Stage I: Ivor Gurney - 'Strafe'
I: Introduction
This exercise is presented in four stages. First, here, we introduce the basic concepts. You will see a note below on ‘the manuscripts’ then you can go to the next tab which describes ‘Stages of Editing’ and if you are also interested you can study the ‘Background to the Poem’. Once you are ready proceed to Stage II ‘Comparing Manuscripts’’.
About the Manuscripts
The poem survives in three manuscripts, two by Gurney and one by his friend Marion Scott. In reality these have proper shelf marks (i.e. giving information on the library they are stored in, the collection they belong to, and so on). For the purposes of this seminar the three manuscripts will be referred to as manuscript (abbreviated to MS) A, B, and C.
On completion of your edition, you will be given full information about the manuscripts in question, as well as a chance to look at an existing edition of the poem.
Stages of Editing
Stage I: Introduction
Stage II: Compare manuscript images & choose a base manuscript
To begin with you will be asked to look at the three manuscripts. You will have the opportunity to view each of them in turn, and to compare them next to each other. Your goal at this point is to choose a base manuscript, i.e. one which will form the main body of your edition.
Stage III: Create your edition
The next step is to create the edition. Here you will be given a transcription from your chosen manuscript and you will be set the task of noting how the other retentions of the poem in the remaining two manuscripts vary. You will be asked to note these variants and to make any editorial decisions relating to punctuation.
Stage IV: Compare with a published edition
You will be able to see a published version of the poem to see the decisions of one editor. You will also be able to compare your variation notes with the notes on the manuscripts.
Background to 'Dead Man's Dump'
'Strafe' is a short poem by Gurney, written sometime during the spring/early summer of 1917, detailing a regular experience on the Western Front - the act of being strafed. Strictly speaking 'to strafe' meant to attack the infantry by low-flying aircraft dropping bombs or using machine guns, but it became a general term for a large fierce attack by small arms or artillery fire. The word is of German origin and a popular slogan amongst the German Army during the war was 'Gott strafe England' or 'God punish England'.
Gurney describes being caught in a 'strafe' a couple of times in letters back to Marion Scott. On 22nd June 1916 he mentions that he survived a strafe, and then a few days later on the 29th June he described a strafe as being like 'all heaven seems to be falling on top of us'.
The poem is short, almost lyrical, and is typical of Gurney's work at this time. There is the obvious juxtaposition of the trench experience (the strafe itself) and the longing to return to Gloucestershire (the cry for Framilode and Maisemore, two locations near Gloucester that Gurney knew well). The 'laughing linnet' (a small bird) is in complete contrast to the destruction of the repeated shelling that surrounds the crouching men, and notably the technological monster of a shell the size of a motor bus. Gurney also employs repetition to reinforce the repeated bombardment (note how line 1 is repeated twice) and the thumping rhyme scheme of ABAAABAB..
Gurney completed two drafts of the poem (he later notes he wrote this East of Laventie), and then Marion Scott copied a third in her own handwriting before it went to print as part of Severn & Somme (published November, 1917). The drafts themselves are very similar but small clues in punctuation and the variants indicate which is Gurney's final draft. Similarly the handwriting in one of the three is clearly different from the other two. This is Marion Scott's copy.
Contained in the poem are a few references that may not be that familiar:
'Crump': Large explosion, or sound of shell bursting; by extension the shell itself.
'Framilode': Place near Gloucester
'Maisemore': Village to the north of Gloucester
Dr. Stuart Lee, 2009
Read the Ivor Gurney BiographyBrowse the Ivor Gurney Collection
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