The esthetics of ethical realism: Representing the war dead in Keith Douglas's “Vergissmeinnicht”

This paper examines Keith Douglas's “Vergissmeinnicht” through the concept I term “esthetics of ethical realism” to describe Douglas's approach to representing the war dead. The concept refers to a mode of representation that merges stark realism with ethical responsibility, depicting the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Orbis litterarum Vol. 80; no. 6; pp. 629 - 637
Main Author: Demir, Elif
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Malden Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.12.2025
Subjects:
esthetics
ethical realism
Ethics
Realism
representation
Vergissmeinnicht
war dead
ISSN:0105-7510, 1600-0730
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This paper examines Keith Douglas's “Vergissmeinnicht” through the concept I term “esthetics of ethical realism” to describe Douglas's approach to representing the war dead. The concept refers to a mode of representation that merges stark realism with ethical responsibility, depicting the war dead without glorification or detachment while preserving their individuality through lyrical traces. In this sense, in “Vergissmeinnicht,” Douglas neither sentimentalizes sacrifice nor distances himself from war's brutality. Instead, he cultivates an ethical awareness that restores individuality to the war dead by intertwining graphic depictions of his decay with tender remnants of his past. He approaches the broken body of the German soldier with ethical sensitivity, maintaining realism while revealing his individuality through a photograph. By combining ethical realism and lyricism, Douglas gives voice to the voiceless and compels readers to confront the moral weight of war, foregrounding both its dehumanizing force and the persistence of human identity. In doing so, Douglas offers an ethical mode of representation that goes beyond the combatant‐centered perspective of Combat Gnosticism. Through the esthetics of ethical realism, he transforms poetry into a site of ethical reflection and commemoration, redefining it as a medium that esthetically interrogates the ethical dimensions of war.
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ISSN:0105-7510
1600-0730
DOI:10.1111/oli.12491