Keith Douglas
Keith Douglas was an English poet born on January 20, 1920, in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, who is often recognized as a significant "war poet" for his poignant reflections on the realities of World War II. His poetry is noted for its stark objectivity, capturing the harshness of war while analyzing disturbing imagery and themes, which draws comparisons to the work of the Metaphysical poets of the seventeenth century. Douglas began his literary career at the young age of sixteen and continued to write while studying at Oxford, where he was mentored by poet Edward Blunden.
His military service began when he joined the tank corps, serving as a commander in North Africa in 1941, and later returning to take part in the Normandy invasion. Tragically, Douglas's life was cut short when he was killed in combat on June 9, 1944. His only published volume during his lifetime was "Selected Poems" in 1943, but his reputation grew posthumously with the release of "Alamein to Zem-Zem" in 1946 and "Collected Poems" in 1951. Among his most celebrated works is the poem "Vergissmeinnicht," which poignantly explores themes of loss and memory through the lens of a fallen German soldier. Douglas’s contributions to war literature continue to resonate and inspire analysis and admiration in the years following his death.
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Subject Terms
Keith Douglas
Poet
- Born: January 24, 1920
- Birthplace: Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England
- Died: June 9, 1944
- Place of death: Normandy, France
Biography
Keith Douglas is known today as a “war poet” because of his involvement in World War II; his poems capture the pitilessness of war while retaining an almost clinical objectivity. This objectivity in the analysis of disturbing images and themes causes the frequent comparison of Douglas’s poetry to that of the Metaphysical poets of the seventeenth century.
Born on January 20, 1920, at Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, Douglas studied for a time at Christ’s Hospital before entering Oxford. He began publishing his poetry at the age of sixteen, while still studying at Oxford under the tutorship of poet Edward Blunden, but his education was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. Douglas entered the tank corps and served as a tank commander in North Africa in 1941, but was brought back to England in 1944 to take part in the invasion of Normandy, France. Early in the invasion Douglas was killed in combat, on June 9, 1944.
The only volume of poetry Douglas published during his lifetime was Selected Poems, in 1943. However, his posthumous reputation began to expand in 1946, with the publication of the collection Alamein to Zem-Zem, and in 1951, with his Collected Poems. Ted Hughes was a great admirer of Douglas, and in 1964 edited and introduced another edition of Selected Poems. More recently, Desmond Graham edited Douglas’s Complete Poems (1978). Douglas’s most frequently anthologized poem is Vergissmeinnicht (forget me not), about a dead German soldier with a photograph of his girlfriend in a gunpit in North Africa.