abdullah's picture
Add files using upload-large-folder tool
34dcf2d verified
raw
history blame
63.4 kB
1
00:00:05,560 --> 00:00:09,060
Good morning everyone. Welcome back to English
2
00:00:09,060 --> 00:00:11,500
Pottery at the Islamic University of Gaza occupied
3
00:00:11,500 --> 00:00:13,240
Palestine.
4
00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:19,140
Today we move from the Victorian Age to the early
5
00:00:19,140 --> 00:00:20,600
20th century pottery.
6
00:00:23,370 --> 00:00:26,730
Much of the poetry written in this, the first 20
7
00:00:26,730 --> 00:00:29,850
years, 30 years of the 20th century can be
8
00:00:29,850 --> 00:00:34,610
classified as war poetry or pre-war, post-war, et
9
00:00:34,610 --> 00:00:40,030
cetera. We have this poem today by an English
10
00:00:40,030 --> 00:00:45,250
-British poet, Robert Brooke. The name of the poem
11
00:00:45,250 --> 00:00:49,750
is The Soldier. Before I talk about that, before I
12
00:00:49,750 --> 00:00:51,990
talk about soldiers and war and dying for one's
13
00:00:51,990 --> 00:00:56,200
country, I want to ask you this question, this
14
00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,560
first question. I'll give you one minute to think
15
00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:01,780
about it and tell me what you think, what you have
16
00:01:01,780 --> 00:01:03,680
in mind. We're Palestinians, we've been under
17
00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:08,770
Israeli occupation for over seven decades. In the
18
00:01:08,770 --> 00:01:14,090
past 10 years alone, Israel has waged huge
19
00:01:14,090 --> 00:01:18,990
onslaughts, committed many massacres, three major
20
00:01:18,990 --> 00:01:21,830
wars against Palestinians in Gaza, killed at least
21
00:01:21,830 --> 00:01:26,950
5,000 Palestinians, including at least 2,000 kids,
22
00:01:27,150 --> 00:01:31,920
women and elderly. You yourselves, you were born
23
00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:36,160
in war, raised in war, and every couple of months
24
00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:42,040
you come under heavy Israeli bombardment. That's
25
00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:45,260
war, that's living war, under war, being occupied
26
00:01:45,260 --> 00:01:50,160
and oppressed. So what feelings do you have when
27
00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:52,440
Gaza comes under Israeli aggression or under
28
00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:57,900
Israeli war, personally? Can you tell? Think about
29
00:01:57,900 --> 00:02:01,290
it. Like honestly, how do you have a particular
30
00:02:01,290 --> 00:02:05,270
set of feelings? Do you feel this way? Do you have
31
00:02:05,270 --> 00:02:10,130
conflicted feelings? What does it mean to you to
32
00:02:10,130 --> 00:02:13,030
be living under war? Because this kind of poetry
33
00:02:13,030 --> 00:02:17,890
is very related to our lives.
34
00:02:22,990 --> 00:02:23,550
Yeah?
35
00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:37,720
Take a minute, think. How did you feel two weeks
36
00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:43,000
ago when Israel waged its latest attack?
37
00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:49,120
How did you feel when Palestinians'
38
00:02:49,820 --> 00:02:53,880
kids, whole families were bombarded, were killed
39
00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:59,330
as they slept? And also how... What do you feel or
40
00:02:59,330 --> 00:03:02,830
how do you feel usually when Palestinians respond
41
00:03:02,830 --> 00:03:07,390
to this kind of terror? When Palestinian
42
00:03:07,390 --> 00:03:11,990
resistance tries to deter Israeli aggression?
43
00:03:15,170 --> 00:03:16,550
Does it make a difference?
44
00:03:26,940 --> 00:03:29,880
Okay, I'm just giving you a moment to think. I'm
45
00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:32,800
sure you already have so many things to say Okay
46
00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:41,160
When when were most of you born? When? Nineteen
47
00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:46,000
nine. So you lived through the second intifada
48
00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,320
Still
49
00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:54,500
yeah, you were born during the intifada Okay
50
00:03:57,010 --> 00:04:02,910
Actually when we have Israeli escalation I feel
51
00:04:02,910 --> 00:04:07,590
like I don't want to live this again because in
52
00:04:07,590 --> 00:04:14,790
the last war in 2014 my home damaged partially and
53
00:04:14,790 --> 00:04:20,690
I remember that night how we escaped from our home
54
00:04:21,420 --> 00:04:25,440
Even without wearing
55
00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:30,720
the right clothes or like that. So this is
56
00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:34,980
personal. War is not some pie in the sky, some
57
00:04:34,980 --> 00:04:37,460
distant experience people talk about, you read
58
00:04:37,460 --> 00:04:41,040
about, you watch on TV and movies. It's something
59
00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:46,070
personal. What else? Thank you. Please. Sure, I
60
00:04:46,070 --> 00:04:49,710
feel very sorrow and sad and I search for the time
61
00:04:49,710 --> 00:04:52,010
to put the sense for all the senseless and
62
00:04:52,010 --> 00:04:54,970
restricted the word occupations in all
63
00:04:54,970 --> 00:04:57,810
dictionaries. So I think this is a chance for me
64
00:04:57,810 --> 00:05:00,630
to write more vertically to respect and erase all
65
00:05:00,630 --> 00:05:03,010
the senseless. So there's again the feeling of
66
00:05:03,010 --> 00:05:05,390
sadness, mainly sadness. Sadness, you're sad,
67
00:05:05,490 --> 00:05:06,130
you're like down.
68
00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:18,940
So you decide to do something about it? So what
69
00:05:18,940 --> 00:05:25,540
kind
70
00:05:25,540 --> 00:05:28,920
of feelings do you experience? What kind of
71
00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,700
feelings? Yes, I do feel sad for people, but I try
72
00:05:32,700 --> 00:05:35,700
as much as possible to not do this, and this is so
73
00:05:35,700 --> 00:05:38,540
bad. But I try to not let it affect my own spirit.
74
00:05:38,540 --> 00:05:42,840
So you feel detached? Yes. Okay, detached. Please.
75
00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:47,320
Maybe you, in the worst, especially you, you're
76
00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:51,060
afraid not to avoid yourself, but your kids, your
77
00:05:51,060 --> 00:05:54,000
friends, your dearest one, your grandma, your
78
00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,280
father. So feelings of fear. So you're waiting,
79
00:05:56,740 --> 00:05:57,960
you are waiting for
80
00:06:02,770 --> 00:06:05,110
You're anticipating, every moment you're
81
00:06:05,110 --> 00:06:07,030
anticipating the death of somebody you love around
82
00:06:07,030 --> 00:06:12,170
you. The feeling that death is hovering around,
83
00:06:12,390 --> 00:06:15,110
that at any time you can be just taken away
84
00:06:15,110 --> 00:06:17,830
prematurely and untimely. Please.
85
00:06:26,590 --> 00:06:29,430
So that's personal more than anything else. Does
86
00:06:29,430 --> 00:06:33,270
it get out of this? What if you're certain, nobody
87
00:06:33,270 --> 00:06:35,610
is certain here, anybody can die at any moment,
88
00:06:35,910 --> 00:06:38,830
and that's what being Palestinian is in the, not
89
00:06:38,830 --> 00:06:41,610
in the past decade, just the past seven decades.
90
00:06:43,290 --> 00:06:48,190
So is it, if you're certain that nobody you love
91
00:06:48,190 --> 00:06:50,410
is going to die, is that going to make a
92
00:06:50,410 --> 00:06:54,120
difference? The sad thing for me is that
93
00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:57,780
everything I wrote, a short story or a poem, is
94
00:06:57,780 --> 00:07:01,980
about wars and Palestinians. So this is, again,
95
00:07:02,420 --> 00:07:06,920
some kind of a reaction to war, but at the same
96
00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,380
time, how war is dominating us. Predominantly,
97
00:07:10,980 --> 00:07:16,120
Palestinian writings are war literature. I feel
98
00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:20,900
unjustified, unfair. You feel second? unjustified
99
00:07:20,900 --> 00:07:25,080
and unheard and I feel how life could be
100
00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:30,620
disordered as Israelis are asked, are questioned
101
00:07:30,620 --> 00:07:35,900
if they killed kids or not. And they are from the
102
00:07:35,900 --> 00:07:39,600
first place shouldn't be here. Okay, so the
103
00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:43,680
feelings of injustice, the feeling of being left
104
00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:49,890
alone, being left probably to die. There is a war
105
00:07:49,890 --> 00:07:55,210
outside and I have a war inside myself. I keep
106
00:07:55,210 --> 00:08:00,110
questioning how people can give up their humanity.
