SASSOONS LIFE

He was born on 8th September 1886

Came from a privileged background Marlborough College and Cambridge
Universit !studing "aw then Histor#
$oined the war and became an important poet who fought in the war
He won the militar cross for brining a wounded soldier out of no mans
land whilst under heav fire from the enem
He felt contempt for those who saw in "ondon and profited from the war
He was wounded in %pril 1&1' and sent back to (ritain and this is when he
met poet )ilfred *wen
He published a pamphlet called +Soldiers ,eclaration- which could have
had him court marshalled and sentenced to death. however intervention
b his friends prevented this
He went back to war and survived. unlike *wen
He died in 1&6'
SASSOONS ATTITUDES TOWARDS WAR IN HIS POETRY
%t first Sassoon saw the war as a /omantic and heroic
"ater. Sassoon0s feelings about the war changed radicall and his idealism
turned to bitter anger
His poetr reflects the evolution of his attitudes towards war which begins
with a vision of combat and e1ploit. reflecting glor and nobilit. which is
seen in poems such has +(ecause we are going- written in 1&12 and
ending with harsh realism and bitter accusation towards those in power3
+(ase ,etails- shows an angr and mocking attitude towards the officers
for not e1periencing the realit of war
+4he Hero- shows a contempt attitude for the soldiers who wanted to go
home
SASSOONS STYLE OF WRITING
Harsh realism in his writing
4one of anger and disgust
Use of direct speech
Use of authentic vocabular from militar conte1t
$u1taposition of contrasting detail
5ives the reader sickening realistic details about death and ding
Use of satire in his writing
o 4he fundamental nature of satire is writing that attacks or ridicules
wrong. evil or foll in its literar sub6ects
o Satire ma be directed at institutions and philosophers. for e1ample in
+4he-
o Satire ma highlight hpocris
o Satire mabe against indifference
)hen comparing two unseen te1ts in the e1am ou should be looking at7
Use of 8mager
,iction
9oetic :oice
Cultural Conte1t
4hemes and Moods
Social Conte1t
5ender
Similar or ,ifferent ;orm
/hme and /thm
9arod. 9astiche. /epl. /ewrite
S4/UC4/< "8=< 4H8S
8ntroduction
Common 4heme!s# of e1tracts
"anguage
;orm
Structure
)riters thoughts and feelings
8nfluence at time of composistion
5ender
here are a few things to help ou with anal>ing the poetr in 1% i found3
?uestions 4o %nswer (efore )riting
13 )ho is speaking@
A3 4o whom@
B3 %bout@
C3 4one@
23 <1amples of abstract imager@
63 <1amples of concrete imager@
'3 <1amples of denotative language@
83 <1amples of the 2 figurative devices@
&3 <1amples of rhetorical devices@
1D3 <nd rhme scheme@
113 %lliteration@
1A3 %ssonance@
1B3 Consonance@
1C3 Caesura@
123 <n6ambment@
163 4heme@
1'3 /hthm E Meter@
183 Snta1@
7 %mbiguit Having multiple meanings3
7 %side % short speech or remark which is not meant to be heard b others3
7 (inar opposition Contrast between to mutuall e1clusive terms e3g3 upEdown.
