The ‘Myth’ of Beaumont-Hamel: Counter-Monumentality and Newfoundland Identity in Edward Riche's Dedication
The First World War has had an indelible impact on Newfoundland, shaping not only its relationship with Britain and empire, but also its union with Canada in 1949. For some, the Battle of the Somme was a powerful display of Newfoundland's identity as a British dominion and its loyalty to the mo...
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Edinburgh University Press
2023
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credinunivpr:10.3366/brw.2023.0399 2023-05-15T17:20:17+02:00 The ‘Myth’ of Beaumont-Hamel: Counter-Monumentality and Newfoundland Identity in Edward Riche's Dedication White, Bonnie 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/brw.2023.0399 https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full-xml/10.3366/brw.2023.0399 en eng Edinburgh University Press https://www.euppublishing.com/customer-services/librarians/text-and-data-mining-tdm Britain and the World volume 16, issue 1, page 38-57 ISSN 2043-8567 2043-8575 History journal-article 2023 credinunivpr https://doi.org/10.3366/brw.2023.0399 2023-03-02T14:35:54Z The First World War has had an indelible impact on Newfoundland, shaping not only its relationship with Britain and empire, but also its union with Canada in 1949. For some, the Battle of the Somme was a powerful display of Newfoundland's identity as a British dominion and its loyalty to the mother country. Many Newfoundlanders, however, lament the tragic economic and political consequences of Newfoundland's war service that many believe led to its loss of independence and its union with Canada decades later. Edward Riche's 2017 play Dedication explores the legacy of the First World War on Newfoundland identity and the province's continued positive association with Sir Douglas Haig through the dramatisation of a grieving female journalist interviewing Haig in St. John's in 1924, just before the unveiling of the national war memorial. The play grapples with themes of colonisation, patriotism, and duty as the playwright seeks to challenge the prevailing myth of identity grounded in glorious sacrifice. While the interview in the play raises questions about the war's legacy through its focus on the dedication of the WWI monument by Haig himself, Riche interrogates Newfoundland's established memory of the war, as well as the value of monuments as historical markers of memory and identity. Article in Journal/Newspaper Newfoundland Edinburgh University Press (via Crossref) Canada Britain and the World 16 1 38 57 |
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Open Polar |
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Edinburgh University Press (via Crossref) |
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credinunivpr |
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English |
topic |
History |
spellingShingle |
History White, Bonnie The ‘Myth’ of Beaumont-Hamel: Counter-Monumentality and Newfoundland Identity in Edward Riche's Dedication |
topic_facet |
History |
description |
The First World War has had an indelible impact on Newfoundland, shaping not only its relationship with Britain and empire, but also its union with Canada in 1949. For some, the Battle of the Somme was a powerful display of Newfoundland's identity as a British dominion and its loyalty to the mother country. Many Newfoundlanders, however, lament the tragic economic and political consequences of Newfoundland's war service that many believe led to its loss of independence and its union with Canada decades later. Edward Riche's 2017 play Dedication explores the legacy of the First World War on Newfoundland identity and the province's continued positive association with Sir Douglas Haig through the dramatisation of a grieving female journalist interviewing Haig in St. John's in 1924, just before the unveiling of the national war memorial. The play grapples with themes of colonisation, patriotism, and duty as the playwright seeks to challenge the prevailing myth of identity grounded in glorious sacrifice. While the interview in the play raises questions about the war's legacy through its focus on the dedication of the WWI monument by Haig himself, Riche interrogates Newfoundland's established memory of the war, as well as the value of monuments as historical markers of memory and identity. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
White, Bonnie |
author_facet |
White, Bonnie |
author_sort |
White, Bonnie |
title |
The ‘Myth’ of Beaumont-Hamel: Counter-Monumentality and Newfoundland Identity in Edward Riche's Dedication |
title_short |
The ‘Myth’ of Beaumont-Hamel: Counter-Monumentality and Newfoundland Identity in Edward Riche's Dedication |
title_full |
The ‘Myth’ of Beaumont-Hamel: Counter-Monumentality and Newfoundland Identity in Edward Riche's Dedication |
title_fullStr |
The ‘Myth’ of Beaumont-Hamel: Counter-Monumentality and Newfoundland Identity in Edward Riche's Dedication |
title_full_unstemmed |
The ‘Myth’ of Beaumont-Hamel: Counter-Monumentality and Newfoundland Identity in Edward Riche's Dedication |
title_sort |
‘myth’ of beaumont-hamel: counter-monumentality and newfoundland identity in edward riche's dedication |
publisher |
Edinburgh University Press |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/brw.2023.0399 https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full-xml/10.3366/brw.2023.0399 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Newfoundland |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland |
op_source |
Britain and the World volume 16, issue 1, page 38-57 ISSN 2043-8567 2043-8575 |
op_rights |
https://www.euppublishing.com/customer-services/librarians/text-and-data-mining-tdm |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3366/brw.2023.0399 |
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Britain and the World |
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16 |
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1 |
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38 |
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57 |
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