Suicide in the Trenches ( Siegfried Sasoon)
I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.
In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.
The Soldier (R. Brooke)
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
BRITISH POETS
This work is about predominantly to the British poets of the Western Front is somewhat more difficult. The poetry of Owen, Sassoon, Rosenberg, Thomas, and their compatriots, is clearly good literature despite Yeats' misguided claims to the contrary. Yet these seminars could be seen as perpetuating the canonical stance that has often been the bane of English literature. By concentrating on these poets it is not being suggested that they are the best writers of their period or that poets and poems omitted are in any way inferior. This simply reflects the material and expertise to hand. More importantly, these seminars should be viewed as introductory guides, not replacements for books but keys to the reading of other books (an idea first forwarded by Mike Best with his pioneering software 'Shakespeare's Life and Times Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
FEELINGS IN THE TRENCHES
If literature should not only indicate how mankind thinks, but also how mankind feels, then the poems of the First World War succeed on both counts. How much they represent the attitudes of the average British soldier who, although facing the same horrors, may clearly have had a different perspective of the conflict to that presented by some of the poets, is a question that many historians have raised, and one which is alluded to here.
In the poems of Sassoon, Owen, Rosenberg, and others, we see the voice of the individual: at times cynical, at times sympathetic. Yet running through all the poems (Brooke being the exception) is a feeling of futility and outrage at the suffering caused by the War or the War itself. The question that needs to be asked is how representative are the emotions expressed by Owen and Sassoon of those felt by the majority of the soldiers fighting on the Western Front? Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Analysis of "Suicide in the trenches"
This poem talks about a soldier's suicide in the trenches.
The poet narrates the life of a soldier boy in the trenches and how the slow passing of the days of War can exasperate a good-humoured boy.
In the first stanza, the author describes a simple soldier boy, jovial and happy in spite of his circumstances ( line 2) " who grinned at life in empty joy".
In the second stanza, the life in the trenches makes an impression on him, because of their subhuman situation ( lines 5 & 6) " in winter trenches, cowed and glum, with crumps and lice and lack of rum"
Finally, under those circumstances, the soldier finishes with his life (line 7) " he put a bullet through his brain"
The third stanza, in my opinion, is describing how boys seem to be more mature than even ancients. (lines 10 , 11 & 12) " who cheer when soldier lads march by, sneak home and pray you'll never know the hell where youth and laughter go". This last line makes a comparison between The War and The Hell, where boys lose their youth, their innocence and their happiness.
This poem shows melancholy and above all sadness. Also it expresses even coldness ( line 8) " no one speak of him again". The author uses some resources to evoke feelings in the reader, as for example, he uses the image of winter trenches to recreate a hard situation that makes you lose faith and will.
This poem is composed by three stanzas, each stanza has four lines and its rhyme scheme is very easy ( aabb) (ccdd) (eeff). Its vocabulary is very accessible too.
Analysis of "The Soldier"
This poem shows the patriotism of one soldier.
This poem creates an image of a man who is very brave and would do anything for his country.
In the first stanza the character in the poem describes England, his country, as the best land in the world. This soldier believes that if he should die in a far battle field the soil would be made better because there would now be a piece of England within it ( line 1, 2, 3, & 4) " If I should die, think only this of me: that there's some corner of a foreign field that is for ever England. There shall be in that rich earth a richer dust concealed."
Then the soldier remembers his own memories of old friends and family and he is describing England as a beautiful land ( lines 6, 7 & 8) "Gave once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam; a body of England's breathing English air, washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home"
In the second stanza the speaker is telling the reader what life would be after his death and he says that when he dies do not worry and grieve and only think that he is in a better place and await for his friends. That evokes a feeling of peace and tranquility ( line 14) " in hearts at peace, under English heaven"
This sonnet has 14 lines divided into an octave and a sestet; the octave rhyme scheme is ( ababcdcd), while the sestet follows this scheme (efgefg).
Both stanzas start and finish in the same way: firstly, they invite to the reader to think about him ( line 1 & 9) " think only this of me/ and think" and finish making a reference to home ( parallelism) ( lines 8 & 14) " suns of home/ English heaven".
We find a certain symbolism, as for example: ( line 12 & 13) " her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; and laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness." Obviously we realize that the land does not laugh and is not gentle. This symbolism is used to tell us how wonderful England is and how live is.
Comparison between those poems
Those two poems belong to The First World War period and both are written by two soldiers. They narrate in their poems their experiences, their day- by- day, their fears and their wishes.
I have chosen those poems, because they are very different between them; one of them, The Soldier by Rupert Brooke, reflects the soldier's patriotism, the honour of dying in a battle for his country, the honour of being English, the praising of England as the most beautiful land in the world, and above all his lack of fear. This poem transmits tranquillity and peace, with its images used in it. So two feelings stand out in this poem pride, peace and above all, death as a heroe.
On the other hand, the poem of Suicide in the Trenches by Siegfried Sasson, is completely different. It reflects negative feelings, maybe more realistic feelings given in a war. It shows us, the despair, the coldness, the lack of faith, in just one word, death as a simple man.
Personal Response
Those poems are very interesting because, they reflect the soldier’s feelings in difficult circumstances. Each one has its point of view, different between them, but anyway, telling in poems the life in the trenches that help us understand better, the cruelty of a war.
Sources
Poem “Suicide in the trenches”: Siegfried Sassoon. Suicide in the Trenches http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/projects/ jtap/tutorials/intro/sassoon/suicide.html . 8 May 2006
Poem “ The Soldier”: Rupert Brooke (1887-1915) http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/projects/ jtap/tutorials/intro/brooke/.8 May 2006
British Poets and Feelings in the trenches: World War I-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.en.http://wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I 8 May 2006.