Lawrence Binyon For The Fallen

Commentary on Lawrence Binyon’s For the Fallen For as long as mankind continues to feel the need for international conflict and bloodshed, there will be war and hence, literature pertaining to war. Lawrence Binyon’s For the Fallen optimistically theorizes the exalted position of the deceased after succumbing to the horrors of war. Lawrence Binyon’s formulated transition which was further complimented by his precise vocabulary to emotionalize the dramatic situations aids the poem to effectively present a new perception of the lives, not deaths of the soldiers. The theme that is gradually exposed is that of an ironic yet solemn nature. The painful, bloody demise of soldiers is commonly depicted as an unfortunate situation drastically cutting
His 7 quatrains share the same rhyme scheme of “abcb” allowing a smooth and comfortable reading of the poem that is appealing to the ear. His frequent pauses are expressed using punctuation and encourage gradualism to emphasize certain ideas such as the losses experienced in lines 17-20. Personifying England, the nation of these men, emphasizes the grief of the losses presenting a very personal and painful reaction to the death: “flesh of her flesh” “spirit of her spirit”. Nevertheless it regards the losses as a necessary and purposeful sacrifice as it states the reason “cause of the free”. This belief will be contradicted as the saviours become unchained from death while the saved remain mortal. The image of the saviours is further exalted by stating their bravery: “they fell with their faces to their foe” thus implying that there was no hesitation and despite their unfortunate situation they were slaughtered from their front as they charged towards the enemy, not attempting escape. Their heroism is further glorified as Binyon arouses pity, pity that these fresh, scarcely mature boys who either attempted to remain optimistic, or were unable to understand the horrors of war: “They went with songs to the
This death is foreshadowed to be something of glory and it is revealed that perhaps there is an optimistic view of death: “music in the midst of desolation”. This suspense is justified in the fourth quatrain where it introduces the eternal existence of the memory of the fallen. Binyon not only transfigures the position of the fallen but also demotes and analyses the lives of the rest of humanity pessimistically. Many of the compliments paid to the deceased condemn the living: “Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn” implying that these will become the living’s faults to give hope on the potential of the lives of the fallen. The dead are compared to stars for two interpretations: firstly that stars are eternal: “that shall be bright when we are dust” and that stars represent hope: “starry in the time of our darkness”. This hope that was received in times of need is encouraged to be reciprocated through