AttackSiegfried Sassoon

BackgroundSiegfried Sassoon was born on 8th September 1886 at Weirleigh, near Paddock Wood in Kent. After Marlborough College he went to Clare College, Cambridge, but left without a degree. For the next eight years lived the life of a country gentleman. He spent his time hunting, playing sports and writing poetry. Published privately, Sassoon's poetry made very little impact on the critics or the book buying public.

On the outbreak of the First World War Sassoon enlisted as a cavalry trooper in the Sussex Yeomanry. In May 1915 Sassoon became an officer in the Royal Fusiliers, and was posted to the Western Front in France. Considered to be recklessly brave, he soon obtained the nickname 'Mad Jack'. In June 1916 he was awarded the Military Cross for bringing a wounded man back to the British lines while under heavy fire. While in France he met the poets Robert Graves and Wilfred Owen.

After being wounded in April 1917, Sassoon was sent back to England. Sassoon had grown increasingly angry about the tactics being employed by the British Army and in July 1917 published a Soldier's Declaration, which announced that "I am making this statement as an act of willful defiance of military authority, because I believe that the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it."

Sassoon's hostility to war was also reflected in his poetry. During the war Sassoon developed a harshly satirical style that he used to attack the incompetence and inhumanity of senior military officers. These poems caused great controversy when they were published in The Old Huntsman (1917) and Counter-Attack (1918).

Despite his public attacks on the way the war was being managed, Sassoon, like Wilfred Owen and Robert Graves, agreed to continue to fight. Sassoon was sent to Palestine and France before further injuries forced him to return to England. Over the next thirty years Sassoon wrote three semi-autobiographical works, Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man (1928), Memoirs of an Infantry Officer (1930) and Sherston's Progress (1936). This was followed by three volumes of autobiography, The Old Century (1938), The Weald of Youth (1942) and Siegfried's Journey (1945). Siegfried Sassoon died in 1967.

At dawn the ridge emerges massed and dunIn the wild purple of the glowering sun,Smouldering through spouts of drifting smoke that shroudThe menacing scarred slope: and, one by one,Tanks creep and topple forward to the wire.The barrage roars and lifts. Then, clumsily bowedWith bombs and guns and shovels and battle-gear,Men jostle and climb to meet the bristling fire.Lines of grey, muttering faces, masked with fear,They leave their trenches, going over the top,While time ticks blank and busy on their wrists,And hope, with furtive eyes and grappling fists,Flounders in mud. O Jesus, make it stop!

AttackSiegfried Sassoon

Analysis by CriticsWhile some readers felt that his poetry was too ugly and graphic, and that its

interest lay more in its ability to shock, most critics regard his war poems as a powerful expression of the savagery and physical costs of modern, mechanized combat Though viewed as an antiwar poet, critics insinuate that Sassoon's opposition to the First World War was not necessarily motivated by pacifism, but by his belief that the war was unduly drawn out by those in power. Commentators frequently praise Sassoon's effective use of irony and ability to instill fear and despair in his brief, incisive poems.  However, his early Georgian verse and later attempts at longer, more sympathetic poems are often seen as failures which caused him to overreach the bounds of his talents and become sentimental, particularly works that memorialize fallen comrades and family. Critics appraise Sassoon’s poems for the universality of the World War I experience, which changed his generation.  For his contribution to the literature of the First World War, Sassoon is considered among the most influential wartime poets.

1. Focus on the form of the poem , looking at the structure, punctuation, line lengths and the arrangement of the poem’s stanzas. How do these features add interest and meaning to the poem? Also examine the arrangements of the words, phrases and sentences in the poem.

2. Examine the language used in the poem, looking at the meaning of words and whether they have negative or positive connotations.

3. Look at the techniques, imagery and poetic language that has been used? How do these techniques bring out the main themes and ideas in the poem?

4. How does the poet make use of rhyme, repetition and rhythm? Why does he do this?

5. What are the poet’s main ideas that he brings out in the poem and how does he do this? Explain the feelings that the poet conveys throughout the poem. Describe the poet’s attitude to his subject. Does this change as the poem progresses? Carefully examine the tone throughout the poem and find vocabulary to back up your discussion.