onEoff3
7 (lank verse Unrhmed lines of iambic pentameter3
7 Catharsis <ffect of purification achieved b tragic drama3
7 <ponmous 7 Fame givingG where a novel or pla takes the name of the hero or
heroine3
7 8ambic 9entameterH % line of 1D sllables where one unstressed sllable is
followed b one stressed sllable3
7 *b6ective correlative %n e1ternal eIuivalent for an internal state of mind3
7 *1moron % figure of speech that combines to contradictoril terms3
7 9arado1 % surprisingl self contradictor statement3
7 9athetic fallac )hen nature represents the emotions of characters3
7 Hperbole 7 % figure of speech that is emphasi>ed through e1aggeration3
7 9arod an imitation of a work of literature to ridicule its characteristic features
e3g3 ,ulce et ,ecorum est ridicules $essie 9ope0s. )ho0s for the 5ame@
7 <pic similie a comparison or likeness to introduce sustained images e3g3 +as
when-
7 %ntithesis +opposite placing- using contrasting ideas in neighbouring
sentences3 *ne could also sa )ilfred *wen and Sassoon are the antithesis of
poets such as $essie 9ope and /upert (rooke3
7 Satire holds up foll or vice to ridicule3
7 Mock heroic refers to a stle where something trivial is treated with ridiculous
comic grandeur e3g3 (lack %dder@
7 8ron saing one thing and meaning another3
7 $u1taposition ideas side b side3
8t would be good if a list of tpicalit of literature in terms of formEtime of
composition was put together3 8 will start it offH
9atriotic )ar 9oems. 9re 1&1CH 4pical
Fegative )ar 9oems. 9re 1&1CH %tpical
9atriotic )ar 9oems. 9re 1&16 7 *nwardsH )ouldnJt sa atpical. but were less
common. as people were becoming more wise to the horrors of war3
Fegative )ar 9oems. 1&167*nwardsH 4pical i3e3 poets such as Sassoon. *wen.
/osenburg etc3
Fovels written during the warH %tpical
Fovels written after the warH 4pical
9las written during the warH %tpical
9las after the warH 4pical
,o ou all agree@ %n help would be appreciatedK
%lso how gender effects the literatureH
7 )omen 7 literature composed during the warH *bviousl. less e1posure to the
war so might not have as much knowledge about the e1act horrors as much as
men fighting on the front line3 However. women such as :era (rittain who worked
as a :3%3, nurse e1perienced the horrific in6uries of war. so would have known
more than women who were at home for e1ample $essie 9ope3
7 Men 7 literature composed during the warH Men who had e1perience fighting on
the front line. would have had first hand e1perience of the war. which would be
reflected in their writing3
7 %n modern literatureH gender doesnJt affect. as neither would have had an
first hand e1perience of the war3
Charles Sorley
How typical?
+Language structure form
+His thoughts or feelings about war and contemporary society
+Infuence of time and composition
+Gender and class
One of the youngest to die he accepted public school attitude that to die for your
country was an honour but when !oined army attitude soon changed"
Language#
$ersoni%es &ngland as a woman"
'( Call to (ction) is lyrical structured"
*orm#
$oems written after e+periencing the war are either in sonnet form oer long
hea,y poems" *ree ,erse - less harmony"
'( Call to (ction)
./.0
+ 1 beats" 23etrameter4
+ '&ngland as she has once been)
+ 'hum of mo,ement throb of war) - heartbeat"
+ 'still prefer 3o watch instead of play the game) - war as a game"
'3o Germany)
./.5
+ Sonnet form"
+ '6ou are blind li7e us) - both the same political"
+ 'the blind %ght the blind)
+)8ut until peace the storm 3he dar7ness and the thunder and the rain") - list
drags out the war will it e,er end?
'9hen you see :illions of the :outhless dead)
./.;
+ Sonnet from en!ambment ma7es it ne,er ending" 3itle - hyperbole 2alliteration
of the masses4
&arly poets used short lines structured sentence form as they thought it would be
o,er by Christmas howe,er later poets used en!ambment and less structure to
show the millions of dehumanised soldiers"
+ *orm mirrors content"
+ 'blind) 'deaf) - appeals to the senses repetition"
+ 'o)ercrowded mass) - dehumani<es soldiers to a number"
+ 'Great death has made all his for e,ermore) - personi%es death as a man ta7en
away indi,iduality"
+ Deconstruction of Brookes sonnet The Soldier, changing form, using
the sonnet from but not patriotic and romantic (as traditionally was
Isaac =osenberg
How typical?
+Language structure form
+His thoughts or feelings about war and contemporary society
+Infuence of time and composition
+Gender and class
9as not patriotic at all !oined the war 'to get the trouble o,er)"
Language#
+ =ealism less harmony trench warfare blunt"
*orm#
+ Often short 0 ,ery long poems" Structured rhyme scheme"
'In the trenches)
./.>
+ Symbolises '3wo bright red poppies)
+ Sells hit where he was standing and 'tore the poppy you had on your breast) -
war has ta7en his heart and that of others the reader '6ou)
+ '" " "safe" " ") - the use of full stops lea,e the word 'safe) to be ?uestioned"
'3he Immortals)
./.@
+ 'I 7illed them but they would not die) A war will fore,er torture him"
+ 'I 7illed and 7illed wit slaughter mad)
+ 'de,ils only die in fun)
3homas Hardy
How typical?
