A shattered visage: the remythologizing of the British literary hero after World War I
Institution: | Texas Tech University |
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Department: | |
Year: | 1999 |
Keywords: | War and literature – Great Britain; World War, 1914-1918 – Propaganda, British; Popular music – Great Britain – 1911-1920 – History and criticism; Heroes in literature; English literature – 20th century – History and criticism |
Record ID: | 1701792 |
Full text PDF: | http://hdl.handle.net/2346/18894 |
Heroes have always been a part of national culture. They have slain real and metaphorical dragons and provided the populace with models to emulate and admire. However, there is a dark side to this hero worship. While heroes are a necessary and desirable aspect of any culture, their influence can sometimes prove damaging because their model is unrealistic and when people fall short of that model, disillusionment, sometimes on a grand scale, can occur.