Come On Come Back 2a5e46

Poetry Across Time

Conflict

Introduce

'Come On, Come Back' By Stevie Smith

Establish

Incident in a future war?

Establish/Discuss

Background: 'Life' article - Nov 1949 -Extracts

The Cold War A nuclear arms race began after WW2 as superpowers in the East and West began testing powerful new weapons. The rising of the Iron Curtain intensified the threat of mass destruction and led to the Nuclear Fear of the 1950s and 1960s

Background and Context: Nuclear War

Chemical Warfare... At the 1925 Geneva Conference the French suggested a protocol for the non-use of poisonous gases: "The use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and all of the analogous liquids, materials or devices, has been justly condemned by the general opinion of the civilised world." It was signed on 17th June, 1925. 22nd April, 1915: German army release 168 tons of chlorine gas over a 4 mile area of the front line.

9th August, 1961: US aircraft sprayed dioxinlaced Agent Orange over Kon Tum, Vietnam

16th March, 1988: Sadam Hussein orders multiple chemical agents (inc. mustard gas, hydrogen cyanide and nerve agents sarin, tabun and VX) to be dropped over the Kurdish town of Halabja, Iraqi Kurdistan

Background and Context: Chemical Warfare

'Come On, Come Back' By Stevie Smith The poet known as Stevie Smith was born in Yorkshire in 1902 and died of cancer in 1971. Her real name was Florence Margaret Smith and she was brought up by her feminist aunt after her mother became ill and her father deserted his family to go off to sea. Deceptively simple, her poems penetrate straight to the heart of life's greatest fears and anxieties. They are persistently dark and filled with 'death-wishfulness'. Stevie Smith was subject to periods of depression during her life and was preoccupied with death, seeing it as a release or consolation. Her poetry has strong underlying themes of love and death, it is whimsical but fiercely honest and direct.

"I want to get something out that is working away at me. I think pressure is the operative word... The pressure of despair." "Being alive is like being in enemy territory." Stevie Smith

It is not possible to read her work without consciousness of the strength a nd persistence of its death-wishfulness. The poet's convictions about the "friend- liness" of death, the sweet gentleness of oblivion, as compared to the painful consciousness of the "enemy territory" where she must live. It is life that Stevie Smith laments, not death. Her poems persistently use metaphors that record that struggle, showing the way the tug of death." Elizabeth Lawson, Stevie Smith and the Metaphors of Disengagement Author's Ideas and Background

‘Come On, Come Back’ Incident in a future war Left by the ebbing tide of battle On the field of Austerlitz The girl soldier Vaudevue sits Her fingers tap the ground, she is alone At midnight in the moonlight she is sitting alone on a round flat stone. Graded by the Memel Conference first Of all human exterminators M.L.5. Has left her just alive Only her memory is dead for evermore. She fears and cries, Ah me why am I here? Sitting alone on a round flat stone on a hummock there. Rising, staggering, over the ground she goes Over the seeming miles of rutted meadow To the margin of a lake The sand beneath her feet Is cold and damp and firm to the waves’ beat. Quickly - as a child, an idiot, as one without memory She strips her uniform off, strips, stands and plunges Into the icy waters of the adorable lake. On the surface of the water lies A ribbon of white moonlight The waters on either side of the moony track Are black as her mind, Her mind is as secret from her As the water on which she swims, As secret as profound as ominous. Weeping bitterly for her ominous mind, her plight, Up the river of white moonlight she swims Until a treacherous undercurrent Seizing her in an icy-amorous embrace Dives with her, swiftly severing The waters which close above her head. An enemy sentinel Finding the abandoned clothes Waits for the swimmer’s return (‘Come on, come back’) Waiting, whiling away the hour Whittling a shepherd’s pipe from the hollow reeds. In the chill light of dawn Ring out the pipe’s wild notes ‘Come on, come back.’ Vaudevue In the swift and subtle current’s close embrace Sleeps on, stirs not, hears not the familiar tune Favourite of all the troops of all the armies Favourite of Vaudevue For she had sung it too Marching to Austerlitz, ‘Come on, come back.’ STEVIE SMITH

Poem

The Girl Soldier...

What strikes you about that particular combination of words?

