Talk:Birdsong (novel)

message: This article needs a list of characters as especially during the war sections so many people are dying you lose track of who is who. I promise to get round to writing this section sometime soon.  172.159.244.74 12:47, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Characters 

message: :Image:Birdsong.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.
If there is  other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page.  Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.
BetacommandBot 10:42, 27 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Fair use rationale for Image:Birdsong.jpg

message: The writer of the artcile states "12,000 German Jews fought and died" in ww1. I dare say much more fought as this is just the number that died in Action/uniform  MVC 4/11/08  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 211.30.161.96 (talk) 12:57, 3 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  Changed on the basis that 'fought and died' is tautological. 82.10.116.209 (talk) 16:25, 21 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  German Jews 

message: The article mentions the other two novels but doesn't give any further information, even where Birdsong fits into the trilogy. I'd have thought this might be pertinent. Gwladys24 (talk) 17:54, 1 September 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Trilogy 

message: I came to the article to find why it was called "Birdsong". Nothing is mentioned about this. Can this information be added to the article? Softlavender (talk) 10:21, 10 March 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Title 

message: I've removed this text because there is already a Plot section and this was in the Character section:
----
* Stephen Wraysford - The protagonist of the novel, Stephen goes to Amiens in France to learn more about the manufacturing process at René Azaire's factory. He becomes attracted to Azaire's wife, Isabelle. One night he hears Azaire beat Isabelle and is determined to make her see that true love exists elsewhere. Stephen and Isabelle embark upon a passionate affair which culminates in their leaving Azaire's house together. Stephen is abandoned by Isabelle once she learns that she is carrying his child.
* Our next encounter with Stephen occurs when he is an officer in the British Army during the War. Stephen is not a popular officer, seemingly because he does not love his men enough. It is said of him that he "blows hot and cold." Stephen catches Jack Firebrace sleeping on duty one night and orders him to report the next morning to be charged. Jack fears that he will be executed and endures a sleepless night, only for Stephen to claim no recollection of the incident the following morning. As the war develops, so too do the intricacies of Stephen's personality. He develops a kind of love for the men under his command, refusing the offer of leave or a staff job, preferring instead to remain at the front with his men. At one point, he is badly wounded and is left for dead, thrown naked onto a pile of corpses behind the trenches, only to come stumbling, frenzied and delirious, into the arms of Jack Firebrace. He becomes known as a lucky charm, having survived where many others fell on numerous occasions.
* Stephen has a close relationship with Captain Michael Weir, the commander of the miners. Weir is sexually inexperienced and Stephen brings him to a prostitute so that he may experience a woman for the first time. He also fixes tarot cards for Weir in order to instill in his friend a sense of hope and optimism. Stephen is stricken upon hearing of Weir's death, as he has lost his closest friend, the one person with whom he shared the tragedies of war.
* On leave at Amiens, Stephen is reunited with Isabelle and is lost for words at her appearance, though he has seen much worse during his time at the front. Isabelle still ignites passion in him, and he is desperate to learn if she is still in love with him, though upon hearing from Jeanne that Isabelle has left once more to be with her Prussian, his curiosity is satisfied. Stephen develops a close friendship with Jeanne, depending on her letters while he is at the front. She keeps him going, though he is reluctant to admit this to her.
* When forced to take a staff job for six months, Stephen becomes increasingly despondent. He feels guilty that he has survived while so many others have died needlessly, and feels the war is likely to continue although it has seemed to serve no purpose thus far. He is continually amazed at the sheer determination and courage of his men, dumbstruck by how much they will endure. He confides in Jeanne who urges him to persevere.
* On his return to the front, Stephen becomes trapped in an underground tunnel with Jack Firebrace. He helps to free Jack, whose legs and ribs are broken, from the earth, and for six days endures the horrendous conditions while he endeavours to free both himself and a delirious Jack. Close to death due to thirst and starvation, he manages to blow a hole in the earth and is rescued by three German soldiers, not before promising the dying Jack that he will have children for him.
* Stephen marries Jeanne Fourmentier in 1919. He does not speak for two years after the war, however one day he announces that they will go to London later that day in order to go to the theatre. Stephen dies at the age of forty-eight, never having fully got over that which he experienced during the war.
----
Softlavender (talk) 05:20, 24 July 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  I've removed Plot text mistakenly placed in the Character section. 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just added archive links to  on Birdsong (novel). Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add  after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add  to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080115132207/http://www.bloomsbury.com:80/ReadersGroups/ReadersGuides.asp?isbn=9780099387916 to http://www.bloomsbury.com/ReadersGroups/ReadersGuides.asp?isbn=9780099387916
When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.
Cheers.—cyberbot IITalk to my owner:Online 12:03, 9 January 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified