'Journey's End' - Stanhope

The character of Stanhope is many things in one - young and yet old beyond his years; a bold leader, and yet more flawed than those under him; a charasmatic, understanding person and yet an aggressive man unable to deal with his feelings.

Is 'Journey's End' a Tragedy?

Yes it is. Next question. No, seriously: it is because it follows established laws of Greek (Ancient Greek) drama - see below. Also, it is a shocking dose of 'reality' for post-war audiences and it has one of the bleakest dramatic climaxes you will ever see outside of an episode of Eastenders. No, really.

The following is from http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/spectop007.html

The most famous of the Aristotelian rules were those relating to the so-called unities--of time, place, and action. The unity of time limits the supposed action to the duration, roughly, of a single day; unity of place limits it to one general locality; and the unity of action limits it to a single set of incidents which are related as cause and effect, "having a beginning, a middle, and an end."

Introduction to WWI Literature

This is a basic introduction to WWI literature; it explains some of the ideas that changed in the event of the war. WWI, much more than WWII, marked a shift in the war people thought about the world around them (and themselves). That's why it's so important. You'll need to buy a copy of the book Regeneration, by Pat Barker. That, along with the play 'Journey's End' and the poetry of Sassoon and Owen will mark your reading for the summer and our programme of study.