Skill

Women and War: 'War is mad, crazy; and it makes you crazy as well. All you can think about is whether in a minute it will be your turn to die.' (A survivor of the Rwanda massacre in 1994, when she was only 18) 'With tears in her eyes, she told me she had already died four times: that's the number of times the guards had simulated her execution. On one occasion they had stood her against a wall, told her she was going to be shot, and fired blanks at her... As we talked, it was clear that something had indeed died in her. She was only 15, and I was filled with silent rage about her torments.' (Iranian women accused of political offences) 'They threatened me with a knife, then held me down and raped me. I said to one of them, "How would you feel if someone treated your mother, sister or daughter like this?" He hesitated, as if he no longer wanted to go on. Then he went to the door and asked if anyone else wanted to rape me. There was nobody, so they left.' (A Croatian woman during the Bosnian war) 'I can't work, and I keep forgetting things. The doctor said it was traumatic epilepsy and explained that it was caused by the war. He told me that I had experienced many terrible things, that I should try to regain control of my life, but that it would be very difficult.' (A woman who as a teenager in the 1980s had fought in the civil war in El Salvador) Discussion Points

CAN women fight on the front line? A former SAS officer and professional soldier: "A fact of life for a soldier is the necessity to kill at close range. This can require a degree of savagery far beyond most people's imagining, and it's uncivilised to expect young women to sink to such emotional depths....This state of mind - going berserk in the old Viking sense - is not uncommon among fighting men in extreme circumstances (I've been overcome by it several times). Under its influence one loses all fear of death, becoming in the process a completely barbaric and utterly merciless, atavistic killing machine."

SHOULD they?

Additional

Napoleon's Proclamation to his Soldiers, 1805: "In the battle of Austerlitz...you have covered yourselves with eternal glory. An army of one hundred thousand men which was commanded by the emperors of Russia and Austria had been, in less than four hours, either cut off or dispersed. Those that escaped your swords have thrown themselves into the lakes."

Establish/Discuss

Technique ? What is it describing?

‘Come On, Come Back’ Incident in a future war Suggests?

Left by the ebbing tide of battle On the field of Austerlitz Repetition for The girl soldier Vaudevue sits emphasis. Her fingers tap the ground, she is alone At midnight in the moonlight she is sitting alone on a round flat stone. Alliteration emphasises the moonlight and the eerie setting.

Battle ground in the Napoleonic wars.

Graded by the Memel Conference first Chilling, impersonal word. Of all human exterminators M.L.5. Has left her just alive Only her memory is dead for evermore. Description of? She fears and cries, Ah me why am I here? Sitting alone on a round flat stone on a hummock there.

A town in Nazi now in Lithuania.

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Imaginary poisonous gas.

Rising, staggering, over the ground she goes Over the seeming miles of rutted meadow To the margin of a lake The sand beneath her feet Is cold and damp and firm to the waves’ beat.

Emphasises Vaudevue's struggle and confusion.

Quickly - as a child, an idiot, as one without memory She strips her uniform off, strips, stands and plunges Into the icy waters of the adorable lake. On the surface of the water lies This adjective is A ribbon of white moonlight unexpected The waters on either side of the moony track suggests? Are black as her mind, Her mind is as secret from her This word hints As the water on which she swims, something bad will As secret as profound as ominous. happen.

Significance? Smooth, peaceful image. Why?

What does this suggest about Vaudevue's state of mind?

What is being described here? Technique?

Emphasises time ing slowly. Why such a striking image?

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Weeping bitterly for her ominous mind, her plight, Repetition Up the river of white moonlight she swims Why? Until a treacherous undercurrent Seizing her in an icy-amorous embrace Techniques? Dives with her, swiftly severing The waters which close above her head. Alliteration to emphasise...? An enemy sentinel Finding the abandoned clothes Why the brackets? Waits for the swimmer’s return Significance of the title of song? (‘Come on, come back’) Waiting, whiling away the hour Whittling a shepherd’s pipe from the hollow reeds. In the chill light of dawn Ring out the pipe’s wild notes ‘Come on, come back.’

Irony?

What does this word suggest?

Why?

Vaudevue In the swift and subtle current’s close embrace Sleeps on, stirs not, hears not the familiar tune Favourite of all the troops of all the armies Shows that? Favourite of Vaudevue For she had sung it too Marching to Austerlitz, ‘Come on, come back.’

STEVIE SMITH

The poem ends sadly- Vaudevue won't come back because she's dead.

Framed

Tracking ideas... What lines seem relevant to this image?

Skill

Endings:

Sleeps on, stirs not, hears not the familiar tune Favourite of all the troops of all the armies Favourite of Vaudevue For she had sung it too Marching to Austerlitz, 'Come on, come back.'