107
00:08:00,390 --> 00:08:02,770
Oh yeah, that's a very good feeling, yeah. So like
108
00:08:02,770 --> 00:08:07,390
you're like, how? Why? Why would you bomb us? Why
109
00:08:07,390 --> 00:08:10,750
would you in the first place occupy us? Why would
110
00:08:10,750 --> 00:08:14,550
you bombard like this heavily crowded area and
111
00:08:14,550 --> 00:08:18,110
kill people and kids and mothers and fathers as
112
00:08:18,110 --> 00:08:22,730
they slept. Not that any other kind of bombardment
113
00:08:22,730 --> 00:08:26,350
is justified. When you say this, we have to be
114
00:08:26,350 --> 00:08:29,590
careful when you're saying this. It shouldn't mean
115
00:08:29,590 --> 00:08:33,650
by any way that we justify or we understand the
116
00:08:33,650 --> 00:08:36,210
fact that Israel also kills resistance fighters.
117
00:08:36,870 --> 00:08:41,680
Still, this is an occupying power. Please. It
118
00:08:41,680 --> 00:08:43,920
feels like I'm stuck in a moment of time that
119
00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:48,620
isn't developed for me like I cancel all my plans
120
00:08:48,620 --> 00:08:51,740
obviously and I don't know when my life will be
121
00:08:51,740 --> 00:08:54,540
resumed I keep like scrolling down news and
122
00:08:54,540 --> 00:08:56,500
reading news and like whenever there is a bombing
123
00:08:56,500 --> 00:08:58,920
we just go inside the window and try to navigate
124
00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:02,240
where this is and hope our family or friends lives
125
00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,120
there and just keep checking calling them and like
126
00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:07,560
making sure that they're fine I also like wrote a
127
00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:12,060
story about about where the hospital was
128
00:09:12,060 --> 00:09:14,820
threatened to be bombed and my father father was
129
00:09:14,820 --> 00:09:17,540
there there was a bombing and we looked at it was
130
00:09:17,540 --> 00:09:19,900
like coming from that direction coming from that
131
00:09:19,900 --> 00:09:22,880
direction and we kept calling him but like he
132
00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,760
wasn't answering and people were calling us asking
133
00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,200
if we talked to him it just really been a moment
134
00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:32,960
of This moment of futility, if you want to say
135
00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:36,400
like meaninglessness, it's like what does it mean
136
00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:38,700
to be alive? It's life. That's why you stop
137
00:09:38,700 --> 00:09:40,700
everything. If you're watching a TV show, you
138
00:09:40,700 --> 00:09:42,580
stop. If you're reading a book, you stop. If
139
00:09:42,580 --> 00:09:44,860
you're doing like mostly, it doesn't mean you have
140
00:09:44,860 --> 00:09:48,180
to do this, but some people might Because they
141
00:09:48,180 --> 00:09:50,340
want to distract and detach themselves from the
142
00:09:50,340 --> 00:09:52,780
news, from the surroundings, they could do
143
00:09:52,780 --> 00:09:55,540
something like writing, like watching more TV,
144
00:09:55,900 --> 00:10:00,420
binging on some TV show you've missed, or reading
145
00:10:00,420 --> 00:10:02,880
a book or something, or at least, I don't know,
146
00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:06,530
lying there asleep. Not listening to the news.
147
00:10:06,690 --> 00:10:09,270
Besides feeling terrified and sad, I started
148
00:10:09,270 --> 00:10:11,990
feeling pity to ourselves as Gazans and myself
149
00:10:11,990 --> 00:10:14,550
personally because we have the minimum stage of
150
00:10:14,550 --> 00:10:17,210
living. On Mars we only want to not to die and
151
00:10:17,210 --> 00:10:19,750
this is like something taken for granted for other
152
00:10:19,750 --> 00:10:22,090
people just to be safe. So we didn't live
153
00:10:22,090 --> 00:10:24,790
anything, the only thing we want is just not to
154
00:10:24,790 --> 00:10:27,630
die and this is like we haven't experienced
155
00:10:27,630 --> 00:10:31,670
anything in life so far. So what is considered to
156
00:10:31,670 --> 00:10:36,050
be basic human rights? the right to live in peace,
157
00:10:36,270 --> 00:10:41,430
the right to decent human rights, not political
158
00:10:41,430 --> 00:10:43,190
rights, although political rights are basically
159
00:10:43,190 --> 00:10:47,090
human rights. Life here has become a privilege.
160
00:10:47,370 --> 00:10:50,390
Life has become a luxury we cannot afford. We
161
00:10:50,390 --> 00:10:52,630
don't afford. We're living under siege. We've been
162
00:10:52,630 --> 00:10:55,770
besieged for over 10 years, 12 years. Actually,
163
00:10:55,810 --> 00:10:59,170
we've been besieged over seven decades. The very
164
00:10:59,170 --> 00:11:01,570
existence of the Israeli occupation means that we
165
00:11:01,570 --> 00:11:05,120
are suffocating. We don't do what we want to do.
166
00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:06,820
We don't marry the people we want to marry. We
167
00:11:06,820 --> 00:11:08,600
don't build the house we want to build. We don't
168
00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:11,060
get the job. We don't travel when we want. We
169
00:11:11,060 --> 00:11:13,340
don't go to the country we want. Because there
170
00:11:13,340 --> 00:11:16,840
will always be Israeli restrictions imposed on us,
171
00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:20,020
controlling our every aspect. Sometimes you don't
172
00:11:20,020 --> 00:11:23,750
eat the food you like or the fruit you like. And
173
00:11:23,750 --> 00:11:26,190
sometimes it's not even political. And that's why
174
00:11:26,190 --> 00:11:28,730
you keep asking these questions. And many people
175
00:11:28,730 --> 00:11:31,650
asked these questions in their writings. Please
176
00:11:31,650 --> 00:11:34,050
read Mourid El Barghouti's fascinating
177
00:11:34,050 --> 00:11:37,910
autobiography, I Saw Ramallah, I Read Ramallah, in
178
00:11:37,910 --> 00:11:41,050
Arabic, but it's also superbly fascinating in
179
00:11:41,050 --> 00:11:45,650
English. Also read, what's her name? Suad Al
180
00:11:45,650 --> 00:11:48,750
Amiri, Suad Amiri's Sharona, My Mother and Love.
181
00:11:48,790 --> 00:11:53,230
It's very funny, very comic, very ironic book. In
182
00:11:53,230 --> 00:11:55,870
another Palestinian writer, sometimes Tamim's
183
00:11:55,870 --> 00:12:00,390
poetry does this, how they expose the fact that
184
00:12:00,390 --> 00:12:03,890
the occupation is arbitrary. Like sometimes we
185
00:12:03,890 --> 00:12:06,430
think, and I know many people who do this, like if
186
00:12:06,430 --> 00:12:08,830
Israel bombs some area here or there, you just ask
187
00:12:08,830 --> 00:12:13,730
the question, okay, there must be something that
188
00:12:13,730 --> 00:12:15,530
made Israel bomb this particular area or this
189
00:12:15,530 --> 00:12:19,070
particular house. But most often Israel will come
190
00:12:19,070 --> 00:12:22,010
out and like, oops, we made a mistake. Oops, we
191
00:12:22,010 --> 00:12:25,010
killed these 50 people by mistake. We didn't mean
192
00:12:25,010 --> 00:12:28,710
to kill these. We didn't know that Israel knows
193
00:12:28,710 --> 00:12:30,930
everything with technology and everything here.
