The Theme of ‘The Loss of Youth’ In Sebastian Faulk’s ‘Birdsong’ and A.E Houseman’s ‘A Shropshire Lad’

The setting of the novel Birdsong is during the First World War, and the author focuses on the devastating impacts on the war and the disruption of the normal way of life. The author largely focuses on the impacts of war on Stephen generation which is a representation of the youth. The negative impacts on the groups are seen as having disrupted the future of humanity. The period of war is presented as having started in 1914 and ended in 1918. During this period, many youths and families were affected as it isevident in Stephen’s ordeals.

On the other hand, A Shropshire Lad focuses on themes such as youthful passion and the adolescents’ life. The work has sixty poems that are used by the poet to developdifferent themes and styles. It is critical to note that the youthful stage is seen as being transformative and comes with many opportunities and challenges. While the author focuses on the good events, there tend to be more inclined on the happenings to the youths and the impacts these events had on other generations.  In the case of the A Shropshire Lad, the poetfocuses on themes such as the loss of innocence, the passing of the youth and youthful passions. Both works focus on the passive nature of the youthful stage and ways it can influence one’s later life.

In A Shropshire Lad, the poet infers that time is an enemy of the youth, love, and friendship. Although many youths do not focus on time, there is the explanation that time is often limited and passed quickly. In most of the poems, Housman strives to explain that many youths are pre-occupied with the transcendence nature of life. While there are good events during this stage, there is the indication that many youths are faced by varying problem thus leading to suicides and depression. An example is the fact that the authorfocuses on the theme of death by focusing on elements such as suicide, murder and premature death. Through such incidences,  the work A Shropshire Lad indicates that the youths are robbed off their lives and futureopportunities.

It is critical to note that Housman presents the concept of mortality as being both inevitable and pessimistically. He supports his view by arguing that the world was uncaring, harsh and abandoned by God. His explanations attempt to indicate the manychallenges that the youths face and ways that they can derail their futureopportunities and growth.  Although the work A Shropshire Lad presentthe theme of youth in a sentimental manner, Housman alsoterms it as being a bitter period that is also marled by unrequited love, passing beauty and lost love.

The work thus symbolizes the coming to maturity of a man and the ordeals that he groups through during the youthful stage. It isimperativetomention that Housman explains that there is a need for the youth to develop a sense of urgency where they seize the day and opportunities that can make their future lives better. There is the argument that life is short and also the youth comes with a limited time hence the need to grab all opportunities and enjoy life before it comes to a stop. Just like A Shropshire Lad, the Birdsong alsofocuses on the theme of youth and highlights some of the challenges that the youthfulcharacters in the novel go through.

There is a focus on the life of Stephen Wraysford who goes to France in 1910 at a young age. While his objective is to study manufacturingprocesses, his life later becomes entangled in youthful love passions and the ongoing events of the war.  An example is that he runs away with Isabelle Azaire, who is the wife of his host. The incidence indicates that there was passion between the two individuals which prompted Stephen to stop studying the manufacturingprocesses. However, Isabella becomes confused about his love for Stephen which prompts her to leave him as well. These events conform to the ideaswhich are developed in the work A Shropshire Lad where the poet focuses on lost love and passion.

While Stephen has been blinded by the love he has forIsabella, he later becomes a victim of lost life thus derailing his youthful life. As time progresses, Stephen becomes alienated from other people and undergoes through stress and other complications.  Contrary to the setting where he felt requited love, it is worth noting that he later felt unloved and separated from the rests of the world. The setting indicates that many youths are affected by the lack ofidentity. In most cases, an individual’sidentity is shaped by social and cultural factors. However, stress and the failure to interact with other individuals makes it challengingin understanding one’s identity.

Throughout the story, the authority focuses on the inhumane nature of war and itsdevastating impacts on the youth. Just like Jesus, the soldiers in the First World War are presented as having had the belief that their sacrifice would make theworld a better place as well as create new opportunities for other generations. Their actions were propelled by nationalism and the need to protect thesocial values and interest of their citizens. However, this is not the case as the youth, and other generations are painted as undergoing many problems. In one scenewhere Isabella is setting in the church, she stares at the crucifix and the bleeding body of Jesus. He compares the bleeding body the ordeals that many people undergo and the hurting during the period of wars.

