their "blood money and impious risks." These men fought, says MacDiarmid, without knowing "anything worth any man's pride." There is no lyricism, imagery, alliteration or assonance in this poem; it is simply a statement of fact, as seen by the poet. The last two lines are an almost grudging acknowledgement that there might be something left worth fighting for. "With difficulty persist" in line 6 is more sarcastic than ironic, and as cynical as it is angry.
For some readers, the different, more distanced perspective might not engage in the same way as the impassioned expressions of feeling displayed by other war poets. The poet is simply saying that all soldiers are, in essence, mercenaries.
Crude allegations against soldiers
Tim Kendall, a professor at Exeter University, says that MacDermiad is writing about the British Expeditionary Force, sent in 1914, by a democratic government and supported by an overwhelming majority of the population. They were sent to:
"...repel
invading Prussian forces and protect the sovereignty of occupied
nations. To call our soldiers professional murderers is merely
to make the same crude allegations against professional forces
throughout history.
Are we to understand amateur murderers are more acceptable?"
The poem seems to be a complete contradiction to the poet's strong Stalinist leanings and it is difficult to understand how Hugh MacDiarmid managed to reconcile these opposing positions.
Sources:
Hugh MacDiarmid, Selected Poems, Penguin Twentieth Century Classics, 1994
Prof. Tim Kendall's blog
Are we to understand amateur murderers are more acceptable?"
The poem seems to be a complete contradiction to the poet's strong Stalinist leanings and it is difficult to understand how Hugh MacDiarmid managed to reconcile these opposing positions.
Sources:
Hugh MacDiarmid, Selected Poems, Penguin Twentieth Century Classics, 1994
Prof. Tim Kendall's blog
No comments:
Post a Comment