Recruiting by E.A.MacKintosh

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kilted exile

Yes, there was that propoganda - which is a terrible thing however it does not mean Mackintosh should not be critical of the women who carried out the practice.

Now addressing the terms. I'll start first with the "vulgar" & "harlot". A lot of the songs were vulgar regarding their lyrics questioning the manhood of the objectors & their dislike of the germans so why there is a problem with this word I do not know. As far as "harlot" goes it should be takne in account of the way society was at the time where dances like the charleston (I know the charleston is more 1920's but you get the idea I'm sure) were considered as objectionable as strippers & prostitutes are now.

Finally the term fat. This refers to the middle aged men who by virtue of being over 41 escaped conscription and despite all of their hard talk about how we were going to give jerry a damn good thrashing were all very pleased that they didnt have to fight and despite still being able to volunteer would never even consider it. These are hypocrites and Mackintosh is rightly scathing in his attitude towards them. It also works for the imagery - think of an image of a normal middle aged desk worker, is he in good shape?

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It is not my intention to invalidate your reading, it is simply not mine. Taking the terms separately and dealing with them as you have misses my argument which is that there is a tone of general indignation regarding the home front which I find objectionable in its prejudices and its over-simplification of noncombatants and their attitudes towards the war. I also believe it can be found in other works by Mackintosh and other officer-poets. If you don't of course that's fine.

BTW this poem is quite easily available in the 'War Poets' anthology widely used in high schools in the UK to teach part of the A level syllablus, which contains a synoptic unit on literature from ww1. I've been teaching it for years now.

In reference to the arguments of ELizabeth McC and Kilted exile, you are both in a way correct.
Mackintosh doesn't essentially condemn the conscientious-objectors but it is more attacking the home front in the way that they are pretending that they are taking part in the war, hence the term “Gallant Sacrifice”. The line ‘Leave the harlots still to sing
Comic songs about the Hun’ represents Mackintoshs dislike of the lies and the songs sung to young men forcing them to sign up for the war. His scorn is evident when he calls the loss of life “martyrdom” as
As for the comment about him not being a pacifist, I would like to see any other interpretation of the fourth stanza,
“Lads, you’re wanted! Over there,
Shiver in the morning dew,
More poor devils like yourselves
Waiting to be killed by you.”
Than the realization of the soldiers that the men they are fighting are no different than themselves (the famous Christmas 1914 football match as an example). However, the most important notion is the sarcasm evident in, “Help to keep them nice and safe
From the wicked German foe” and in this sense Mackintosh is attempting, like many other soldier-poets, to show the others side of this war. The almost oxymoron “Gallant Sacrifice” demonstrates both sides, the view of the home front and the view of the soldiers.
The sudden change in the poem, in the last three stanzas, could be mistaken as being war loving, but in fact actually portrays the opinion that he’d rather be with the young who paradoxically are the pacifists than with the old who encourage the war. Mackintosh never instigates violence and killing but says “live and die with honest men”.
A sense of acceptance of the corruption of the war, incidentally as much our fault as the Germans, is shown by referring to the youth as honest and finally of the old men as fat gives an impression of greed of society and the sense that the soldiers are merely playthings.

I have a copy which I can post to you. I will be able to scan and email next week if you can wait.