In Flanders Fields
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"In Flanders Fields" is one of the most famous poems written during World War I and has been called "the most popular poem" produced during that period.[1] It is written in the form of a French rondeau. Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote it on May 3, 1915, after he witnessed the death of his friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, only 22 years old, the day before. The poem was first published on December 8 of that year in the London-based magazine Punch.
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[edit] Historical context
The poppies referred to in the poem grew in profusion in Flanders where war casualties had been buried and thus became a symbol of Remembrance Day. The poem is part of Remembrance Day solemnities in Allied countries which contributed troops to World War I, particularly in countries of the British Empire that did so.
The poem "In Flanders Fields" was written after John McCrae witnessed the death, and presided over the funeral, of a friend, Lieut. Alexis Helmer. By most accounts it was written in his notebook [2] and later rejected by McCrae. Ripped out of his notebook, it was rescued by a fellow officer and later published in Punch magazine.
[edit] In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)
[edit] Status
The poem has achieved near-mythic status in contemporary Canada and is one of the nation's most prominent symbols. Most Remembrance Day ceremonies will feature a reading of the poem in some form (it is also sung a cappella in some places), and many Canadian schoolchildren memorize the verse. The third stanza is often omitted, particularly when the poem is used in schools, thus removing the more "warlike" elements of the poem (see "Criticism", below).[citation needed]
The poem is now also a common part of Remembrance Day ceremonies in the United Kingdom, where it holds as one of the nation's best-loved.
A portion of the poem is now printed on Canadian $10 notes, where it spawned a false rumour that the poem had been misprinted, resulting from popular confusion between the first line's "blow" and the penultimate line's "grow." The use of "grow" in the first line is, however, an authentic variation. It appears in at least one autograph (see In Flanders Fields, and Other Poems), and schools in Guelph (McCrae's birthplace) once taught that "the poppies grow" could refer to spreading blood stains on the shallow graves.
[edit] Criticisms
Critic Paul Fussell, in The Great War and Modern Memory, points out the sharp distinctions between the pastoral, sacrificial tone of the poem's first nine lines and the "recruiting-poster rhetoric" of the poem's third stanza; he argues that, appearing in 1915, the poem would serve to denigrate any negotiated peace that would end the war, and calls these lines "a propaganda argument," saying "words like vicious and stupid would not seem to go too far."[3] Modern public readings of the poem, however, stress the debt to the dead and the necessity to honour their memory in ceremonies often focusing on the sacrifice and sorrow of war.
[edit] Other versions
An official adaptation into French, used by the Canadian government in Remembrance Day ceremonies, was written by Jean Pariseau and is entitled Au champ d'honneur.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory, Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 248.
- ^ http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/flanders.htm
- ^ Fussell, pp. 249-250.
[edit] References in popular culture
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (September 2008) |
The Simpsons season 3 episode "When Flanders Failed" (#38–3) is an implicit reference to this poem. In the audio commentary to this episode which was recorded in 2003 Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jon Vitti and Jim Reardon talk about writer Jeff Martin who came up with this "World War I reference which no one ever gets".
The song "We Are the Lost" by the group Libera paraphrases this poem along with For the Fallen, sung as a choral hymn.
The poem is referenced by Mort Shuman in his translation of the song "Marieke" by Jacques Brel as well as by Siouxsie and the Banshees in "Poppy Day" from their second LP "Join Hands". The song was adapted as the song "Flanders Fields" by Big Head Todd and the Monsters on their 1989 debut album "Another Mayberry". The Guess Who parody the song in Friends Of Mine.
In the TV special "What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?", Linus recites the poem while standing in front of the remnants of a battlefield in Ypres, including the British aid station where McCrae was inspired to write the poem.
The poem is referenced in the film Mr. Holland's Opus and Herman Wouk's novel City Boy.
The line "To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high" is written on the wall of the Montreal Canadiens' dressing room.
"The Piper" written by the fictional Walter Blythe in L. M. Montgomery's Rilla of Ingleside is a tribute to In Flanders Field in content and form as well as Walter's Canadian nationality.
[edit] External links
- The Project Gutenberg ebook of In Flanders Fields, and Other Poems.
- Free audiobook from LibriVox
- This site contains an account of the writing of the poem and a facsimile of the author's manuscript.
- In Flanders Fields, the website of the museum of this name in Ypres, dedicated to this poem
- Royal Canadian Legion web page about John McCrae, In Flanders Fields, and the custom of wearing poppies
- In Flanders Fields, setting by Canadian composer Michael Roberts
- In Flanders Fields, new musical interpretation by award winning Canadian songwriter Jon Brooks, released on May 3, 2007
- Lost Poets of the Great War, a hypertext document on the poetry of World War I by Harry Rusche, of the English Department, Emory University, Atlanta Georgia. It contains a bibliography of related materials.
