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1、Moore10MillionsoftheMouthlessDead:VisionsoftheDeadinWorldWarIPoetryByLauraMooreGLSSymposium,23June,2012OnefacetofthepoetryemergingfromEnglishsoldiersattheWesternFrontisthepresenceofghostsoldiers:thedeadsurroundsoldiers,speaktothem,andinhabitahellishafterlifethatresemblesthecondi
2、tionsofthefront.Somepoetsevenprojectthemselvesasdeadandimaginetheirownfuturewordsandencounters.InthispresentationIwouldfirstliketoexplaintheconditionsuniquetotheWesternFrontthataccountfortheseghostlyimaginings.ThenIwillshowthewayssoldiersexpressedtheirexperiencewithdeathandthede
3、adthroughpoeticimagination.TechnologicalAdvancesOnefactornewtoWorldWarIthatdefinedsoldiers’experienceand,Ibelieve,accountsfortheirnewwaysofportrayingthedeadinpoetry,waslong-termmechanizedtrenchwarfare.Becauseadvancementsinweaponrymeanteithersidecouldsufferasmanyas20,000casualtie
4、sinoneday,thenumberofdeadbodiesreachedstunningproportions.OnthefirstdayoftheSommeoffensive,over19,400Britishsoldierswerekilled.Overthenextfivemonths,theBritishlostanadditional400,000men;foreveryonemilegainedduringtheoffensive,nearly88,000Alliedsoldierswerekilled.AlanKramer,Dynam
5、icofDestruction:CultureandMassKillingintheFirstWorldWar(NewYork,NY:OxfordUniversityPress,Inc.,2007)213.AttheBattleofPasschendaele,thebodiesofalmost35,000Britishsoldierswereneverevenfoundandidentified.Withsuchvastnumbersofdead,therewasnotenoughmanpowertoremoveandburythecorpses,an
6、dinmanycasesenemyfireandmuddyconditionsmadesucheffortsimpossible.Sothedeadstayedwheretheyfell,andthelivingfoughtandlivedamongthem.Moore10Scientificadvancementsinweaponrychangednotonlythescaleofdestructionbutalsothestyleofdestruction.ThelightweightgunsfromtheNapoleonicwarwerejoin
7、edandthenreplacedbylarger,morepowerfulhowitzersandmortarsthatcouldfire25high-explosiveshellsinaminute.Onceassembled,though,thesegunsweredifficulttomove.Similarly,theMaximguns(earlymachineguns)thatwerecapableoffiring600roundsaminutein1914,andalmostdoublethatby1918,requiredthreeor
8、fourmentooperate.Eventhemoreportablemachineguns