6. How do you react to this poem? Does it bring any particular thoughts to mind? Which poems would you compare this one with?

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Form + structure13 lines, 1 stanzaLoose structure represents mankind losing direction + righteousness in life in times of war Language + techniquesSibilance – “smouldering through spouts of drifting smoke that shroud” – ironic, soft ‘s’ sound in a war poemEnjambment – “massed and dun in the wild purple of the glowering sun.” Caesura “The barrage roars and lifts.” – contrasts with the enjambment that is found throughout the poemWar jargon found throughout poem “guns” “shovels” “battle-gear”“over the top” – extravagance of war“time ticks…on their wrists” – their pulse – their life is ticking away

 ImageryColour imagery – “wild purple” “dun” “grey” “blank – poem starts by presenting brighter colours such as purple and dun, as the poem progresses duller colours are presented such as grey and blank, representing how young men were keen to go to war to represent their country but realise the actual terror of it later.Animal imagery – “flounders in mud.” –helplessnessWar jargon creates images of war  

Analysis

Rhyme, repetition, rhythmNo strict rhyme scheme, but has couplets throughout poem – represents the unpredictability of warRepetition of “and” emphasises the hardworking soldiers and produces an idea of a ridiculous amount of gearInternal rhythm in poem represents the heartbeat of the soldiers fighting in war and the marching feet of the soldiers.

Poet’s main ideas + feelings + attitude + toneAnger towards warFear of inhumanity“furtive eyes” realisation of the terror of war, eyes metaphorically opening. “grappling fists” shows how they could not escape the horrors of warCalm yet emotional tone on serious, agonising subject“make it stop!” – strong emotion, panicRemoves the romantic preconceptions of war Reaction + comparisonProduces ideas of war, pain, loss to mindPoem with lots of meaningCompared to Reservist by Boey Kim Cheng as they are war related and emphasise the regret and the endeavour of the soldiers.Also compared to Cambodia by James Fenton – war related, death and regret

Tanks creep and topple forward to the wire.The barrage roars and lifts. Then, clumsily bowedWith bombs and guns and shovels and battle-gear,Men jostle and climb to meet the bristling fire.

Irony – as tanks are so powerful/imposing

War jargon/ listing

Untrained/nervous?

Extreme, almost ridiculous

want to fight/excited – first experience of war

At dawn the ridge emerges massed and dunIn the wild purple of the glowering sun,Smouldering through spouts of drifting smoke that shroudThe menacing scarred slope: and, one by one,

First impression – first sighting of truth of war

Personification = angry

Remnants of past battles

Lines of grey, muttering faces, masked with fear,They leave their trenches, going over the top,While time ticks blank and busy on their wrists,And hope, with furtive eyes and grappling fists,Flounders in mud. O Jesus, make it stop!