The correlation between the body of Jesus and human beings help expound on the devastating impacts of the FirstWorld War, the loss of lives and property among the affected countries. Fulak notes that the high desperations among the youths had led them to lose faith in religion as evident in the scene where Stephen removes and hurl the crucifix. In a typical setting, many people view the church as being a source of refuge and hope during hard moments. However, this is not the case in the novel Birdsong as many of the characters are left to fight forsurvival.  Both Owen and Fulak focus on the concept of innocence that comes with youth. Nonetheless, the progression of age also sees the loss of innocence thus triggering many conflicts among the concerned groups.

The two works point that there are cases where youngpeople are laminated from society and undergo many problems in trying to find their identity and stabilizing their lives. They are oftenblinded by love and the perception that youthfulness will last forever. It implies that they fail to seize the opportunity that comes their way. An example is Stephenwho fails to completehis studies on manufacturingprocesses and opts to run away from Isabella. Such incidences indicate that there is a failure to evaluate the impacts that come with individual decisions. While Stephen was keen on following his passion, he also failed to consider the impacts that wouldcome with the decision.

Consequently, he later suffered from alienation and lost love. Contrary to the older generation, he lacks an opportunity such as employment that would have kept his life going as he finds himself in a violent and unknown territory.  Just like A Shropshire Lad, the Birdsong by Faulk focuses on the theme of death which is seen as having the effect of robbing [people the opportunity to be great. However, they vary on the causes of deaths as most cases of loss of life in the A Shropshire Lad are linked to suicide and murder. On the other hand, most deaths in the Birdsongs are linked to the warfareevents.  The author explains that many soldiers and youths have lost their lives during the clashes.

While they believed that their actions would shape a better future for the younger generations, their wishes never came true. The theme of death is used to highlight the increased level of desperation and violence in the country. Other than the loss of life, there is the indication that the First World War led to significantdisruptions in both economic and socialstructures. Not only were education activities disrupted, but there is also the view that many youths were left jobless and underwent significantsuffering. In the birdsong, the negative impacts of the war are expressed by making comparisonsbetween the two periods. At the beginning of the work, the authors employ romanticism in describing Amiens. While the area is depicted as being un-industrialized, it is worth noting that it is pointed as being peaceful and stable. The authors refer to both the fertile soil and the quietness of the owners thus creating the impression that the land offered many opportunities to the dwellers. While the description is true, it is critical to note that the situation soon changes after the commencement of the FirstWorldWar. Just like other countries that took part in the War, there were devastating impacts in France that affected booth cities and rural areas.

Additionally, the author mentions about the beginning of Spring thus creating an idea of a new life. While there is a reference to the singing birds and the calm atmosphere, the setting is only short lived. The technique helps to focus on the theme of youth which is also defined as being short-lived. Although it is defined as being a period of passion and love, it is also termed as being passive and requires that the concerned parties maximize the gains from the period. However, this is not the case among many individuals as they fail to take advantage of the benefits and strengths that come with the period.

According to the author, there is often the risk that the youth will be swayed by emotional factors and othersocial problems that can disrupt their way of life. Focusing on Stephen’s life, it isevident that while he has great opportunitiesafterpursuing manufacturingprocesses in France, he eloped with his host’s wife. The incidence indicates that he was swayed by emotion and love and failed to realize the need for pursuing his education. The impacts of his decisions are seen after Isabella leaves him as well. He thus becomes stressed and alienated from mainstream society. His ordeals are used to highlight the problems that many young people undergo as well as the mistakes they make. On the other hand, Isabellaissued to develop the theme of lost love and youthful passion.

Both works can be defined as having some differences and similarities in the expression of the theme of loss of youth. They agree that while youth is importantstorage, it fades quickly and often leave the concerned persons stranded. They agree that the making of poor decisions as it is the case with Stephen and Isabella can lead to the loss of youth. The loss of youth is defined as being the failure to utilize the stage and improve one’s life. Likewise, instances of death, murder, and suicide are also seen as being trigger factors to the loss of youth. In the Birdsongs, the prevalence of the First World War is seen as being one of the factors that ruined the lives of many young people. While there are many opportunities during this stage, there are alsorampant problems that the youths face.

Work Cited

Faulks, Sebastian. Birdsong. Vintage, 1997.

Holleran, Andrew. “The Etymology of Lads.” The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide 24.6 (2017): 15-18.

Housman, Alfred Edward. A Shropshire lad. Vol. 145. Pan Macmillan, 2017.

Wheeler, Pat. Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2002.

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