+Language structure form
+His thoughts or feelings about war and contemporary society
+Infuence of time and composition
+Gender and class
(t %rst he seemed to be against the war as he was fully aware of military conficts
28oer 9ar4" 8ut was later con,inced by the go,ernment to write propaganda in
support of the war"
Language#
+ Lyrical structured romantic
*orm#
+ structured ,erses and rhyme scheme"
'Brummer Hodge)
.1//
+'to rest CncoDned !ust as found) - although wasn)t a oDcial burial
romanticises the way 'strangeAeyed constellations reign His stars eternally)
'Channel %ring)
./.5
+ 'great guns)
+ '=ed war yet redder" :ad as hatters)
+ 'again the guns disturbed the hour)
':en who march away)
./.5
+ '9hat of the faith and %re within us) - repeated 0ce emphasises what we all
ha,e deep inside"
+ *irst line of each stan<a represents important point repeated 0ce" Last stan<a is
the same as the .
st"
+ 'her distress)
Siegfried Sassoon
How typical?
+Language structure form
+His thoughts or feelings about war and contemporary society
+Infuence of time and composition
+Gender and class
He was one of the %rst to !oin up to the war and gi,es clues as to why in his
'memoirs of a fo+ hunting man) - 'courage remained a ,irtue E I had serious
aspirations to heroism)" 8ut throughout the war he became bitter and wrote a
declaration against the war" His poems refected this change as they turned bitter
and full of hate in ./.>"
Language#
+ (lways ,ery blunt but lyrical includes a lot of references to nature and the
natural continuation of their cycles"
*orm#
+ *orm mirrors content
+ Structure to rhyme scheme and ,erses"
+ Some are free ,erse others are sonnets"
'3he Hero)
./.>
+ 3his signi%es the lies 'the colonel writes so nicely) and how although Fac7 was a
'Guseless swineH) that is not what they tell 'the woman with white hair)
'3he General)
./.@
+ Structure# last line is separated from the former >
+ Soldiers are lur7ed into a false sense of security ')good morning good
morningI)) and 'he smiled)
+ Last line shows how false the general is to them as he uses them as pawns
and 7ills them"
'Boes it matter?)
./.@
+ 3he rhyme scheme a b b c a" allows the stan<a to refer to the %rst point
made 'Boes it matter? - losing your legs?" " ")
+ 'no one will worry a bit) - although soldiers are in a 'pit) it doesn)t matter"
'Glory of 9omen)
./.@
+ Structure is at %rst appears to be tal7ing to &nglish women but then brea7s the
,erse into a separate J lines spea7ing speci%cally to a German mother"
+ 3his poem is politicalK it shows a clear similarity between the &nglish and
German mo,es e,o7ing compassion and sympathy for both sides"
+ '6ou ma7e us shells) - women play a part in the death and grief caused in war"
+ '6ou listen in delight) - as if it is a story a fairytale but the use of 'terrible
corpses - blind with blood) appeals to the senses showing that it isn)t !ust a story
at all but reality"
'8anishment)
./.@
+ Sassoon had changed his mind about not %ghting when in Craigloc7hart many
of his friends had written to him criticising him for not being on the front line"
+ 3he poem is in the form of a sonnet the %rst 1 lines tal7 of him and his soldiers
at war and how he watched them die '3hey went arrayed in honour)
+ Sassoon shows his bond to his soldiers 'shoulder aching shoulder side by side)"
3he second > lines tal7 of how ',ainly I ha,e stri,en)" 3his refers to his stay at
Craigloc7hart and how guilty he feels which e,entually dri,es him bac7 into the
army" 'Lo,e dro,e me to rebel" Lo,e dri,es me bac7)
+ 3he poem refects his feelings on the war as a whole - go,ernment soldiers and
e+periences" 'I cried 3o those who sent them out) 'in their tortured eyes I stand
forgi,en)"
Fessie $ope
How typical?
