The Muse in Arms
Encyclopedia
The Muse in Arms is an anthology
of British war poetry published in November 1917 during World War I
. It consists of 131 poems by 52 contributors, with the poems divided into fourteen thematic sections. The poets were from all three branches of the armed services, land, sea and air, from a range of ranks (though mostly officers) and from many parts of the UK. Twenty of the poets who contributed to this volume died during the war. The editor was the journalist and author Edward Boland Osborn (1867–1938), and the book was printed in London by the publishers John Murray
. This anthology was one of several collections of war poetry published in the UK during the war. It "achieved large sales", and was reprinted in February 1918. It has been referenced in several analyses of First World War poetry and has been described as "the most celebrated collection of the war years".
(1871–1964).
The first edition of the book contains 38 pages of prefatory material including publication details, the dedication, an introduction by the editor, acknowledgments (several of the poems had been previously published), a list of 46 authors, and a list of contents. This is followed by 131 poems over 295 pages. Eight of the 131 poems are by civilian or anonymous authors, some referenced by name or pseudonym and others only by their initials, bringing the total number of contributors to 52.
Osborn's introduction discusses several aspects of the collection and includes a quote from Pericles
when considering the cost of the war against the poetry produced:
The book is divided into fourteen thematic sections:
Gallery
Selection of photographs of some of the poets and titles of their poems from The Muse in Arms:
Selected quotations
The opening lines of 'To the Poet Before Battle' by Ivor Gurney, who would survive the war:
Lines from 'Better Far to Pass Away' by Richard Molesworth Dennys, who was killed during the war:
and Rupert Brooke
. While other major war poets such as Wilfred Owen
and Isaac Rosenberg
are absent from the book, the collection has also been noted for its inclusion of poems by "servicemen who perished during wartime and whose literary output was strictly limited". The collection was published at the point in the war where there was a shift from "patriotism and romanticism" to a more realistic verse that reflected the "brutal reality" of trench wafare, answering "to a public demand, particularly strong during the period of the great battles of 1915-17, for poetry from the trenches". The introduction by Osborn has been described as articulating the "appallingly anachronistic concept of war as a game". In his 2007 work, Sillars draws further attention to the imagery used in the introduction by Osborn, and concludes that The Muse in Arms and similar anthologies of that period of the war used poetry to locate the war "within a spiritual landscape that makes mystical the English countryside by endowing it with heroic virtues". The symbolic meaning of the anthology and the works it contains has also been examined, with Haughton (2007) describing the title of the work as representing a "muse enlisted in the service of the State, Church and British Army".
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of British war poetry published in November 1917 during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. It consists of 131 poems by 52 contributors, with the poems divided into fourteen thematic sections. The poets were from all three branches of the armed services, land, sea and air, from a range of ranks (though mostly officers) and from many parts of the UK. Twenty of the poets who contributed to this volume died during the war. The editor was the journalist and author Edward Boland Osborn (1867–1938), and the book was printed in London by the publishers John Murray
John Murray (publisher)
John Murray is an English publisher, renowned for the authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Melville, and Charles Darwin...
. This anthology was one of several collections of war poetry published in the UK during the war. It "achieved large sales", and was reprinted in February 1918. It has been referenced in several analyses of First World War poetry and has been described as "the most celebrated collection of the war years".
Contents
The anthology's title page describes the book as "A collection of war poems, for the most part written in the field of action, by seamen, soldiers, and flying men who are serving, or have served, in the Great War". The dedication is to the journalist and Times Literary Supplement editor Bruce Lyttelton RichmondBruce Lyttelton Richmond
Sir Bruce Lyttelton Richmond was a British editor and journalist who was the editor of the weekly literary review the Times Literary Supplement for 35 years from a few months after its founding in 1902, to his retirement in 1937...
(1871–1964).
The first edition of the book contains 38 pages of prefatory material including publication details, the dedication, an introduction by the editor, acknowledgments (several of the poems had been previously published), a list of 46 authors, and a list of contents. This is followed by 131 poems over 295 pages. Eight of the 131 poems are by civilian or anonymous authors, some referenced by name or pseudonym and others only by their initials, bringing the total number of contributors to 52.
Osborn's introduction discusses several aspects of the collection and includes a quote from Pericles
Pericles
Pericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars...
when considering the cost of the war against the poetry produced:
The book is divided into fourteen thematic sections:
Poets
At the time of the anthology's publication in November 1917, the death during the war of sixteen of the forty-six authors was marked in the list of authors with an asterisk, and are so-marked in the following list as well. The deaths during the war of four other authors who were killed or died following publication of the book, or whose deaths had occurred earlier but not been recorded by Osborn, are marked with a double asterisk. The military rank and unit given in the list of authors is also included in the list below.Gallery
Selection of photographs of some of the poets and titles of their poems from The Muse in Arms:
Poetry
The poems that mention wartime places, battles, people and events include:- poem V: 'Home Thoughts in Laventie', by E. Wyndham Tennant - refers to LaventieLaventieLaventie is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A small farming and light industrial town, situated some northeast of Béthune and west of Lille, at the junction of the D166, D173 and D174 roads. Famous for its...
- poem XVIII: 'In the Morning' by Patrick McGill - refers to the Battle of LoosBattle of LoosThe Battle of Loos was one of the major British offensives mounted on the Western Front in 1915 during World War I. It marked the first time the British used poison gas during the war, and is also famous for the fact that it witnessed the first large-scale use of 'new' or Kitchener's Army...
