Analysis of the novel Richard Aldington "Death of a Hero"

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Analysis of the novel Richard Aldington "Death of a Hero"

The text under analysis is an extract taken from the novel «Death of a hero» by Richard Aldington, who is one of the most prominent 20th century English writers. His first collection of poems was “Images Old and New” (1915). In later years Aldington devoted himself more to prose and produced several deservedly successful novels, such as “Death of a Hero” (1929), “The Colonel's Daughter” (1931), “All Men are Enemies” (1933), “Very Heaven” (1937) and some other books.

Some characteristic features of his style can be defined. The subtle lyricism, the rich imagery, the musical rhythm of the description turn the landscape into a passionate rhapsody. There are masterly touches in rich and vivid epithets, which are combined with metaphors. The richness of imagery is developed in effective similes. The alliterations make the text particularly musical. The refinement of learned classical allusions is also characteristic of Aldington. Aldington brings the contrast between the peaceful beauty of nature and the bitterness, avarice and despair in the world of men.

Started his career as a poet close to the decadence aesthetics, he belonged to the poetic school of imagism. It was developed by group of poets headed by R. Aldington. The most prominent representatives of this movement are Ezra Pound, John Fletcher, Hilda Doolittle, Amy Lowell, David Herbert Lawrence, James Joyce and Ford Madox Ford. It is characterized by the use of a common language, new rhythms, freedom in subject matter, clear precise image presentation. Aldington created the so-called list of «Don'ts» consisting of three rules: 1) direct treatment of the thing whether subjective or objective; 2) to use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation; 3) as regarding rhythm: to compose a sequence of the musical phrase, not in sequence of the moment. The imagists rejected the sentiments and discursiveness typical of the romantic and Victorian poetry. They followed the Image, not the rhyme.

«Death of a hero» is dedicated to the so-called “lost generation”. The core of Aldington's outlook is a deep-rooted disillusionment in a world seized by suicidal and homicidal madness. The novelist calls his book a threnody, a song of lamentation for the dead of the generation that went through the horrors of war.

Aldington called this book «a jazz novel». This jazz effect is achieved by kaleidoscopic change of contrasted images. The novel is characterized by multitude of emotional states. The style is rather nervous. He is easily overcome by despair and negation, carried to the very extreme. These feelings are the features of the lost generation people.

Aldington treats his subject-matter as experienced by the sensitive nature of an artist, which makes the whole intensely humane and vividly passionate.

As for the structure of the text, the text under analysis represents two extracts from the novel «Death of the Hero». The novel on the whole consists of 5 parts: 1) the prologue called «allegretto» (a direction in musical notation indicating that the musical piece should be played rather fast and lively), which concerns the history of George's childhood and adolescence; 2) Book I is named «vivace» (music is performed in a lively and fast manner) and depicts George's family history; 3) Book II is entitled «andante cantabile» (a moderate tempo with some singing) and here George's life in London is described, his marriage with Elisabeth and his later betrayal, and also English declaration of war on Germany takes place in this part; 4) Book III is called «adagio» (slow and graceful musical tempo), in which George joins the army, and when he returns home, he finds that he has been so affected by the war that he cannot relate to his friends, including his wife and lover; the story ends with George standing up during a machine-gun barrage, and he is killed. 5) The last part - the epilogue - is introduced in the form of the song of lamentation.

The first extract is taken from the Book II. Here the author depicts a walk of George and Elisabeth in the Hampton Court and Bushy Park. They are admiring the beauty of the nature, the sky, the trees, and especially the spring flowers.

The second extract is taken from the Book III and here an episode on the front is described, when a group of soldiers, all that is left from a defeated battalion, break off the fight and stumble on towards the village, into the rear.

As for the theme of the text, there are two of them, as we analyse two extracts. The theme of the 1^st fragment is nature and its beauty, and this can be proved by such thematic words as: grass, long elm naves, blue sky, young leaves, chestnut blossom, secular trees, constellation of flowers, daffodils, lilacs, jonquil, narcissus, hyacinth, squilla, tulips and so on. The theme of the 2^nd fragment is the war, and the thematic vocabulary consists of such words as: trench, Frontshires, uniform, battalion, sergeant-major, subaltern, equipment, soldier's cemetery and so on.