194
00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:36,620
That could be something arbitrary in the sense
195
00:12:36,620 --> 00:12:41,160
that there could be no reason. Read this movement
196
00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:45,540
in Israel called Breaking the Silence. They had
197
00:12:45,540 --> 00:12:48,280
their soldiers, consisting of soldiers, Israeli
198
00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:50,200
soldiers, who participated, who killed people, who
199
00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,620
were part of the occupation, and horrifying
200
00:12:53,620 --> 00:12:57,600
testimonies. about how they would just for fun
201
00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,140
would kill this, kill that, would shoot somebody.
202
00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,660
One of the guys was like, we killed somebody
203
00:13:03,660 --> 00:13:08,180
because he was walking suspiciously. And for more
204
00:13:08,180 --> 00:13:12,980
than a year I was haunted by how I walked. Because
205
00:13:12,980 --> 00:13:15,960
what does it mean to walk suspiciously? Honestly,
206
00:13:16,060 --> 00:13:18,420
what does it mean? Sometimes they would be
207
00:13:18,420 --> 00:13:20,800
counting the cars, for example, okay, one car, two
208
00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,640
cars, you hit the third car. Sometimes they would
209
00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,020
be looking at a particular house and not like the
210
00:13:26,020 --> 00:13:28,260
paint job or not like something and they would
211
00:13:28,260 --> 00:13:30,320
bomb the hell out of it just because it's ugly.
212
00:13:31,460 --> 00:13:34,560
Yeah, let's do this. And we've seen videos leaked
213
00:13:35,250 --> 00:13:37,810
Cheering for soldiers, snipers, cheering for
214
00:13:37,810 --> 00:13:39,990
simply killing Palestinians or getting them
215
00:13:39,990 --> 00:13:45,630
somewhere. So why do Israelis do this occupation?
216
00:13:46,030 --> 00:13:51,950
And it's brutal thing. It dehumanizes people, but
217
00:13:51,950 --> 00:13:55,410
also it could be because they're lost. They lost
218
00:13:55,410 --> 00:13:58,590
some things. I'm sure an Israeli soldier, because
219
00:13:58,590 --> 00:14:02,750
you know, Messi last night won the Ballon d'Or,
220
00:14:02,970 --> 00:14:05,430
you know, the biggest individual prize for
221
00:14:05,430 --> 00:14:09,410
football. Maybe a Ronaldo fan, an Israeli Ronaldo
222
00:14:09,410 --> 00:14:13,070
fan would be angry this morning and turn a
223
00:14:13,070 --> 00:14:18,830
Palestinian's life into hell. Maybe they would be
224
00:14:18,830 --> 00:14:21,510
losing a match. Maybe they would be, somebody
225
00:14:21,510 --> 00:14:25,850
would be angry with his mother, or girlfriend, or
226
00:14:25,850 --> 00:14:30,030
kids, or boss. And this anger will be, you know,
227
00:14:30,110 --> 00:14:35,030
in a way, the Palestinians would be paying for,
228
00:14:35,570 --> 00:14:38,050
exactly like Palestinians have been paying for
229
00:14:38,050 --> 00:14:41,630
European sins, the Holocaust, for decades and
230
00:14:41,630 --> 00:14:45,880
decades. My question here, okay thank you very
231
00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:48,120
much for this, I'm sorry if I'm bringing these
232
00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,440
memories back, but remember it's always good to
233
00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:54,540
write, it's always good to talk, to release But
234
00:14:54,540 --> 00:14:56,760
again, sometimes Palestinian resistance, and
235
00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:59,600
that's like, no matter what happens, there's
236
00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:03,360
always those valiant Palestinian freedom fighters
237
00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:06,360
who are the hope, not only for Palestinians, but
238
00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:08,960
for all oppressed people around the world.
239
00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:12,700
Sometimes they manage to react, at least react to
240
00:15:12,700 --> 00:15:16,000
this kind of terror. How does that make you feel,
241
00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:20,450
honestly? If you don't want to say it's okay, it's
242
00:15:20,450 --> 00:15:24,630
up to you. Are you still angry? Do you want them
243
00:15:24,630 --> 00:15:27,850
to stop? Do you feel happy? Do you feel proud? Do
244
00:15:27,850 --> 00:15:31,290
you feel like at least there's somebody who's
245
00:15:31,290 --> 00:15:34,370
doing something about this? We know Israel is a
246
00:15:34,370 --> 00:15:36,390
million times more powerful than us.
247
00:15:39,230 --> 00:15:41,930
But resistance is in the nature of things. Look at
248
00:15:41,930 --> 00:15:44,570
the cat. What a cat does when somebody takes its
249
00:15:44,570 --> 00:15:51,990
kitten. Or even... Right? Please. I will keep
250
00:15:51,990 --> 00:15:54,610
feeling angry, of course, because of the feeling
251
00:15:54,610 --> 00:15:58,630
of inequality along the war. You know, let's think
252
00:15:58,630 --> 00:16:01,490
about it. How many Israelis have been killed
253
00:16:01,490 --> 00:16:05,310
through the three wars? And we still, according to
254
00:16:05,310 --> 00:16:07,970
the whole world, we are still the terrorist party,
255
00:16:08,350 --> 00:16:10,730
and we are terrorists, and we should be killed.
256
00:16:11,110 --> 00:16:13,710
And they don't face the fact that we are the ones
257
00:16:13,710 --> 00:16:17,770
who are being killed, not them. And actually, they
258
00:16:17,770 --> 00:16:22,410
have many protection systems. So we're not equal
259
00:16:22,410 --> 00:16:25,430
at all. Even if the war is sent by us, nothing
260
00:16:25,430 --> 00:16:31,150
happens. We're still besieged. We still can't
261
00:16:31,150 --> 00:16:33,910
travel. We still can't speak freely. They are
262
00:16:33,910 --> 00:16:36,030
controlling not our lives only. They are
263
00:16:36,030 --> 00:16:38,830
controlling our death as well. Yeah, when we die.
264
00:16:38,990 --> 00:16:42,050
OK. I can go back to my question about Palestinian
265
00:16:42,050 --> 00:16:45,360
resistance reacting to Israeli terror. Okay, I
266
00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:47,180
think that it's all, it depends on the group
267
00:16:47,180 --> 00:16:48,680
you're in, but I just want to comment on something
268
00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:52,120
that's changed. Like, it's all about the media and
269
00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,740
how to promote your own case, because looking back
270
00:16:55,740 --> 00:16:58,660
to like the last couple of days when we had
271
00:16:58,660 --> 00:17:04,360
Gallego from work, The word went crazy on a
272
00:17:04,360 --> 00:17:07,100
picture that they posted on a child who could not
273
00:17:07,100 --> 00:17:10,740
celebrate his birthday properly because he was so
274
00:17:10,740 --> 00:17:13,060
afraid because of the bomb. At the same time, we
275
00:17:13,060 --> 00:17:15,920
have the same story, but in a very more tragical
276
00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,260
way, which a girl lost her two parents on her
277
00:17:19,260 --> 00:17:24,500
birthday. But they knew how to promote their case.
278
00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:27,700
They knew how to publish this or how to make the
279
00:17:27,700 --> 00:17:27,860
whole
280
00:17:31,090 --> 00:17:33,050
Okay, thank you very much. That's a very good
281
00:17:33,050 --> 00:17:38,990
point. Yes, please. Anyone of you, yeah. I feel
282
00:17:38,990 --> 00:17:42,490
proud when we resist and we respond. Although,
283
00:17:42,590 --> 00:17:44,830
like, we all deep down know that we are not as
284
00:17:44,830 --> 00:17:47,190
strong as they are, but at least we are trying to
285
00:17:47,190 --> 00:17:50,990
defend ourselves. And in fact, I think this is
286
00:17:50,990 --> 00:17:52,790
shared by a lot of people because I see in social
287
00:17:52,790 --> 00:17:55,930
media whenever we respond, other people will be
288
00:17:55,930 --> 00:17:59,090
cheering up for the resistance. And I think, yeah,
289
00:17:59,370 --> 00:18:02,170
I'm definitely super proud. Okay, a feeling of
290
00:18:02,170 --> 00:18:04,150
pride, a feeling of
291
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,340
Again, some justice. There is some justice there.
