Poem Analysis : Sassoon 's Poetry

This anthology cover on the ‘Sound of War’ utilizes miscellaneous types of conflicts such as inner, physical and authority as well as the effects of war such as opposition, dehumanising and futility. It utilizes these types of conflicts and effects through symbolism, writing, colour and images which are backed up by poems and songs such as The Send Off, The Spring Offensive and the song I was only 19.

Often, personal experiences are what influence a poet’s writing. Since the 1600s and up until World War One, poets have been heavily impacted by the glorification of war, as well as the catastrophic losses the world has suffered from. Poets such as Richard Lovelace and Lord Tennyson glorified the sacrifices soldiers made for their countries and honored them. While poets like Mary Borden and Wilfred Owen expressed their outrage towards war because they have witnessed the brutality and wickedness of it. In the two poetry collections, diction is the main factor in establishing the tone and theme of each poem.

Literature and poetry are a reflection of society. The words are reflected in numerous feelings that we can almost touch and can be deeply felt in its reach. Most poets expressed their perception and emotion through their writings. Unfortunately the art and poetry describes one of the worst things that human can do to one another. The legalized murder called "war." Hence, this type of self-reflection called "poetry" has help create new fundamental ideas and values towards our society. In this essay, I will discuss the issue of the "War Poetry" during the "Great War" along with comparing and contrasting two talented renowned poets; Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) and Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967).

The idea of loss is explored diversely in the poems ‘Conscript’ by FA Horn and ‘The Photograph’ by Peter Kocan. Where ‘Conscript’ conveys the loss of a soldier on the battlefields of World War II and his physical demise, ‘The Photograph’ conveys the loss of a World War I Australian soldier and the grief his family endures with the passing of time. Although the two poems are set in different wars, the poets similarly reinforce the devastation, as well as the emotional and physical impact associated with war.

Public perceptions of World War I were formed by literature written during the war itself. British literature in particular offers a vast array of perspectives. The writings of Siegfried Sassoon and Vera Brittain demonstrate themes of grief and recall upon instances of mental fragility revealed by war. In “The Great War and Modern Memory, literary historian Paul Fussell identifies that this type of literature expresses an essential truth about not only the First World War, but all modern wars. Fussell strongly asserts that war is futile, wasteful, and most importantly, destructive. (Fussell 3-35). Modern literature about the First World War is also demonstrative of these themes.

Many war pieces express a distinct sense of truth, hatred, and anger that can be found in the style, tone, and imagery they possess. Incredible images are created in ones mind as war writings are read and heard. Works written by such writers as Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, and Tim OBrien really reach out to the audience by way of the authors choice of words and images that they use in their writing. These talented writers create very touching and heart-felt images as they write about the true occurrences, problems, feelings and emotions that soldiers encountered throughout times of war. It is by way of these

The first of Sassoon poems “In an Underground Dressing Station” is about the pain and suffering there was during the time. There is a reason the author did not specify what country this man belonged to. This poem was about one person, but no matter what country they were fighting for, so many people went through this pain. The next poem “Battalion-Relief” also showed how even in these beautiful towns, they faced the terror of artillery and heard distant gun fire everywhere they marched. The soldiers were stuck in this extended nightmare with nothing to do but following order to their almost inevitable demise.

Thousands of young Europeans went to serve their country (draft) during the first world war and were met with death and destruction. In addition to having to witness comrades and friends being killed, they had to kill others which will undoubtedly change someone. It takes away your innocence to have to do and see things such as this. For those that survived these images haunted them for the rest of their lives changing their outlook on life and general disposition. Which such a large percent of the population having had such damaging effects it takes a toll on the entirety of Europe. Siegfried Sassoon, a British poet who fought during WWI, recounts his experience and the damaging effects of war. In Sassoon’s Suicide in the Trenches he writes about the effects of the war on the soldiers and the disillusionment people at home had about war. The first stanza of the poem has as cheerful tone. Sassoon writes “I knew a simple soldier boy,” choosing to use the word “boy” instead of man to put an emphasis on how young and youthful these soldiers were. There is a sharp change of tone between the first and second stanza in which Sassoon talks of the hardships of the trenches and has a an emphasis on winter. The boy who was spoken about in the first stanza as

