56 pages • 1 hour read
Vera BrittainTestament of Youth
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1933A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Rupert Brooke was one of the first World War I poets to die, so he never experienced the horrors of trench warfare like many other WWI poets who lived longer than he. Select one of Brooke’s sonnets and discuss the poet’s attitude towards war and heroism; then, compare his attitude to that of Wilfred Owen, a poet who did fight in the trenches.
Brittain’s husband, George Catlin, once said: “The hardest rival you can have is a ‘ghost’ because your inclination is to idealise someone who died a long time ago.” Based on Brittain’s descriptions of Roland Leighton, what qualities of his might she have idealized the most?
Each chapter of Testament of Youth begins with a poem. Which poem is the most evocative of emotion in your opinion? Discuss your choice with specific examples of imagery.
Research the public school tradition in England. How is it different from the public school system in the United States?
Do you find Vera Brittain’s authentic and honest voice likable or unlikeable? Does this opinion change your opinion of the book as a whole? Support your ideas with textual evidence.
Examine Brittain’s friendships with Betty, Hope Milroy, and Winifred Holtby, and choose one of these friendships to analyze. Based on evidence from the text, why is this friendship successful? What challenged the success of this friendship?
In your opinion, should Brittain have married Victor had he lived? Why or why not?
Some say that Brittain’s attitude towards marriage and the role of women as wives is ahead of her time. Why?
Women who lived in England during World War I participated in the war effort in many different ways while many Englishmen were away fighting. How do gender roles change as a result of this condition?
Discuss Brittain’s beliefs regarding religion, life, and death. Do they change or stay the same over the course of the war? Explain and support your ideas with textual evidence.
