How does Sassoon present his views on religion in 'Christ and the Soldier'?
How does Sassoon present his views on religion in "Christ and the Soldier"?
Christ 's appearance in Christ and the Soldier is ambiguous. Throughout the poem we question whether his appearance is real or a hallucination caused by exhaustion, or possibly desperation. Sassoon aims to show to how much the war can affect the mental state of a soldier. This anonymous soldier is desperate for some kind of help or strength.
For Sassoon, as it was for many soldiers during the First World War, religion raised more questions than it answered. Soldiers might pray for their own survival, or for the safety of their loved ones, but Sassoon did not turn to religion, instead, he questioned it. Sassoon 's early attitude towards religion was quite reverent, in his 1915 poem, 'Absolution ', Sassoon talks of a "Golden wind"1, which could be considered a religious reference, much like in 'Christ and the Soldier ' when the image of Christ stands between "Two splintered trees"2 blatant imagery of the two crosses placed either side of Christ when he was crucified. As the years progressed, Sassoon 's poetry became grimmer, and less poetic. Sassoon 's reverence turns into exasperation with religion, after seeing what mankind is capable of. This exasperation is evident in ‘How to die’, “But they’ve been taught the way to do it, like Christian soldiers; not with haste”3 as he mocks the way that the soldiers were taught to be ‘Christian’ and walk in lines towards the enemy.
‘Christ and the Soldier’ opens with the image of "A straggled soldier"4 halting and then "clumsily dumped down on his knees"5. The alliteration of the ‘s’ creates a harsh sound which emphasizes the strain that this soldier is under physically, whereas the assonance of the ‘u’ emphasizes this slow clunky movements, highlighting his exhaustion. This conveys the image of a soldier, not as a glorious hero; but ragged and exhausted. Sassoon shows a clear contrast in status between
Christ 's appearance in Christ and the Soldier is ambiguous. Throughout the poem we question whether his appearance is real or a hallucination caused by exhaustion, or possibly desperation. Sassoon aims to show to how much the war can affect the mental state of a soldier. This anonymous soldier is desperate for some kind of help or strength.
For Sassoon, as it was for many soldiers during the First World War, religion raised more questions than it answered. Soldiers might pray for their own survival, or for the safety of their loved ones, but Sassoon did not turn to religion, instead, he questioned it. Sassoon 's early attitude towards religion was quite reverent, in his 1915 poem, 'Absolution ', Sassoon talks of a "Golden wind"1, which could be considered a religious reference, much like in 'Christ and the Soldier ' when the image of Christ stands between "Two splintered trees"2 blatant imagery of the two crosses placed either side of Christ when he was crucified. As the years progressed, Sassoon 's poetry became grimmer, and less poetic. Sassoon 's reverence turns into exasperation with religion, after seeing what mankind is capable of. This exasperation is evident in ‘How to die’, “But they’ve been taught the way to do it, like Christian soldiers; not with haste”3 as he mocks the way that the soldiers were taught to be ‘Christian’ and walk in lines towards the enemy.
‘Christ and the Soldier’ opens with the image of "A straggled soldier"4 halting and then "clumsily dumped down on his knees"5. The alliteration of the ‘s’ creates a harsh sound which emphasizes the strain that this soldier is under physically, whereas the assonance of the ‘u’ emphasizes this slow clunky movements, highlighting his exhaustion. This conveys the image of a soldier, not as a glorious hero; but ragged and exhausted. Sassoon shows a clear contrast in status between
Bibliography: Primary source: Sassoon, Siegfried. War poems (Kent: Faber and Faber, 1983)