292
00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:13,200
There are people who, despite everything, who are
293
00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,480
willing to do something about it. Despite the
294
00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,180
inequality, despite everything else, despite the,
295
00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:24,160
you know, we having nothing, no weapons, and
296
00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:26,240
Israel having everything and support of the world.
297
00:18:26,830 --> 00:18:29,070
Because of our resistance, I feel proud to have
298
00:18:29,070 --> 00:18:33,450
this resistance. Because it's in my feeling that
299
00:18:33,450 --> 00:18:38,250
we keep defencing our land and our people. This is
300
00:18:38,250 --> 00:18:40,830
something. And there is something I want to
301
00:18:40,830 --> 00:18:44,880
mention. I agree with Noha. even if there is no
302
00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:52,500
equal between something, they have panic attack,
303
00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,180
people have,
304
00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:00,460
yeah, feeling panic attack, but here we have true
305
00:19:00,460 --> 00:19:04,500
injures and true murders here in Gaza. So where's
306
00:19:04,500 --> 00:19:08,020
the, there's no equal even in the injured side.
307
00:19:08,380 --> 00:19:11,120
And according to the story, they have maybe they
308
00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:17,980
have stronger media to marketing their Australian
309
00:19:17,980 --> 00:19:24,580
story. That's why it makes it more obligatory on
310
00:19:24,580 --> 00:19:27,780
you, especially you studying English, to get our
311
00:19:27,780 --> 00:19:31,860
message out there. First of all, just at least to
312
00:19:31,860 --> 00:19:35,260
speak. Because speaking and writing are an act of
313
00:19:35,260 --> 00:19:37,860
resistance. Living here is an act of resistance.
314
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:43,080
Sometimes eating in particular is an act of
315
00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,480
resistance. What I'm saying is that We need to do
316
00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:48,920
something about it, to communicate with ourselves,
317
00:19:49,340 --> 00:19:51,660
to reconcile with ourselves and also to get our
318
00:19:51,660 --> 00:19:53,660
message out there to the world because this is our
319
00:19:53,660 --> 00:19:58,340
job, right? If the people and thanks to social
320
00:19:58,340 --> 00:19:59,960
media, some of you mentioned social media, thanks
321
00:19:59,960 --> 00:20:02,120
to social media we have more and more people
322
00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:05,880
around the world supporting Palestinian cause
323
00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:09,200
because many people have started to write back to
324
00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,700
show, to expose Israeli war crimes and aggression
325
00:20:12,700 --> 00:20:15,940
against Palestinians. I'll go to the poem. I know,
326
00:20:16,780 --> 00:20:18,960
I want you to think of this when you go home.
327
00:20:19,060 --> 00:20:20,760
Probably you can write a poem or something about
328
00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:27,300
it. So the soldier, Robert Brooke, if I should
329
00:20:27,300 --> 00:20:35,490
die, think only this of me. that there's some
330
00:20:35,490 --> 00:20:39,950
corner of a foreign field that is forever England.
331
00:20:41,290 --> 00:20:44,790
There shall be in that rich earth a richer dust
332
00:20:44,790 --> 00:20:51,070
concealed, a dust whom England bore shaped. Made
333
00:20:51,070 --> 00:20:55,370
aware, gave once her flowers to love, her ways to
334
00:20:55,370 --> 00:21:00,550
roam Her body of England's breathing English air
335
00:21:00,550 --> 00:21:04,970
Washed by the rivers blessed by the sons of home
336
00:21:04,970 --> 00:21:13,080
And think This heart all evil shed away A pulse in
337
00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:17,400
the eternal mind no less Gives somewhere back the
338
00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:22,000
thoughts by England given Her sights and sounds,
339
00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:27,060
dreams happy as her day And laughter learnt of
340
00:21:27,060 --> 00:21:30,860
friends and gentleness In the hearts at peace
341
00:21:30,860 --> 00:21:32,680
under an English heaven
342
00:21:35,860 --> 00:21:39,700
Do you think this man likes war? Is he pro-war or
343
00:21:39,700 --> 00:21:40,360
anti-war?
344
00:21:43,860 --> 00:21:48,120
Yeah? What do you think? Go to the poem in your
345
00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:49,420
book, what page is it?
346
00:21:53,420 --> 00:21:56,960
So is this man saying war is good, let's fight or
347
00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:01,080
stop the war? It's horrible, it's grim. It's
348
00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:01,400
tragic.
349
00:22:05,770 --> 00:22:08,870
Before going back to this question, how many times
350
00:22:08,870 --> 00:22:14,410
is England or is England like English mentioned
351
00:22:14,410 --> 00:22:16,330
here? Can you count?
352
00:22:20,490 --> 00:22:25,790
How many times do we have England English? One,
353
00:22:25,950 --> 00:22:31,730
two, three, four, five.
354
00:22:34,350 --> 00:22:37,770
That's a lot of England and English. England,
355
00:22:37,950 --> 00:22:40,810
English, England, English. What could that
356
00:22:40,810 --> 00:22:43,890
possibly indicate? What does it tell in the poem?
357
00:22:47,310 --> 00:22:47,910
Pride.
358
00:22:50,950 --> 00:22:56,890
Pride being English? England, English, England,
359
00:22:57,030 --> 00:22:59,110
English. Is it mentioned in positive or negative
360
00:22:59,110 --> 00:23:01,490
circumstances, situations, context?
361
00:23:06,130 --> 00:23:08,530
Where is negative? Where are the negative words?
362
00:23:10,150 --> 00:23:15,230
English heaven is it bad? Probably for some people
363
00:23:15,230 --> 00:23:18,550
even English heaven is still hell but here at
364
00:23:18,550 --> 00:23:22,050
least this is positive English heaven you know and
365
00:23:22,050 --> 00:23:25,410
I like how this is like English heaven remember
366
00:23:25,410 --> 00:23:29,470
this was written around 1914 English empire still
367
00:23:29,470 --> 00:23:32,710
people you know felt pride being English just
368
00:23:32,710 --> 00:23:34,950
being English merely being English
369
00:23:40,300 --> 00:23:41,620
Breathing English air.
370
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:54,600
Washed by the rivers. How does the poet deal with
371
00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,320
England? What does he do to England in a poem?
372
00:23:58,340 --> 00:24:01,720
Thank you very much. Listen, if you talk about
373
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:05,620
your country, your car, your ship even, or your
374
00:24:05,620 --> 00:24:09,850
boat, you can still personify them, your cat, your
375
00:24:09,850 --> 00:24:13,190
dog, your parrot, your lion pet if you have one.
376
00:24:13,590 --> 00:24:17,850
You can still personify this thing. So we talk
377
00:24:17,850 --> 00:24:21,290
Palestine is proud of her children. You could say
378
00:24:21,290 --> 00:24:25,710
that. But here this is an act of, an extended act
379
00:24:25,710 --> 00:24:28,730
of personification. He's talking about England as,
380
00:24:29,390 --> 00:24:31,670
as what? As a human being? What kind of human
381
00:24:31,670 --> 00:24:33,050
being? Particularly, in particular.
382
00:24:36,170 --> 00:24:41,050
Yeah? Yeah? A man? Haram aliki.
383
00:24:45,390 --> 00:24:46,010
Yeah?
384
00:24:48,670 --> 00:24:53,190
Where does the poet personify England? And?
385
00:25:00,350 --> 00:25:05,130
And? And? Don't repeat the things you already
386
00:25:05,130 --> 00:25:06,710
said, so we can see other things.
387
00:25:11,270 --> 00:25:12,250
Okay,
388
00:25:15,550 --> 00:25:18,530
so what does that indicate? It's a woman.
389
00:25:21,470 --> 00:25:28,450
What kind of a woman? Mother. He's personifying
390
00:25:28,450 --> 00:25:30,730
England.
