Stanhope's Point Of View Of Death Is An Escape By Sherriff

One way in which Sherriff presents death is an escape. This is interesting, as it links immediately to just how deep the suffering of the soldiers on the front line must have been. They were simply waiting for death, waiting for death to go over the top. The characters cope in different ways: Hardy through comedy, Stanhope through drinking, Raleigh through his ignorance, but they all seem to have at least a subconscious awareness of the almost inevitable nature of the situation they are in: that they are going to die. The references to quiet in the previous act highlight the waiting; the direct reference Stanhope makes to death being an escape gives an insight into just how much of an impact the waiting is having on him. He says to Hibbert