WWI Poem Close Reading

“Rear-Guard” by Siegfried Sassoon uses illustrative structure, figurative language, imagery, metaphors, assonance, unheimlich (unhomely), alliteration, irregular rhyme scheme, paradox, repetition, and oxymorons throughout the poem. The irregular rhyme scheme really fits this piece because it mimics the uneasiness of the author who is not used to the brutalities of war. Also it mimics the chaotic nature of war and its unpredictable outcomes. The purposeful repetition especially of the words “step by step” really helped emphasize the struggle of climbing the staircase up to the battlefield, and how every single step the soldier took was a struggle. This piece had some great examples of paradox which is a literary device I am not too familiar with. When Sassoon says, “Unloading hell behind him step by step” (l. 25). is a contradicting statement because Sassoon implies hell it is like hell in the depths of the trenches and the struggle to climb up, but also it is hell at the top because this is where the brutalities of war is taking place. “Dulce et De Corumest Est” by Wilfred Owens is a very gruesome poem which depicts the horrors of World War I. The title itself is ironic for it implies it is honorable to die in war, and the soldiers are glorified, which in reality the soldiers are not marching with their heads held high, instead they are cursing and crawling through sludge, facing horrible hardships daily. The poem progressively gets more vivid with gruesome images that the soldier will never be able to forget, “13 Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,/As under a green sea, I saw him drowning./ In all my dreams before my helpless sight/ He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. (ll. 13-16). This shows the readers that the horrifying sights of war have a huge impact on soldiers and they do not become less sensitive to the brutalities and killings, yet they cannot thinking about the horrifying sights and the men lost. Wilfred Owens suffered from traumatic events during the war and also met Siegfried Sassoon which helped him start creating such hateful poems towards the war and help him use such vivid imagery throughout the poem. “The Soldier” has a much happier tone compared to the other WWI poems we have looked at. Most of the poems are hateful, or focus on the brutalities and hardships of war, while this one recognizes the soldiers who fought in the war and glorifies them. Brooke’s is writing as a soldier directly talking about dying for his country England. He uses personification and the repetition of England to help emphasize the importance his country is to soldiers. The other poems talk about how horrible death is while in this poem Brooke’s says, “If I should die…that is forever England (ll. 1-3). This shows that wherever a soldier dies in battle, a part of England will remain there forever for he has died for his country. Also this poem discusses how dying in battle results in the soldiers’ death forever being glorified and recognized, their soul immortal “under an English heaven” (l. 14). The other poems dwell on death and disaster, while this poem focuses on the greater meaning to death and what the soldier leaves behind while dying for their country. “Munition Wages” introduced me to several new forms of literary devices. One being the ABCB rhyme scheme which is actually very similar to the medieval ballad, and is has a rather upbeat rhythm which fits perfectly with the woman in the poem who is discussing all the wonderful things that are happening to her now that she has money and is having a “jolly worthwhile”. Another new literary device the poem introduced me to was the cockney dialect. This is dialect with a more conversational tone, for throughout the poem the woman asked and answered her own questions, spoke as though she was talking to some man named Elijah, and is more of a slang dialect spoken by the working class, using words such as “yer”, “yus”, “’oof”, “’ere”, etc. Also this poem contains some elements of humor due to its ironic context for the woman is getting all this money and can afford so many new luxuries, “good times and clothes”, jewelry, bracelets, rings, taxis, and theatres, but the reason she is getting more money is because of the immense amount of soldiers dying in battle. “The Wind on the Downs” also uses several different literary devices I am unfamiliar with. The poem is pretty much a letter directed towards her deceased fiancé. This type of writing is called an apostrophe: when the writer directly addresses someone who is deceased or an inanimate object or spirit, something that does not exist, “I like to think of you as brown and tall/As strong and living as you used to be,/In khaki tunic, Sam Brown belt and all (ll. 1-3). She is specifically speaking towards her deceased husband, telling him how she likes to think of him and how she will always remember him. She is in denial at the beginning of the poem and by the end she finally realizes her fiancé is dead and she praises him up in heaven, “While up above the golden wings are spread,/Flying, ever flying overhead” (ll.23-24). The woman is finally accepting her fiancé’s death and realizes he is a beautiful being in a beautiful place and is no longer suffering from the brutalities of war. This poem is also considered an elegy which is mourning the loss of someone or a way of life. In this case the woman is mourning the loss of her dead fiancé. I have came across elegiac writing in the “Seafarer” when the author addresses the hard-working, risk-taking way of life has ceased to exist. There is repetition in this poem as well along with many of the other poems, but in this poem specifically it uses anaphora. Anaphora is the repetition of words in subsequent lines, such as directly blow the line above. “Break of Day in the Trenches” uses free verse, symbolism, personification, imagery and a dark tone throughout the poem. For example the author starts the poem with “Darkness crumbles away” (l. 1). to describe morning and the sun coming up, but chooses to really focus on the glass half empty point of view, the darkness of the scene, rather than the lightness coming up from the sun. The symbols of the poppies and mouse are consistent throughout the piece and the soldier in the poem speaks directly to the mouse at one part which is another example of an apostrophe. He tells the rat that soldiers, him included, have “Strong eyes, fine limbs, haughty athletes,/ Less chanced than you for life (ll. 14-15). This meaning that soldiers who are more than fit for their position have less a chance to live than a weak, mangy rat. The soldier tells the rat his conflicting thoughts of whether or not he would rather live as a grotesque rat or die as a glorified soldier. The poem also uses irony throughout the piece when talking about events that naturally occur such as the sun rising, for it is an archetypal symbol of hope, but in this poem it is a bad sign for the soldiers because it is another day they have to face on the horrifying battle field.