Sacrifice and Modern War Literature

<em>Sacrifice and Modern War Literature</em> is the first book to explore how writers from the early nineteenth century to the present have addressed the intimacy of sacrifice and war. It has been common for critics to argue that after the First World War many of the cultural and religious values associated with sacrifice have been increasingly rejected by writers and others. However this volume shows that literature has continued to address how different conceptions of sacrifice have been invoked in times of war to convert losses into gains or ideals. While those conceptions have sometimes been rooted in a secular rationalism that values lost lives in terms of political or national victories spiritual and religious conceptions of sacrifice are also still in evidence as with the 'martyrdom operations' of jihadis fighting against the 'war on terror'. <p/>Each chapter presents fresh insights into the literature of a particular conflict and the contributions explore major war writers including Wordsworth Kipling Ford Madox Ford and Elizabeth Bowen as well as lesser known authors such as Dora Sigerson Richard Aldington Thomas Kinsella and Nadeem Aslam. The volume covers multiple genres including novels poetry (particularly elegy and lyric) memoirs and some films. The contributions address a rich array of topics related to wartime sacrifice including scapegoating martyrdom religious faith tragedy heroism altruism 'bare life' atonement and redemption.