siegfried sassoon speech
“Why do you lie with your legs ungainly huddled, and one arm bent across your sullen, cold, exhausted face?” These are the true horrors of war soldiers experienced physically, mentally and emotionally during World War One. But what is war? War is a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or groups within a nation or state. The poet Siegfried Sassoon reveals the true horrors of war suffered by soldiers during World War One through the poems “Does It Matter?” and “The Dug-Out”, displaying the loss and youth of innocence, brutality and constant presence of death in which soldiers experienced; the reality of the true horrors of war.
Siegfried Sassoon was a British soldier during the years of 1914-1918, who experienced the true horrors of World War One. Before war, Sassoon published small volumes of poetry but due to his horrifying experiences of war like the death of his brother Hamo who was killed in November 1915 at Gallipoli, and Sassoon being wounded twice as well as the rest of his experiences of war, lead him to publishing poems of the realities of war. He shows the reality of war through; death, physical, emotional and mental impacts experienced by the young soldiers to create a strong visual image of the horrors of war. Sassoon also displays the propaganda used by the government in order to fool the young men of society. He displays these themes through his poetry to show that war was a lie and not a misunderstanding and the experiences soldiers had to face affected them while society is yet still naïve to the truth and struggles being experienced by who they all think were ‘patriotic heroes’.
The poem “Does It Matter?” is a satire of the public’s misguided notions of war targeting the civilian population’s lack of understanding of the lasting effects of war. These effects include the injuries, loss of legs and blindness faced by soldiers and the use of alcohol to erase the memories of soldiers due to experiences. These are all
Siegfried Sassoon was a British soldier during the years of 1914-1918, who experienced the true horrors of World War One. Before war, Sassoon published small volumes of poetry but due to his horrifying experiences of war like the death of his brother Hamo who was killed in November 1915 at Gallipoli, and Sassoon being wounded twice as well as the rest of his experiences of war, lead him to publishing poems of the realities of war. He shows the reality of war through; death, physical, emotional and mental impacts experienced by the young soldiers to create a strong visual image of the horrors of war. Sassoon also displays the propaganda used by the government in order to fool the young men of society. He displays these themes through his poetry to show that war was a lie and not a misunderstanding and the experiences soldiers had to face affected them while society is yet still naïve to the truth and struggles being experienced by who they all think were ‘patriotic heroes’.
The poem “Does It Matter?” is a satire of the public’s misguided notions of war targeting the civilian population’s lack of understanding of the lasting effects of war. These effects include the injuries, loss of legs and blindness faced by soldiers and the use of alcohol to erase the memories of soldiers due to experiences. These are all