The 1^st extract vividly proves that Aldington is the representative of imagism, as by means of elevated bookish words he creates a marvelous detailed and precise picture of spring. In the first part of this fragment this is achieved, for example, by means of metaphors, such as the long elm naves, elms make long Gothic arches, also by a metaphoric antithesis youth and age, by a metaphorical epithet so virginal a green. The dialogue of George and Elizabeth also contributes to the prose in the style of imagism, as it renders a certain rhythm with the help of an anaphoric parallel construction:

- Yes, and look how the elms make long Gothic arches!

- Yes, and do look at the young leaves…

- Yes, and yet you can still see…

- Yes, and the chestnut blossom will be out soon!

- Yes, and the young grass is…

The next part of the 1^st fragment depictures the Wilderness, or old English garden with its glorious spring flowers, and presents a clash of innumerous stylistic devices. And here again the rhythmical prose takes place. To convey the beauty of nature lots of sustained metaphors are employed, such as the lilacs had just unfolded their pale hearts, buds which would break open later in a foam of white and blue blossoms, the daffodil which has a pointed ruff of white petals to display its gold head, and so on. Similes also help to create an incredible image of spring nature, for example spread out like an evening sky, like an ostentatious merchant, like thin blown bubbles of dark wine, etc. Allusions applied by the author add to the representation of nature and make it even more picturesque and figurative, for instance The Tudor side of the palace, The old English garden, composed on the grandiose scale advocated by Bacon, The opulent double daffodil which is like an ostentatious merchant between Florizel and Perdita.

In the following part of the 1^st fragment all the sentences are exclamatory but for the last. This paragraph sounds like an ode, praising the beauty of nature. Unrestrainable admiration is represented, for example, by means of anaphoric parallel constructions: What an answer to our ridiculous “cosmic woe”, how salutary, what a soft reproach to bitterness and avarice and despair, what balm to hurt minds! This effected if also achieved by epithets unpretentious, cordial, unconscious, by an extended metaphor free from the striving after originality of the gardener's tamed pets, by an oxymoron cleanly wantonness. And then after this glorification comes a sudden descent, and the author presents an unexpected contrast between spring nature, a symbol of new life and of beauty, and war, a human creation. The former bright, joyful and inspiring atmosphere turns into the tonality of regret and reproach. The suddenness of the last sentence, which is a rhetorical question, is attained by negative epithets, such as appalling, foul, deadly, regretfully. This emotional and semantic descent strikes a reader and provokes definite thoughts in his mind.

Though both of the fragments take place in spring, the 1^st extract with its high-flown and colourful expressions praising the beauty of nature goes in contrast with the 2^nd extract, filled with horrors of war, which what it can do to people. Here everything is bleak, pale and, gray. The grim, mourning and oppressive tonality is conveyed throughout this fragment. This can be clearly seen in the employment of elliptical sentences and contracted forms, for instance It's up there…up there…somewhere…I don't know…not far…I can't stop…mustn't leave the men, and also by means of metaphors, for example the flotsam of the wrecked battalion, epithets, such as a desperate defense. Soldiers are extremely weary, the author represents it with the help of such words of direct description of their state and way of moving as: they had weary voices, were dazed with weariness, too tired, unseeing eyes turned to the muddy ground, faces looked haggard and inexpressibly weary; come along, walk, stagger, sway, stumble, make the way slowly, shamble, go slowly, pass. The fatigue and exhaustion of men is depicted by means of an anaphoric parallel construction: They went very slowly, past the slag-hill, past the ruined village, past the Pioneers' billets, past the soldiers' cemetery, past the ruined chateau, past the closed Y.M.C.A. canteen. Even though the author describes a little the spring nature with the help of, for instance, such epithets as fresh clear dawn and pure exquisite sky, soldiers do not see it, their faces are turned to the muddy ground. This contrast means that the war broke the men, deprived them of ability to feel, to rejoice, live as they did before the war. Even the description of a side observer, a young sentry, contributes to the emotional atmosphere of the extract, as when he sees a the remnant of the battalion of the Frontshires , the author, depicting his state, presents an idiom - with a lump in his throat. story composite genre novel

The author opposes the pacific and beautiful nature to the terrible war, a human creation. This 2^nd extract represents the author's protest against the war, as it ruins everything: it destroys nature, it kills people, and if someone manages to stay alive, his own nature is also ruined, he is no longer the man he used to be. And these people, who return from war, become members of the “lost generation”, disillusioned people, disappointed in the society, in its values, they are broken, distracted, disenchanted. Thus we can conclude that the author's idea was to reveal the reality of war and its demolishing consequences concerning the human nature.

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