+Language structure form
+His thoughts or feelings about war and contemporary society
+Infuence of time and composition
+Gender and class
She was best 7nown for her patriotic national poems written throughout the *irst
9orld 9ar" Fessie $ope ta7es ad,antage of the woman)s special in the home that
metonym for the nation with moral and spiritual infuence on men"
Language#
+ Collo?uial personi%es &ngland as a woman Gbec7onsH the men to go to war
propaganda and spea7s of war as a 'game)"
*orm#
+ $oems Structured ,erses and rhyme scheme"
'3he Call)
./.5
+ ':y laddie) - collo?uial friendly encouraging
+ '7ha7i suit) - as if it is special and to be wor7 with honour
+ '&mpire) ',ictor)s) 'procession) 'rolling drums) - encourages those who are
ner,ous to enlist and be in the parade for their country as appose to standing
their and 'biting their thumbs)
+ 3he fact that those who are not enlisting are only wrote about on a single line
singles them out from the rest"
'9ho)s for the Game?)
./.5
+ 3he metre is structured to .L then / each line"
+ Structured rhyme scheme
+ (s said in the title li7ens war to a game" Mery infuential on young soldiers and
,ery patronising for those already enrolled who ha,e listened and now ha,e to
li,e in the reality 'red crashing game of a %ght)"
+ 'who)ll gi,e his country a hand)
+ 'come bac7 with a crutch) - a ,ery small price to pay unli7e thousands of those
who won)t come bac7"
+ $ersoni%es &ngland as a woman '6our country is up to her nec7 in a %ght)
'she)s loo7ing and calling for you")
9ilfred Owen
How typical?
+Language structure form
+His thoughts or feelings about war and contemporary society
+Infuence of time and composition
+Gender and class
Owen)s distance from that war as the war bro7e out allowed him to feel little
sympathy for the soldiers as he was li,ing in *rance teaching &nglish to *rench
children he e,en wrote a proAwar poem howe,er his chatty letters soon turned to
a cry of anguish when he enlisted on the .;
th
of may ./.;" Fust .0 days after
!oining the men on the front line" 9hen suNering shellAshoc7 he is transferred to
Craigloc7hart were he meets Sassoon and it is here that his poetry transforms"
Language#
+ =ealism imagery 2blunt grotes?ue disturbing4
*orm#
+ *ree ,erse - less harmony
'Bolce et Becorum &st) ./.1
+ 'li7e old beggars under sac7s)
+ 'froth corrupted lungs)
+ Longer ,erses and line emphasi<e the dragging of the war and belittles the
home fronts phrase Git)ll be o,er by ChristmasH
+ 'li7e a man found)ring in %re or lime E) the use of ellipses hints at the mental
and physical state of the soldiers all the time not !ust in that state of panic"
+ 'incurable sores of innocent tongues) - aNect war has had on the innocent"
'&+posure) ./.1
+ 'sudden successi,e %ghts of bullets strea7 the silence)
+ Imagery - disembodied
+ =epetition 'but nothing happens) constant waiting of attac7"
+ 3he use of the S)s and the 'but nothing happens) all contribute to the
ghostliness of war the iciness and the un7nowing"
'3he SendAoN) ./.1
+ 'li7e wrongs hushed up) - political they)re %ghting for their country but once
returned they are so troubled they)re smuggled oN"
+ 3he fowers the women threw at them when they left is ironic as they won)t
ha,e any on their coDn 'a few a few too few for bells)
'Spring ONensi,e) ./.1
+ 3itle O o+ymoron the poem is set in spring nature still goes on but they are
still under attac7 and are still oNensi,e"
+ *ree ,erse long and unstructured ,erses and lines refect the time it was
written as it was published towards the end of the war it was tiresome and
dragging"
+ *orm mirrors content"
+ 'instantly the whole s7y burned with fury against them) - en!ambment"
+ 'hot blast and fury of hell)s upsurge)
+ Surprise of attac7 at %rst nature cool calming colours 'green) 'may bree<e)
'swirled) then 'burned) 'blood) 'chasmed) 'hot blast) then 'cool peaceful)"
=upert 8roo7e
How typical?