391
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:36,340
not only just as female. Female could mean just
392
00:25:36,340 --> 00:25:39,840
being female, physically female. You could use the
393
00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,080
term female, by the way, for animals. That's why
394
00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:45,220
some feminists don't like the word female. Like
395
00:25:45,220 --> 00:25:48,240
what female? I'm a cat? Am I a cat? So like a
396
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:51,400
woman, but this is no ordinary woman. This is a
397
00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:56,080
mother, a grandmother. Because the fact that dust
398
00:25:56,080 --> 00:26:02,020
whom England bore, bores the past of Bear, we
399
00:26:02,020 --> 00:26:06,100
usually use the passive, born. I was born. My mom
400
00:26:06,100 --> 00:26:09,140
bore me. This is the physical bearing, you know,
401
00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:11,700
carrying, lifting. But also it could mean the fact
402
00:26:11,700 --> 00:26:15,380
that England here is the woman who in her belly
403
00:26:15,380 --> 00:26:20,660
carried this for nine months and then. And look at
404
00:26:20,660 --> 00:26:23,100
hair, hair, hair. Remember, I told you all the
405
00:26:23,100 --> 00:26:24,820
time, if there are pronouns in the text, you need
406
00:26:24,820 --> 00:26:27,460
to trace them to what they refer to. It's
407
00:26:27,460 --> 00:26:31,700
significant to understand. So there's this many
408
00:26:31,700 --> 00:26:36,000
repetitions of England and there are these
409
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,780
positive references of England. England breathing
410
00:26:39,780 --> 00:26:43,360
England's air, right? English air. And also
411
00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:49,880
England's heaven. And how England here? Flowers.
412
00:26:50,460 --> 00:26:53,080
Yeah. Are these negative or positive words?
413
00:26:53,180 --> 00:26:57,310
Positive. If you want to take thus, this, only
414
00:26:57,310 --> 00:26:59,830
this, if I die, I as the negative word, the poem
415
00:26:59,830 --> 00:27:07,630
is predominantly positive and celebratory
416
00:27:07,630 --> 00:27:15,190
even. There is a festive mood here. If, look at
417
00:27:15,190 --> 00:27:18,810
this if, not when, not if I die or when I die
418
00:27:18,810 --> 00:27:22,050
even, there's when I die certain, like when
419
00:27:22,050 --> 00:27:24,490
Shakespeare said, when in my eternal lines, right?
420
00:27:25,850 --> 00:27:31,470
If I die, if I should die, if you should see Ali,
421
00:27:31,630 --> 00:27:35,180
this is more polite but also If I should die,
422
00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:37,400
probably he's distancing himself from death here.
423
00:27:37,980 --> 00:27:41,420
The poem truly begins with I. We think this is a
424
00:27:41,420 --> 00:27:43,400
personal poem about a personal experience like you
425
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,260
just mentioned here. But as we go into the poem,
426
00:27:46,540 --> 00:27:49,080
this turns into an impersonal poem where the poet
427
00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:52,460
is distancing himself from the act of dying. Not
428
00:27:52,460 --> 00:27:55,240
imagining it, like just imagining of something. If
429
00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:58,340
I should die, think only this of me. And the
430
00:27:58,340 --> 00:28:01,100
evidence here is in the fact that we don't have
431
00:28:01,100 --> 00:28:05,920
any I or me in the rest of the poem. So because
432
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:08,000
he, it's all about England, it's all about
433
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:13,520
boasting and bragging about that there is some
434
00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:18,800
corner of a foreign field that is forever England.
435
00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:24,240
For how? You know, colonial mentality? Yeah. But
436
00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:27,180
if I die somewhere, there is actually a symmetry,
437
00:28:27,380 --> 00:28:30,320
I guess one or two for the English soldiers who
438
00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:32,380
died during the First World War, the Great War.
439
00:28:33,110 --> 00:28:36,550
One, not two? So there's one huge cemetery in Gaza
440
00:28:36,550 --> 00:28:39,590
for English soldiers who were killed in occupied
441
00:28:39,590 --> 00:28:46,010
Palestine. So this foreign field becomes what?
442
00:28:46,730 --> 00:28:53,850
Forever England. Because this area, this plot of
443
00:28:53,850 --> 00:29:00,250
earth contains the remains of an Englishman. Does
444
00:29:00,250 --> 00:29:04,530
that make him sad? Does that mean he is telling
445
00:29:04,530 --> 00:29:06,490
people, don't go to die because if you die, you're
446
00:29:06,490 --> 00:29:07,790
going to die alone,
447
00:29:10,110 --> 00:29:15,150
probably hungry, angry, sad, isolated, detached,
448
00:29:15,790 --> 00:29:19,110
or is he saying something else? That is forever
449
00:29:19,110 --> 00:29:23,790
England. There, this corner of a foreign field,
450
00:29:24,450 --> 00:29:27,790
there shall be in that rich earth, it's rich
451
00:29:27,790 --> 00:29:31,990
because this person died there. But it's going to
452
00:29:31,990 --> 00:29:35,370
get richer because of the body again. So this
453
00:29:35,370 --> 00:29:41,510
foreign field, this foreign piece of land that
454
00:29:41,510 --> 00:29:45,110
witnessed the death of those British or English
455
00:29:45,110 --> 00:29:50,890
soldiers, it's rich. This earth is rich. What
456
00:29:50,890 --> 00:29:57,100
makes it richer? The bodies, the remains. And
457
00:29:57,100 --> 00:30:00,780
that's again adding to this pride here. We make a
458
00:30:00,780 --> 00:30:02,600
difference. English people, British people, they
459
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:05,440
make a difference. Wherever they go, they bring
460
00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:10,400
richness there. A richer dust concealed. Dust,
461
00:30:10,700 --> 00:30:16,060
it's the body. But because originally. Now a dust,
462
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:19,000
what is the dust here? What does it refer to? The
463
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:27,700
soldiers. Okay. Whom England bore. Shaped, made
464
00:30:27,700 --> 00:30:31,040
aware. Look at England being the mother, being the
465
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:33,420
educator, being the teacher, being the school,
466
00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:38,620
being the university. Gave her flowers to love.
467
00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:42,380
Gave once her flowers everything your country gave
468
00:30:42,380 --> 00:30:44,820
you. Everything you have your country gave you.
469
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:49,160
Also her ways to roam, to move freely when you
470
00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:55,960
were young or a kid. Body of England's. Breathing
471
00:30:55,960 --> 00:31:00,360
English air Everybody is the embodiment of England
472
00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:08,020
herself or itself Breathing English air Washed
473
00:31:08,020 --> 00:31:13,120
by the rivers Blessed by the suns of home
474
00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:18,940
Everything you have, your country gave you This is
475
00:31:18,940 --> 00:31:22,940
more or less a beautiful image in Ahmed's talking
476
00:31:22,940 --> 00:31:26,320
about war and dying Everything you have is not
477
00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:30,380
yours. It's your country. You don't belong to you.
478
00:31:31,260 --> 00:31:35,520
The suns that warmed you, English suns, the air
479
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:42,100
you breathe, English air, the ways you roam were
480
00:31:42,100 --> 00:31:48,520
given to you by your country. And then, and think,
481
00:31:48,700 --> 00:31:50,520
this is again the poet, if I should die, think
482
00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:56,020
only this of me. And think this heart all evil hid
483
00:31:56,020 --> 00:31:59,520
away. That's where again, interesting. I'll ask
484
00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:01,260
you this question to think of when you go home.
