Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

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A Farewell to Arms

(1929) was Ernest Hemingway's second full-length novel. With it, he consolidated the reputation he had made with

The Sun Also Rises

(1926) and two major collections of short stories. Set on the Italian front during World War I and partially based on Hemingway's wartime experience with the Red Cross in that theatre of the war,

A Farewell to Arms

is both a war story and a love story, the work that the author once referred to as his

Romeo and Juliet

.

The protagonist, Frederic Henry, is a lieutenant in the ambulance corps of the Italian army. Although he is no patriot (he says that he joined the army because he was in Italy when the war broke out and he spoke Italian), Henry has served as an officer since the summer of 1915. His first two years of involvement are summarised

1630 words

Citation: Fleming, Robert E.. "A Farewell to Arms". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 July 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7188, accessed 19 March 2024.]

7188 A Farewell to Arms 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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