+Language structure form
+His thoughts or feelings about war and contemporary society
+Infuence of time and composition
+Gender and class
8roo7e)s poetry glori%ed &ngland and the idea of %ghting and dying for &ngland"
8ut he himself was ,ery resentful that he should enlist he was reco,ering from a
ner,ous brea7down he was also in a ,ery high position in society and he
sociali<ed wit the $rime :inisters daughter" His patriotic poetry soon changed
once he enlisted in the army"
Language#
+ Lyrical personi%es &ngland as a woman"
*orm#
+ Sonnet
+ Structured rhyme scheme"
+ Later in 'Soon to Bie) - *ree ,erse reali<es fate accepts death"
./.5 Sonnets
'$eace)
+ 'God be than7ed who has matched us)
'3he =ich Bead)
+ 'dying has made us rarer gifts than gold)
+ 'immortality)
+ 'Honour has come bac7 as a 7ing to earth)
'3he Soldier)
+ Iambic pentameter li7e a heartbeat of &ngland)s running through the poem"
+ 'If I should die thin7 only this of me 3here is some corner in a foreign %eld 3hat
is fore,er &ngland")
+ 'richer earth a richer dust concealed)
+ 'her ways to roam a body of &nglandPs)
+ '( pulse in the eternal mind)
+ 'dreams happy as her day)Q
'Soon to Bie)
+ 'cloudy moonless s7y)
+ 'Ro one could see me)
+ 'strange ghosts - soon to die)
+ 'this on or that one) - dehumani<ed"
:odern 9riters
o Stuart Hall
o Susan Hill - 'Strange :eeting)
o Fennifer Fohnston
o Sebastian *aul7s - '8irdsong)
o $at 8ar7er - '=egeneration)
o Sate (tt7inson - 'How many miles to 8abylon)
3he *irst 9orld 9ar was not a war to end all wars but the beginning of
international imperial and mechani<ed confict"
*aul7)s Stephen Wraysford e+periences the battle of the Somme to full e+tent"
Ghostly wailings from in!ured dying soldiers crawling out of shell holes once
night has fallen and being labeled Gmad Fac7H"
Sate (tt7inson)s Frank Cook gets stuc7 in one of the shell holes and sees a ,ision
of his dead pal (rthur"
Susan Hill)s David Barton remains one of the GmissingH those who sur,i,e feel
guilty and luc7y" Jim Hilton was shot through the shoulder shipped home but then
shell shoc7 sets in sa,agery and ci,ili<ation become impairable" In his case he is
GrestoredH as he meets a pretty M(B nurse and gets married on (rmistice Bay"
Her no,el 'Strange :eeting) as the title suggests was hea,ily infuenced by
9ilfred Owen)s poem"
$at 8ar7er contributes to GfactionH and mirroring the gap between the trenches
and the home front as a lot of her no,el is based on secondary data" She focuses
on masculinity class nightmares and ci,ili<ation" $at 8ar7er does what a lot of
postA99. no,elists do which is to write the unspea7able"
(typical no,els con!oin se+ and death" In *ollet)s no,el Feliks and Stephen
Wraysford both go for women who are the GpropertyH of their social superiors " It
condones rape as it enhances the psyche of the temporarily brutali<ed male 'he
had to do it" He was li7e a bent spring)
Other no,els li7e 'Strange meeting) and 'Fourney)s &nd) loo7 at the lo,e between
two men Stanhope and =aleigh and (lec 2upper4 and Ferry 2wor7ing4 in 'How
many miles to 8abylon) shows the public school training and the importance of
masculinity" $ublic School Biscipline also comes under confict in 'S:) and 'F&) as
the lo,e between two Soldiers" 3he e+ploration of masculinity becomes further
e+plored when personal friendship and public school discipline come under
confict"
Rivers in =egeneration has a stammer and is seen by the soldiers as a 'male
mother) he has been trained to see repression as masculine" 6et he has to deal
with the reality of him treating those soldiers this call for a renegotiation of
masculinity"