485
00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:04,420
Because as Palestinians, we've been paying the
486
00:32:04,420 --> 00:32:09,040
heavy, probably some of the heaviest price due to
487
00:32:11,930 --> 00:32:15,370
English horrible, horrible powerful declaration
488
00:32:15,370 --> 00:32:20,990
that gave Palestine to Zionists, right? So this
489
00:32:20,990 --> 00:32:23,010
English heart, the English people, the English
490
00:32:23,010 --> 00:32:27,070
soldiers have no evil at all in this. Like, you
491
00:32:27,070 --> 00:32:31,030
know, a snake sheds its skin every, but this is
492
00:32:31,030 --> 00:32:35,650
like more, this is spiritual. So all the evils,
493
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:41,960
have been shed away. There is no evil, more or
494
00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,600
less. Tell that to Palestinians. A pulse in the
495
00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:50,400
eternal mind, no less, gives somewhere back the
496
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:55,360
thoughts by England given. Here again, continuing
497
00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:57,760
to personify England, this beautiful image. Here
498
00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:03,900
sights and sounds. Dreams happy as her day. So
499
00:33:03,900 --> 00:33:10,470
this death is Not a nightmare, it's a dream. An
500
00:33:10,470 --> 00:33:13,190
ordinary dream, it's a happy dream. A dream of
501
00:33:13,190 --> 00:33:16,750
England probably dominating again, winning the
502
00:33:16,750 --> 00:33:21,070
war, being victorious. And also bringing happiness
503
00:33:21,070 --> 00:33:24,010
and laughter to this poem. For many it could
504
00:33:24,010 --> 00:33:26,530
sound, nobody said, when there is war, I'm
505
00:33:26,530 --> 00:33:29,390
laughing, yeah? Probably you said, I'm proud
506
00:33:29,390 --> 00:33:32,210
because there's this Palestinian reaction to
507
00:33:32,210 --> 00:33:37,890
resistance, right? But being happy, yes. It's war,
508
00:33:38,030 --> 00:33:44,730
yes. That's the moment I've been waiting for. And
509
00:33:44,730 --> 00:33:49,510
laughter, learnt of friends and gentleness, in
510
00:33:49,510 --> 00:33:55,150
hearts at peace. I'll be in hearts at peace, but
511
00:33:55,150 --> 00:34:00,950
most significantly under an English heaven. That's
512
00:34:00,950 --> 00:34:05,460
a hardcore pro-war poem here. This man is saying,
513
00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:09,220
let's go die for our country. This man is saying,
514
00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:15,480
we don't own ourselves. This man is saying, if the
515
00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:20,480
country calls, we should be in the front. And
516
00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:24,900
indeed, this man joined the British army. He was
517
00:34:24,900 --> 00:34:29,320
in the navy. We'll see what difference that makes.
518
00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:32,080
He wasn't in the war itself, in the fighting,
519
00:34:32,340 --> 00:34:34,280
shooting. He was in the Navy. In the Navy, you're
520
00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:38,160
safe somewhere, relatively safe at sea somewhere.
521
00:34:39,580 --> 00:34:43,460
And he wrote this poem in the beginning months of
522
00:34:43,460 --> 00:34:49,220
the Great War, 1914. So some people think that
523
00:34:49,220 --> 00:34:51,820
because he was far away from the grim reality of
524
00:34:51,820 --> 00:34:55,530
war, the horrible, horrible, scenes and realities
525
00:34:55,530 --> 00:35:00,150
of the war. He was kind of romanticizing war, you
526
00:35:00,150 --> 00:35:02,730
know, romanticizing war. Let's go, let's die for
527
00:35:02,730 --> 00:35:06,870
our country. It is like Horace said, it is sweet
528
00:35:06,870 --> 00:35:08,970
and proper to die for one's country.
529
00:35:13,550 --> 00:35:17,870
And I want to notice two things here. Number one,
530
00:35:18,310 --> 00:35:22,330
the traditional imagery he uses. In many ways,
531
00:35:22,410 --> 00:35:25,770
you'll find this connected to that poetry of
532
00:35:25,770 --> 00:35:28,830
probably, I don't know, Homer or Beowulf or other
533
00:35:28,830 --> 00:35:32,570
English heroic poetry, poetry of battles and wars,
534
00:35:32,690 --> 00:35:35,350
how the fighters are heroes. They're defending
535
00:35:35,350 --> 00:35:38,010
their honor, their country. They're paying back
536
00:35:38,010 --> 00:35:41,790
the debt. But also notice also, so there's this
537
00:35:41,790 --> 00:35:44,050
traditional thing, traditional imagery of, you
538
00:35:44,050 --> 00:35:48,870
know, the sun and the, you know, things from
539
00:35:48,870 --> 00:35:52,270
England, the river, the image there, these
540
00:35:52,270 --> 00:35:56,850
beautiful images of nature, beauty. But I like,
541
00:35:57,050 --> 00:36:00,610
you know, this under an English heaven could just
542
00:36:00,610 --> 00:36:04,230
be like under heaven physically being somewhere.
543
00:36:05,830 --> 00:36:10,910
But heaven could also mean paradise. This could be
544
00:36:10,910 --> 00:36:14,170
a religious image here, a religious tomb,
545
00:36:15,190 --> 00:36:17,950
religious language. So don't worry if you die for
546
00:36:17,950 --> 00:36:21,590
your country going straight to heaven. You are a
547
00:36:21,590 --> 00:36:27,630
martyr. You don't die any death, any ordinary
548
00:36:27,630 --> 00:36:32,560
death. you are a hero and your country is proud of
549
00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:35,340
you and we are going to celebrate you and indeed
550
00:36:35,340 --> 00:36:38,220
this poem has become a very famous it's if you go
551
00:36:38,220 --> 00:36:41,900
to youtube many people sing this poem and England
552
00:36:41,900 --> 00:36:45,920
has used this poem all the time to again to incite
553
00:36:47,210 --> 00:36:52,170
to incite soldiers, people to join the army to
554
00:36:52,170 --> 00:36:56,270
fight evil terror around the world, to defend the
555
00:36:56,270 --> 00:36:58,890
crown, to defend the queen, to defend the king.
556
00:37:00,310 --> 00:37:04,110
And I read somewhere that this man was, he was in
557
00:37:04,110 --> 00:37:07,490
the army, but because he wrote many poems that are
558
00:37:07,490 --> 00:37:14,150
pro-war, he was, I don't know what the term is, he
559
00:37:14,150 --> 00:37:18,310
was called from wherever he was and he didn't want
560
00:37:18,310 --> 00:37:20,810
to go back. He wanted to join the army. He wanted
561
00:37:20,810 --> 00:37:24,330
to fight. But the country wanted him back home
562
00:37:24,330 --> 00:37:27,930
safe and sound so he could write more poetry and
563
00:37:27,930 --> 00:37:32,910
promote this. And again, this shows indicates how
564
00:37:32,910 --> 00:37:37,310
significant poets and poetry are. The country
565
00:37:37,310 --> 00:37:40,630
needs soldiers, right? But also the country needs
566
00:37:40,630 --> 00:37:44,710
poets to tell the people that, hey, don't worry.
567
00:37:46,030 --> 00:37:49,690
You're going to die a hero. And that's why we're
568
00:37:49,690 --> 00:37:52,830
going to compare this next class with a poem by
569
00:37:52,830 --> 00:37:59,430
Wilfred Owen, a man who really was at the front,
570
00:38:00,550 --> 00:38:01,530
who saw people die.
571
00:38:04,870 --> 00:38:07,290
Before we finish, I want to go through these
572
00:38:07,290 --> 00:38:11,050
questions, and I probably can talk about some of
573
00:38:11,050 --> 00:38:17,100
them in brief. So again, is this a pro or anti-war
574
00:38:17,100 --> 00:38:20,180
poem? Does it call for war? Does it say war is
575
00:38:20,180 --> 00:38:23,800
horrible? Pro war.
576
00:38:26,980 --> 00:38:29,740
Unless you take this as a very very silly argument
577
00:38:29,740 --> 00:38:33,120
and you think it does the opposite. I don't want
578
00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:39,640
to die just to be under English heaven. But yeah,
579
00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:43,160
this man is known, Robert Brooke, as a pro-war
580
00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:46,600
poet. What do you think of the poem as a
581
00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:49,860
Palestinian? What do you think of this? Because
582
00:38:49,860 --> 00:38:54,540
listen, this is the war that again, it happened
583
00:38:54,540 --> 00:38:58,220
mainly in Europe and somewhere in colonized areas,
584
00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:00,720
but as Palestinians, we still pay the price for
585
00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:05,500
this. And don't forget that, again, the English
586
00:39:05,500 --> 00:39:08,260
cemetery of British soldiers, an area that
587
00:39:08,260 --> 00:39:11,960
Palestinians have been taken good care of,
588
00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:15,020
respecting and protecting, which is really good.
589
00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:19,800
Because these are young people who were sent,
590
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:24,000
probably some of them unwillingly to war. But as a
591
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:25,980
Palestinian, what do you make of this, Paul?
592
00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:30,330
Please. First of all, I believe that he actually
593
00:39:30,330 --> 00:39:32,750
doesn't reflect at all the real meaning of war.
