Constraints on Fictions: With an Analysis of M.K. Joseph's "A Soldier's Tale"

In The Soldier's Tale there were instances of musical parody which could not possibly be elucidated by simple harmonic analysis within the work's own stylistic terms of reference; for example, it was necessary to allude to Bach's style in order to discuss the harmonies of Stravinsky's chorales. While it is not always correct to view neo-classical works as parodies, generically they present a ‘gloss’ on earlier styles—so that it becomes impossible to analyse such works without reference back, sometimes even to a particular work of a particular forerunner. Clearly an extended study of the use of classical harmonic functions in the works of Stravinsky's middle period would be an undertaking worthy of some months of research and several chapters of exegesis. Here I shall content myself with some instances of his use of cadential formulae.

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Just a Soldier's Tale

Index on Censorship ◽

10.1080/03064220208537069 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 216-222

Author(s):

Asaf Oron

Keyword(s):

Soldier's Tale

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War Heroes and Pacifists on the Same Front: Re-reading Heroism in Two Imperial War Memoirs

Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses ◽

10.14198/raei.2012.25.24 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 351

Author(s):

Cristina Pividori ◽

Andrew Monnickendam

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

Late Nineteenth Century ◽

World War ◽

World War One ◽

The Subject ◽

War Memoirs ◽

Soldier's Tale ◽

Indian Mutiny ◽

Traditional Construction ◽

Do So

This article explores the notion of heroism in Victorian war literature by analyzing the figure of the soldier-hero in two imperial war memoirs: Captain Mowbray Thomson’s The Story of Cawnpore: The Indian Mutiny and John Pearman’s The Radical Soldier’s Tale. While The Story of Cawnpore is an emblematic example of what we call the Victorian hero myth, that is, the effective merging of traditional heroism, war as adventure and imperialism in mid-to late-nineteenth century Britain – The Radical Soldier’s Tale appears to posit an alternative to this widely accepted view, challenging its assumed universality and immutability. By analyzing Pearman’s innovative revision of heroism, in contrast to Thomson’s more conventional representation of the theme, this article attempts to illustrate both the traditional construction and a possible re-reading of the subject taking place in the same period. In order to do so, we focus on the three main aspects around which the representation of the nineteenth-century soldier-hero is articulated: the consolidation of traditional heroic manhood in the context of imperial war, the complex social justification of war and the demonization of the Other as a way of validating the heroic self. Particular attention is given to the fact that Pearman’s shift towards a more complex appreciation of the heroic subject appears to anticipate similar patterns occurring in the literature written during and after World War One.

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Dead Men Telling Tales

10.1093/oso/9780192896025.001.0001 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Matilda Greig

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

Western Europe ◽

Napoleonic Wars ◽

Cultural Impact ◽

National Narratives ◽

The World ◽

Peninsular War ◽

History Of ◽

Soldier's Tale ◽

Multiple Languages

Dead Men Telling Tales is an account of the lasting cultural impact made by the autobiographies of Napoleonic soldiers over the course of the nineteenth century. Focussing on the nearly three hundred military memoirs published by British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese veterans of the Peninsular War (1808–1814), it charts the histories of these books over the course of a hundred years, around Europe and the Atlantic, and from writing to publication to afterlife. Drawing on extensive archival research in multiple languages, the book challenges assumptions made by historians about the reliability of these soldiers’ direct eyewitness accounts, revealing the personal and political motives of the authors and uncovering the large cast of characters, from family members to publishers, editors, and translators, involved in production behind the scenes. By including literature from Spain and Portugal, it also provides a missing link in current studies of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, showing how the genre of military memoirs developed differently in south-western Europe and led to starkly opposing national narratives of the same war. The book’s findings tell the history of a publishing phenomenon which gripped readers of all ages across the world in the nineteenth century, made significant profits for those involved, and was fundamental in defining the modern ‘soldier’s tale’.

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The soldier's tale

Nature ◽

10.1038/441153a ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 441 (7090) ◽

pp. 153-153

Author(s):

Matt Ridley

Keyword(s):

Soldier's Tale

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