Emphasised –emotion: panicReligious/Christianity –

indicative of time period

Shades of grey – things are not in black+white = it is not easy to make decisons

sneaky

juxtapositionalliteration

Extravagance of war

Fighting/struggling

1. What is the significance of the personification of the Tanks?

2. How did the era in which Sassoon was writing affect his perspective on war?

3. Has warfare changed from Sassoon’s period to modern wars?

4. Which other poems display the same/similar themes?

5. How did critics first react to Sassoon’s un-romanticised version of war poetry?

Questions

RelevanceTo the poet and his society: Major wars at the time the poet lived (1886-1967): (no. in brackets = rough no. of people killed) if there was more than 1 million deaths it has been bolded/underlined1886-1908: Belgium-Congo Free State (8 million) 1898: USA-Spain & Philippines (220,000) 1899-02: British-Boer war (100,000) 1899-03: Colombian civil war (120,000) 1899-02: Philippines vs USA (20,000) 1900-01: Boxer rebels against Russia, Britain, France, Japan, USA against rebels (35,000) 1903: Ottomans vs Macedonian rebels (20,000) 1904: Germany vs Namibia (65,000) 1904-05: Japan vs Russia (150,000) 1910-20: Mexican revolution (250,000) 1911: Chinese Revolution (2.4 million) 1911-12: Italian-Ottoman war (20,000) 1912-13: Balkan wars (150,000) 1915: the Ottoman empire slaughters Armenians (1.2 million) 1915-20: the Ottoman empire slaughters 500,000 Assyrians 1916-23: the Ottoman empire slaughters 350,000 Greek Pontians and 480,000 Anatolian Greeks 1914-18: World War I (20 million) 1916: Kyrgyz revolt against Russia (120,000) 1917-21: Soviet revolution (5 million) 1917-19: Greece vs Turkey (45,000) 1919-21: Poland vs Soviet Union (27,000) 1928-37: Chinese civil war (2 million) 1931: Japanese Manchurian War (1.1 million) 1932-33: Soviet Union vs Ukraine (10 million) 1932-35: "Guerra del Chaco" between Bolivia and Paraguay (117.500) 1934: Mao's Long March (170,000) 1936: Italy's invasion of Ethiopia (200,000) 1936-37: Stalin's purges (13 million) 1936-39: Spanish civil war (600,000) 1937-45: Japanese invasion of China (500,000) 1939-45: World War II (55 million) including holocaust and Chinese revolution 1946-49: Chinese civil war (1.2 million) 1946-49: Greek civil war (50,000)

1946-54: France-Vietnam war (600,000) 1947: Partition of India and Pakistan (1 million) 1947: Taiwan's uprising against the Kuomintang (30,000) 1948-1958: Colombian civil war (250,000) 1948-1973: Arab-Israeli wars (70,000) 1949-: Indian Muslims vs Hindus (20,000) 1949-50: Mainland China vs Tibet (1,200,000) 1950-53: Korean war (3 million) 1952-59: Kenya's Mau Mau insurrection (20,000) 1954-62: French-Algerian war (368,000) 1958-61: Mao's "Great Leap Forward" (38 million) 1960-90: South Africa vs Africa National Congress (?) 1960-96: Guatemala's civil war (200,000) 1961-98: Indonesia vs West Papua/Irian (100,000) 1961-2003: Kurds vs Iraq (180,000) 1962-75: Mozambique Frelimo vs Portugal (?) 1964-73: USA-Vietnam war (3 million) 1965: second India-Pakistan war over Kashmir 1965-66: Indonesian civil war (250,000) 1966-69: Mao's "Cultural Revolution" (11 million) 1966-: Colombia's civil war (31,000) 1967-70: Nigeria-Biafra civil war (800,000)

 

So many wars, so many deaths, and to what end?

To us and our society: Major wars of our society (2000 - ) Afghanistan War (also known as: "Operation Enduring Freedom,") (2001-Present)"Global War on Terror ") (at least 1998-Present)Baluchistan War (2003-Present)Burundi Civil War (1994-Present)Chad Rebellion (2005-Present)Chechen War (also known as: the Second Chechen War) (1999-Present)Colombian Civil War (1964-Present)Cote de Ivorie (Ivory Coast) Civil War (2002-Present)Darfur War (Feb. 2003-Present)The Ethiopia-Somalia War—(2006- Present):Georgia-Russia War (2008)Honduras Coup of June, 2009India-Bangladesh Border Conflict (April 18-April 20, 2001)India's Maoist Insurgency/Naxalite Guerrilla War (May 25, 1967-Present):Iraq War (also known as: "Operation Iraqi Freedom," "Operation Telic", Gulf War II,The Third Persian Gulf War) (2003-Present)Israel-Palestinian War (also known as: al-Aqsa Intifada, 2nd Intifada)Israel-Syrian Conflict (1948-Present) Korean Conflict (1950-Present)Macedonian Albanian Uprising (2001)Mount Elgon insurgency --(2005-2008)Nepal Civil War (1996-Present)Sa'dah al-Houthi Rebellion in Yemen (2004-Present)Solomon Islands Unrest (2006) Sri Lankan Civil War (1983–2009) Thailand Political Unrest (2006 –Present)Thai Muslim Rebellion (2003 – Present)Thai-Myanmar (Burma) Border Conflict (Feb., 2001 and May, 2001)Waziristan War (2003 – Present)

A website with further information on Siegfried Sassoon: http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/sassoon

A YouTube video of a reading of the poem:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv8XMiwjH-4

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