594
00:39:32,910 --> 00:39:36,320
War is savage, it's cruel, and he isn't... He even
595
00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:39,360
didn't mention the word word. He gave the image
596
00:39:39,360 --> 00:39:42,420
and actually he gave a great image. So they can,
597
00:39:42,740 --> 00:39:45,580
he can like wash the minds of the soldiers. So
598
00:39:45,580 --> 00:39:47,740
they can. So, so you're taking this as kind of
599
00:39:47,740 --> 00:39:50,480
brainwashing, you know, indoctrination. The
600
00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:54,200
reference to war is, is just here. The soldier, if
601
00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:55,980
the title of the poet, the sonnet, this is the
602
00:39:55,980 --> 00:40:01,320
sonnet by the way. Look at the sonnet. It's A B A
603
00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:04,500
right? C D
604
00:40:11,690 --> 00:40:25,170
A, B, A, B, C, D, and then aware, air, yes C, D.
605
00:40:25,850 --> 00:40:27,770
Is that Shakespeare or Petrarch?
606
00:40:31,970 --> 00:40:35,650
It's never Petrarch. Petrarch is A B B A A B B A.
607
00:40:35,690 --> 00:40:39,830
Shakespeare is A B A B C D C D. He doesn't do
608
00:40:39,830 --> 00:40:43,850
this. But because if you think this is one unit
609
00:40:43,850 --> 00:40:49,570
here and an octave. Probably closer, the fact that
610
00:40:49,570 --> 00:40:52,110
he alternates between the rhymes makes it closer
611
00:40:52,110 --> 00:40:54,610
Shakespeare, but then the fact that this is an
612
00:40:54,610 --> 00:40:57,650
octave and then followed by assisted means that
613
00:40:57,650 --> 00:41:01,330
this is basically probably not Shakespeare, not
614
00:41:01,330 --> 00:41:04,910
Petrarch. A combination of both, but also at the
615
00:41:04,910 --> 00:41:07,950
same time, he's changing the rhyme scheme. And I
616
00:41:07,950 --> 00:41:09,410
don't think there is a twist here, there's an
617
00:41:09,410 --> 00:41:11,310
argument. He doesn't argue, he doesn't say, some
618
00:41:11,310 --> 00:41:14,770
people say, dying is bad, is horrible, war is bad,
619
00:41:14,910 --> 00:41:18,200
however, It's all about how beautiful it is, how
620
00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:20,460
sweet and proper it is to die for one's country.
621
00:41:21,180 --> 00:41:26,800
So A, B, A, B, C, D, C, D and then? Yeah?
622
00:41:30,340 --> 00:41:38,740
E, F, G, very strange. E, F, G.
623
00:41:45,240 --> 00:41:49,860
He's using all Shakespeare's letters, right? But
624
00:41:49,860 --> 00:41:55,540
there is, we don't have a couplet here. This is a
625
00:41:55,540 --> 00:42:02,960
system. Okay. Same question? Maybe this statue
626
00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:06,560
belongs to the prince. He is mixed between the war
627
00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:09,140
and peace. Not talking exactly about the war. And
628
00:42:09,140 --> 00:42:11,540
he's raised also mixed between Shakespeare and the
629
00:42:11,540 --> 00:42:14,840
prince. Possible. Okay, I like your thinking,
630
00:42:14,980 --> 00:42:18,440
connecting the form to the meaning here. How is
631
00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:19,820
England represented in the poem?
632
00:42:24,140 --> 00:42:27,820
Here England represented as a mother and I want to
633
00:42:27,820 --> 00:42:30,380
say something, there's no comparison between our
634
00:42:30,380 --> 00:42:35,660
people as a Christian and their people. They don't
635
00:42:35,660 --> 00:42:40,020
defend their country against invaders from outside
636
00:42:40,020 --> 00:42:43,120
to their country, no. They go to their countries
637
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:46,850
and invade, actually they invade them. They were
638
00:42:46,850 --> 00:42:50,950
invading other countries and also expanding or
639
00:42:50,950 --> 00:42:56,940
defending the British Empire. Thank you. Actually,
640
00:42:57,180 --> 00:42:59,140
we've tried something similar to this, because
641
00:42:59,140 --> 00:43:03,540
Palestinians, when they go and do freedom marches,
642
00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:05,980
we call them freedom marches, because they see
643
00:43:05,980 --> 00:43:10,240
their land as London flowers and everything that
644
00:43:10,240 --> 00:43:12,880
belongs to them. But I don't think that an Israeli
645
00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:15,800
soldier would think the same, except if he is
646
00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:18,300
really in the same place as you mentioned. But I
647
00:43:18,300 --> 00:43:22,980
don't think that they have That's why it's really
648
00:43:22,980 --> 00:43:25,520
always fascinating to compare, to do comparison
649
00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:29,520
studies. Palestinian poetry has always been
650
00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:31,980
compared to Irish poetry because there was this
651
00:43:31,980 --> 00:43:34,560
resistance thing. And if you listen to Irish
652
00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:37,120
songs, you'll be amazed how similar, sometimes
653
00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:40,300
they think of how against Wheaton properties would
654
00:43:40,300 --> 00:43:44,760
I for your country. Okay, I'm raising these points
655
00:43:44,760 --> 00:43:49,400
now. What does under an English heaven indicate? I
656
00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:53,140
just partly mentioned this, that England is
657
00:43:53,140 --> 00:43:56,020
heaven, but also that this is a religious thing,
658
00:43:56,280 --> 00:43:59,060
that how the poet is using traditional imagery
659
00:43:59,060 --> 00:44:05,900
from traditional ways of writing poetry, of
660
00:44:05,900 --> 00:44:10,980
fighting, of heroism, the battles, the sun, the
661
00:44:10,980 --> 00:44:15,150
heaven, the river, the happiness. But also using
662
00:44:15,150 --> 00:44:19,090
religious, so is it again part of how he's trying
663
00:44:19,090 --> 00:44:21,910
to convince these soldiers to talk, to address, to
664
00:44:21,910 --> 00:44:27,850
invoke their religious mentality here that God is
665
00:44:27,850 --> 00:44:34,160
with you, God is with us, the English people? I
666
00:44:34,160 --> 00:44:36,580
don't know if this is related, but maybe it can be
667
00:44:36,580 --> 00:44:40,420
related to the English, the white man's duty of
668
00:44:40,420 --> 00:44:44,020
like enlightening other people in civilized
669
00:44:44,020 --> 00:44:47,500
countries. Because as you said before, they go to
670
00:44:47,500 --> 00:44:50,840
countries and they invade them, so maybe he wants
671
00:44:50,840 --> 00:44:53,620
to know that this is the English habit that you
672
00:44:53,620 --> 00:44:57,000
will be having in your country when you come and
673
00:44:57,000 --> 00:44:59,660
invade them. So rather we are turning, okay you
674
00:44:59,660 --> 00:45:04,050
are suggesting that this is Again, the white man's
675
00:45:04,050 --> 00:45:06,570
obligation to go and civilize other people and
676
00:45:06,570 --> 00:45:12,030
turn hell into heaven. on earth into heaven.
677
00:45:12,750 --> 00:45:14,490
Possibly, but I take it as more of a religious
678
00:45:14,490 --> 00:45:18,490
indication here. More of a religious term to
679
00:45:18,490 --> 00:45:24,290
convince people more that death is going to be
680
00:45:24,290 --> 00:45:28,150
followed by heaven. For me, I believe that this
681
00:45:28,150 --> 00:45:32,690
person totally has a colonizing mental. Actually,
682
00:45:32,830 --> 00:45:35,510
look at how many times he mentioned England. He
683
00:45:35,510 --> 00:45:38,330
was promising that England is going to dominate
684
00:45:38,330 --> 00:45:45,770
the universe. I don't think there is an indication
685
00:45:45,770 --> 00:45:48,170
that England will dominate, but possibly the fact
686
00:45:48,170 --> 00:45:52,750
that he keeps repeating, becoming England, okay.