Reflection... * What words stand out in the last stanza? Why? * What point do you think the poet is trying to make? Explain your ideas and try to link to other poems that you have looked at so far.

Skill: Symbolism

Interpreting the text:

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Imagery What extended metaphor is used in the poem?

Structure Think about organisation of the poem. What do you notice?

Word Choice Stevie Smith's poems are filled with unexpected word choices. What examples of this can you find?

Skill: Interpreting the Text

Look at the images below:

Can you find the quotation/idea that they refer to?

Question Time! 1. How does the poet create a sense of mystery in the poem? 2. How does the title of the poem relate to the content? 3. Who finds Vaudevue's clothes? What impression do you get of this character? 4. Which key words are repeated to give the poem a cold, deathly feel? 5. What do you think is the significance of the lake?

Quick Questions

Not Waving But Drowning Nobody heard him, the dead man, But still he lay moaning: I was much further out than you thought And not waving but drowning. Poor chap, he always loved larking And now he's dead It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way, They said. Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life And not waving but drowning. STEVIE SMITH

Additional

Do Not! Do not despair of man, and do not scold him, Who are you that you should so lightly hold him? Are you not also a man, and in your heart Are there not warlike thoughts and fear and smart? Are you not also afraid and in fear cruel, Do you not think of yourself as usual, Faint for ambition, desire to be loved, Prick at a virtuous thought by beauty moved? You love your wife, you hold your children dear, Then say not that Man is vile, but say they are. But they are not. So is your judgement shown Presumptuous, false, quite vain, merely your own Sadness for failed ambition set outside, Made a philosophy of, prinked, beautified In noble dress and into the world sent out To run with the ill it most pretends to rout. Oh know your own heart, that heart's not wholly evil, And from the particular judge the general, If judge you must, but with comion see life, Or else, of yourself despairing, flee strife. STEVIE SMITH

Additional

After Blenheim IT was a summer evening, Old Kaspar's work was done, And he before his cottage door Was sitting in the sun; And by him sported on the green His little grandchild Wilhelmine.

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She saw her brother Peterkin Roll something large and round, Which he beside the rivulet In playing there had found: 10 He came to ask what he had found That was so large and smooth and round. Old Kaspar took it from the boy, Who stood expectant by; And then the old man shook his head, 15 And with a natural sigh— "'Tis some poor fellow's skull," said he, "Who fell in the great victory. "I find them in the garden, For there's many here about; And often when I go to plough The ploughshare turns them out. For many thousand men," said he, "Were slain in that great victory."

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"Now tell us what 'twas all about," 25 Young Peterkin he cries; And little Wilhelmine looks up With wonder-waiting eyes; "Now tell us all about the war, And what they fought each other for." 30 "It was the English," Kaspar cried, "Who put the French to rout; But what they fought each other I could not well make out. But everybody said," quoth he, "That 'twas a famous victory. "My father lived at Blenheim then, Yon little stream hard by; They burnt his dwelling to the ground, And he was forced to fly: So with his wife and child he fled, Nor had he where to rest his head.

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"With fire and sword the country round Was wasted far and wide, And many a childing mother then 45 And newborn baby died: But things like that, you know, must be At every famous victory. "They say it was a shocking sight After the field was won, 50 For many thousand bodies here Lay rotting in the sun; But things like that, you know, must be After a famous victory. "Great praise the Duke of Marlbro' won, 55 And our good Prince Eugene"— "Why 'twas a very wicked thing!" Said little Welhelmine; "Nay—nay, my little girl," quoth he, "It was a famous victory. 60 "And everybody praised the Duke Who this great fight did win"— "But what good came of it at last?" Quoth little Peterkin. "Why that I cannot tell," said he, "But 'twas a famous victory." ROBERT SOUTHEY (1796)

Additional

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Links: Biography of poet: http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/ singlePoet.do?poetId=7088 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/stevie-smith Poet talks about poems: http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/ singlePoem.do;jsessionid=FA14D6F9A1A9DC9FE55F811 C7F459C1B?poemId=7089 Analysis of poem: http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/poetry/ poetry_women1.html Women soldiers on front line debate: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/769612.stm Frankie Goes to Hollywood video - Two Tribes (1983) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTOQUnvI3CA Information (and video clips) on the Cold War culture: http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/cold_war/topics/ 274/

Links and References