Many different manifestations of conflict have been explored by various poets studied this year. A diverse range of literary techniques have been utilised to explore, war, social, mental and gender conflict. Beach Burial by Kenneth Slessor along with Exposure and Insensibility by Wilfred Owen all explore war conflict, while also exploring the dehumanisation of soldiers and emphasising that nowhere is safe during war. Exposure portrays the men to be “[cringing]in holes” with “forgotten dreams”, dis-empowering the soldiers and making them less than men, generating pathos for them. Additionally, Owen utilises inclusive language like “we turn back on our dying” to further demonstrate empathy for the soldiers’ suffering, whilst implicating the

The specific works I am intending to analyze is Siegfried Sassoon’s WWI poetry “They”, “The Rear-Guard’, “The General”, and “Glory of Women”. The argument I will make about these works is Sassoon’s public protest to show the realities of war and explain his tactics on doing so. Sassoon “attack[ed] the old men of the army, Church, and the government” because he believed they were responsible for the miseries and murders of the young soldiers during WWI. I intent to make the argument both cultural and historical. Example ideas or paragraphs for this paper include the poems “They” and “The Rear-Guard” play a role in the protest by illustrating the damaging aftermath of injury or death. These poems also portrays what it was like during the war

Sassoon and Owen as poets and Barker as a novelist, explore through their works of literature the changing and challenging notions of masculinity experienced as a result of The Great War. Furthermore, all three writers suggest that the often overlooked reality of the conflict was the creation of a subversion of the stereotypical ‘heroic soldier’. Replacing this image through their work, with that of the truth, we see an exploration of the emasculated and dehumanised shell that many men truly became as a result of what they experienced in service. This extends throughout their texts, to

This essay will be discussing and exploring how attitudes to war in the Shakespeare play, Henry V, and a selection of war poetry are presented and developed. The three choices of poems that will be explored are ‘For the fallen’ by Robert Lawrence Binyon, ‘The soldier’ by Rupert Brooke and ‘MCMXIV’ by Philip Larkin. All poems have links and contrasts to the Shakespeare play which present many attitudes to war which develop throughout. Henry V and the poems, ‘For the fallen’ and ‘MCMXIV’ include a subtle cryptogram apart from ‘The soldier’. Rupert Brooke used a title that was easy to read by everyone.

Throughout Wilfred Owen’s collection of poems, he unmasks the harsh tragedy of war through the events he experienced. His poems indulge and grasp readers to feel the pain of his words and develop some idea on the tragedy during the war. Tragedy was a common feature during the war, as innocent boys and men had their lives taken away from them in a gunshot. The sad truth of the war that most of the people who experienced and lived during the tragic time, still bare the horrifying images that still live with them now. Owen’s poems give the reader insight to this pain, and help unmask the tragedy of war.

The poet Siegfried Sassoon saw that war was destructive and it should not happen because it was a waste of human life, Sassoon described the horror of war unsparingly, also, his poems were often based on actual incidents. Wilfred Owen focused his poetry on the particulars of war and the men involved: dirt, muddle, boredom etc, Owen often wrote about the horror of war and the dignity of men. He deeply felt a sense of the appalling wastefulness of war, casualties and the human spirit. The similarities between these two poets are they both tried to record realistic horrors of the war; to have it stopped. They were both angry at the war’s brutality, they were also showed very compassionate studies of the circumstances of fighting men.

I’ve recently read four pieces of literature that were based on the trials and tribulations of war. When comparing all four literary works there are just as many similarities as there are differences. The first and longest is the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque. The second piece is the poem titled “In Flanders Fields” , by John McCrae. The third work was another poem this one by Ivor Gurney, titled “Ballad of the Three Spectres”. The fourth and finale literary piece up for comparison was also a poem named “Glory of Women”, by Siegfried Sassoon. These four pieces of literature have many similarities and differences, throughout this essay I will be pointing out some of the major ones.