687
00:45:53,290 --> 00:45:57,010
So wherever we go, whatever we touch, everything,
688
00:45:59,670 --> 00:46:02,490
there's this book, Everything Trump Touches Dies,
689
00:46:03,170 --> 00:46:06,450
and there is this Greek mythology, what's his
690
00:46:06,450 --> 00:46:11,280
name, The Guy, Everything he touches turns into
691
00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:14,000
gold. That's very famous in English, in mythology.
692
00:46:14,140 --> 00:46:17,720
Who's Greek corner here doing? Who's doing Greek
693
00:46:17,720 --> 00:46:20,620
corner? What's the name of the guy that touches
694
00:46:20,620 --> 00:46:25,640
the, whatever he touches turns into gold? Nope.
695
00:46:27,540 --> 00:46:30,940
Medias, something like this. Like closer to
696
00:46:30,940 --> 00:46:31,640
Mediosa.
697
00:46:36,910 --> 00:46:41,610
Okay, so everything English, everything England
698
00:46:41,610 --> 00:46:47,950
touches turns English, typical. Now, Brooks' poem,
699
00:46:48,050 --> 00:46:52,910
The Soldier, is an example of dangers, of the
700
00:46:52,910 --> 00:46:56,150
dangers of romanticizing war, telling the young
701
00:46:56,150 --> 00:47:00,650
people war is fun, it's just go kill people, you
702
00:47:00,650 --> 00:47:06,470
know? by comforting the survivors, telling the
703
00:47:06,470 --> 00:47:08,630
mothers, the parents, and this is probably a poem
704
00:47:08,630 --> 00:47:10,790
written not for the soldiers, about the soldiers,
705
00:47:11,010 --> 00:47:14,850
for the parents just to comfort them, to tell them
706
00:47:14,850 --> 00:47:17,810
that your kids are in heaven. And that's probably
707
00:47:17,810 --> 00:47:20,890
why he's bringing heaven here as a religious term,
708
00:47:21,010 --> 00:47:23,030
because older people tend to be more religious.
709
00:47:24,310 --> 00:47:27,370
They seek solace, they seek peace in the fact that
710
00:47:27,370 --> 00:47:32,210
at least the kids died a happy death, died doing
711
00:47:32,210 --> 00:47:34,570
something they wanted to do and also defending
712
00:47:34,570 --> 00:47:36,710
their country and also died happy and laughing.
713
00:47:38,250 --> 00:47:41,870
And that's
714
00:47:41,870 --> 00:47:44,690
why I can hear the reference to an English heaven.
715
00:47:46,670 --> 00:47:49,170
And he's also accused of downplaying the grim
716
00:47:49,170 --> 00:47:51,710
reality of war. I'm using this as a quote. Listen,
717
00:47:51,790 --> 00:47:54,440
look at this. If you're doing research, Look at
718
00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:59,300
these brackets here, square brackets. I am adding,
719
00:47:59,500 --> 00:48:01,560
if you're quoting something and you're adding to
720
00:48:01,560 --> 00:48:03,460
the text things that don't change the meaning,
721
00:48:03,780 --> 00:48:08,520
just sometimes even capital or small letter, by, I
722
00:48:08,520 --> 00:48:13,320
added by, I added and, I added of war. So to tell
723
00:48:13,320 --> 00:48:15,200
the reader that this is not something that the
724
00:48:15,200 --> 00:48:18,870
original author said, It's something I am adding
725
00:48:18,870 --> 00:48:21,650
to make it clearer in the context I'm using. You
726
00:48:21,650 --> 00:48:25,510
use this thing. So think about this. How is this
727
00:48:25,510 --> 00:48:29,090
romanticizing? How is he telling people to do
728
00:48:29,090 --> 00:48:35,030
this? Now, finally, again another quote, for a
729
00:48:35,030 --> 00:48:38,250
nation desperate to turn the senseless loss of its
730
00:48:38,250 --> 00:48:41,690
soldiers into something that could be coped with,
731
00:48:42,030 --> 00:48:45,930
something you could adapt to, even celebrated.
732
00:48:47,560 --> 00:48:51,080
Like he's celebrating war here. Poetry, like
733
00:48:51,080 --> 00:48:55,480
Brooke's poem, became a cornerstone of the
734
00:48:55,480 --> 00:49:00,430
remembrance process. how countries again use such
735
00:49:00,430 --> 00:49:03,170
kind of literature consider like consider this
736
00:49:03,170 --> 00:49:07,210
poetry this literature as significant because it
737
00:49:07,210 --> 00:49:10,890
serves the purpose they have the purpose of you
738
00:49:10,890 --> 00:49:14,390
know how and if you watch American movies it's
739
00:49:14,390 --> 00:49:17,730
always there there's always this huge respect for
740
00:49:17,730 --> 00:49:20,910
for previous soldiers for veterans they give them
741
00:49:20,910 --> 00:49:22,910
discounts they respect them they give them
742
00:49:22,910 --> 00:49:27,020
priority they like Give them loans, they, like,
743
00:49:27,500 --> 00:49:30,320
you just, if you are, if you turn into a soldier
744
00:49:30,320 --> 00:49:32,800
in America, you're the best. Everyone is, almost
745
00:49:32,800 --> 00:49:34,440
everyone is going to respect you. There's the
746
00:49:34,440 --> 00:49:37,720
famous poster, like, America wants you, this
747
00:49:37,720 --> 00:49:40,420
thing. And we've seen how, we always see how
748
00:49:40,420 --> 00:49:43,460
American movies and Hollywood, how they glorify
749
00:49:43,460 --> 00:49:47,200
soldiers. And at the same time, how they demonize
750
00:49:47,200 --> 00:49:52,440
and dehumanize the others. There's this movie, one
751
00:49:52,440 --> 00:49:55,640
of the worst movies ever, The Sniper, a man who
752
00:49:55,640 --> 00:49:59,240
killed about 150 Iraqis.
753
00:50:01,100 --> 00:50:04,360
And how you're made still to feel sorry for this
754
00:50:04,360 --> 00:50:08,700
bloodthirsty murderer. Terrorist, he should be
755
00:50:08,700 --> 00:50:13,800
called. But what is killing 150 Iraqis? Nothing.
756
00:50:16,120 --> 00:50:21,600
And Trump is now pardoning war criminals, soldiers
757
00:50:21,600 --> 00:50:24,240
who committed hideous crimes in Iraq and
758
00:50:24,240 --> 00:50:27,500
Afghanistan. What message is he sending to young
759
00:50:27,500 --> 00:50:31,620
Americans, to soldiers? Just kill. Don't worry.
760
00:50:32,500 --> 00:50:36,000
I'll protect you. I'm sending you there because
761
00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:38,400
there's this idea, like the argument, I'm sending
762
00:50:38,400 --> 00:50:39,700
you there, there's a possibility that you're going
763
00:50:39,700 --> 00:50:43,900
to die at any moment. You're going to die at any
764
00:50:43,900 --> 00:50:44,120
moment.
765
00:50:47,320 --> 00:50:51,580
I'll have you back if you do anything, anything,
766
00:50:51,740 --> 00:50:55,140
even killing hundreds of people. Even there's this
767
00:50:55,140 --> 00:50:59,040
horrible, horrible massacre in Iraq where they,
768
00:50:59,460 --> 00:51:01,720
the soldiers raped a 10-year-old. They killed her,
769
00:51:01,820 --> 00:51:03,760
killed her parents and family and brothers and
770
00:51:03,760 --> 00:51:07,440
sisters. And the man, the same soldier was like
771
00:51:07,440 --> 00:51:09,600
saying, we didn't treat Iraq, we didn't consider
772
00:51:09,600 --> 00:51:13,960
Iraqis human beings. That's demonization and
773
00:51:13,960 --> 00:51:19,400
dehumanization. War is bad, war never ends. But
774
00:51:19,400 --> 00:51:22,760
yet, some people will find it proper to celebrate,
775
00:51:23,860 --> 00:51:26,040
to glorify,
776
00:51:27,220 --> 00:51:29,740
et cetera. So think about these things, and I'll
777
00:51:29,740 --> 00:51:34,380
stop here. Next class, we're doing another war
778
00:51:34,380 --> 00:51:40,180
poem by Wilfred Owen, Futility. Thank you very
779
00:51:40,180 --> 00:51:41,260
much, good luck.