- poem XX: 'The New Aeneid' by Alexander Robertson - refers to the Gallipoli Campaign
- poem XXX: 'The Rear-Guard' by Siegfried Sassoon - refers to the Hindenburg LineHindenburg LineThe Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...
- poem XXXII: 'Song of the White Ensign' by William M. James - refers to six naval actions and campaigns
- poem XXXIII: 'Undying Days' by William M. James - refers to three naval battles of 1 June
- poem XXXVI: 'Battle of the Falkland Isles' by I.C. - refers to the Battle of the Falkland IslandsBattle of the Falkland IslandsThe Battle of the Falkland Islands was a British naval victory over the Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914 during the First World War in the South Atlantic...
- poem XXXVIII: 'News of Jutland' by Roma White - refers to the Battle of JutlandBattle of JutlandThe Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
- poem XLIII: 'Per Ardua ad Astra' by Gordon Alchin - title refers to the motto of the Royal Flying CorpsPer ardua ad astraPer ardua ad astra is the motto of the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces such as the RAAF, RCAF, and RNZAF. It dates from 1912 and was used by the newly formed Royal Flying Corps.-Origin:The first Commanding Officer of the Royal Flying Corps was Colonel Frederick Sykes...
- poem XLVI: 'The Death of the Zeppelin' by O. - refers to the defence mounted against the ZeppelinZeppelinA Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
s - poem XLVII: 'The Last Salute' by Robert Nichols - refers to the death of the Grenfell brothers
- poem XLIX: 'R. B.' by Aubrey Herbert - a tribute to Rupert BrookeRupert BrookeRupert Chawner Brooke was an English poet known for his idealistic war sonnets written during the First World War, especially The Soldier...
- poem LII: 'Goliath and David' by Robert Graves - a tribute to David Thomas
- poem LIII: 'To R____ at Anzac' by Aubrey Herbert - title refers to ANZAC CoveAnzac CoveAnzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC on April 25, 1915. The cove is a mere long, bounded by the headlands of Ari Burnu to the north and Little Ari Burnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south...
- poem LIV: 'To John' by William Grenfell - a tribute to John Manners
- poem LV: 'To C.A.L.' by C.A.A. - a tribute to Charles Alfred Lister
- poem LXXIII: 'Holy Communion Service, Suvla Bay' by W. H. Littlejohn - refers to the Landing at Suvla BayLanding at Suvla BayThe landing at Suvla Bay was an amphibious landing made at Suvla on the Aegean coast of Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire as part of the August Offensive, the final British attempt to break the deadlock of the Battle of Gallipoli...
- poem LXXVII: 'Domum' by Charles Scott-Moncrieff - refers to the Battle for Hill 60Battle of Hill 60 (Western Front)The Battle of Hill 60 was an Australian assault that was subsidiary to the Battle of Neuve Chapelle.-1914-15:Hill 60 was a low rise on the southern flank of the Ypres Salient and was named for the 60 metre contour which marked its bounds. Hill 60 was not a natural highpoint, but was created as a...
in the Ypres SalientYpres SalientThe Ypres Salient is the area around Ypres in Belgium which was the scene of some of the biggest battles in World War I.In military terms, a salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. Therefore, the salient is surrounded by the enemy on three sides, making the troops... - poem XCII: 'Cha Till MacCruimein' by Ewart Alan Mackintosh - refers to the MacCrimmon piping familyMacCrimmon (piping family)The MacCrimmons were a Scottish family, pipers to the chiefs of Clan MacLeod for an unknown number of generations. The MacCrimmon kindred was centred at Borreraig near the Clan MacLeod seat at Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye...
- poem CVII: 'Suvla Bay' by W. H. Littlejohn - refers to the Landing at Suvla BayLanding at Suvla BayThe landing at Suvla Bay was an amphibious landing made at Suvla on the Aegean coast of Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire as part of the August Offensive, the final British attempt to break the deadlock of the Battle of Gallipoli...
Selected quotations
The opening lines of 'To the Poet Before Battle' by Ivor Gurney, who would survive the war:
Lines from 'Better Far to Pass Away' by Richard Molesworth Dennys, who was killed during the war:
Reception
The Muse in Arms has been described as one of several "important anthologies in the canonization of poetic taste", including work by Siegfried SassoonSiegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon CBE MC was an English poet, author and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's...
and Rupert Brooke
Rupert Brooke
Rupert Chawner Brooke was an English poet known for his idealistic war sonnets written during the First World War, especially The Soldier...
. While other major war poets such as Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War...
and Isaac Rosenberg
Isaac Rosenberg
Isaac Rosenberg was an English poet of the First World War who was considered to be one of the greatest of all English war poets...
are absent from the book, the collection has also been noted for its inclusion of poems by "servicemen who perished during wartime and whose literary output was strictly limited". The collection was published at the point in the war where there was a shift from "patriotism and romanticism" to a more realistic verse that reflected the "brutal reality" of trench wafare, answering "to a public demand, particularly strong during the period of the great battles of 1915-17, for poetry from the trenches". The introduction by Osborn has been described as articulating the "appallingly anachronistic concept of war as a game". In his 2007 work, Sillars draws further attention to the imagery used in the introduction by Osborn, and concludes that The Muse in Arms and similar anthologies of that period of the war used poetry to locate the war "within a spiritual landscape that makes mystical the English countryside by endowing it with heroic virtues". The symbolic meaning of the anthology and the works it contains has also been examined, with Haughton (2007) describing the title of the work as representing a "muse enlisted in the service of the State, Church and British Army".