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Comment 38 of 38, added on November 17th, 2009 at 5:35 PM.
Also Michael Jackson, if you're going to insult someone elses input (boy with an ego) at least get your facts straight. There were U-boats, they were a major force in World War One.
Emily from United Kingdom
Comment 37 of 38, added on November 17th, 2009 at 5:16 PM.
Of course the poems satirical, you just need to look at Sassoon's other works to realise this. Sassoon started out as patriotic but like many of the other soldiers became disillusioned as the war drew on. He constantly wrote about how those at home would never know or understand what those at the front went through.
Emily from United Kingdom
Comment 36 of 38, added on September 28th, 2009 at 4:57 AM.
a boy with an ego is a retard this is world war 1 not 2, there was no such thing as a u-boat. also who cares if the americans did or did not save us its a pointless subject
micheal jackson from United Kingdom
Comment 35 of 38, added on June 21st, 2009 at 8:11 AM.
Hi all, thank you for keeping his name alive. As far as poems go, I think the most chilling is "I stood with the dead". I lived in his house with all his stuff around, his uniforms covered in mud and blood, guns etc. Look me up if you can. Google Kendall Sassoon, also on facebook Kendall and Stus radio show. Going to Sothebys on Thursday for the sale of his papers to Cambridge University (Bond Street) 11.00 am.
Be there or be square! Thanx Love from Kendall
Kendall Sassoon from United Kingdom
Comment 34 of 38, added on June 7th, 2009 at 4:33 PM.
well this is obviously a very much debated poem... but not actually about the poem!
the poem follows an ABBCA rhyme scheme. and is very much a satyrical poem and contains patronising undertones throughout, especially with lines such as "for people will always be kind" and "there's such splendid work for the blind".
the repetition of "does it matter?" lets the reader decide for themselves if it does really matter; which of course it does. the use of the word "hunting" is a war reminder, that would be hard for the soldier to deal with, as well as portraying the "others" who remain anonymous as greedy and selfish: "gobble" is animialistic.
"those dreams from the pit" suggest shell shock. and the reader can clearly see the forced gaiety in the line "you can drink and forget and be glad"- in other words meaning you can drown your sorrows.
"for theyy'll know you've fought for your country" is totally mocking the propa ganda at the time, and "no one will worry a bit" ambigious because no one really cares about the war itself, or what this person has done for it.
the jolly refrain has an upbeat tone adds to the irony of the poem, and you can almost hear a received pronunciation in the poem, making it typically british for the early 20th century.
Sassoon's poem is totally anti war and is full of anger and bitterness.
hope you enjoy analysising the poem as much as i did(not)... back to a-level revising i go... such a fun task :/
becky from United Kingdom
Comment 33 of 38, added on June 7th, 2009 at 10:40 AM.
Damn, some of these people are even more stupid then i thought. After reading most of the comments on these 3 pages i was quite surprised. firstly about US saving UK, i must differ. this is not true, the US only intervined in the last few months of the war. this was due to the u boat attack upon a cruise liner containing both british and american citizens. The war was won by the allies due to the mishaps of the axis, the germans broke through the allied front in th elast 2 months of the war and were advancing towards paris, and then it seemed as though thye would win. but due to the soldiers focusing of raping women and destroying land, they stalled themselves 2 months in time for reinforcements to come and wipe them out, not bcoz of americans.
About the dispute of the poem is a satire or patriotism, it is definatley a satire. again as some others may have mentioned, you need to be british to understand most of the sarcasm. sassoon was against war, and if you check him up on wikipedia or read his poems,they all are anti war, just like the poems of his friends wilfred owen etc.
And theodore, be a bit more respectful and learn what sassooon is trying to say in the poem. he is trying to say the EXACT OPPOSITE of what ou are sayin. he is telling us to keep in mind what the soldiers have done for us not call them cowardly old men. if you just fought for your nation, im sure you wouldnt be happy if someone came to you and said your an old coward, ofcourse not and ana, the sarcasm in this poem is so evident that you cannot miss it. take this line for example 'There’s such splendid work for the blind' do you think that some poeple are dumb enough to take it in a literal sense, well only if their IQ is lower than 50, which is common with most americans, so unless you are one yourself, you cannot classify british humor as advanced.
Id like to end by quoting a statement by a great man, benjamin franklin (ONE american with some sense)"There never was a good war or a bad peace."
A boy with an ego from United Kingdom
Comment 32 of 38, added on May 13th, 2009 at 12:58 PM.
you shouldn't be proud of war.
of course britain is greatful for your help at the very END of the war but still , think of all those who died, you shouldn't be proud of 'stuffing' anyone because at the end of the day war is brutal wether you won or lost.plus how the americans behaved in the vietnam war was utterly disgusting and that was alot more recent than ww2
also those americans who thought 'he's talking about how these men dont care if they lose a leg or go blind as long as they know they helpd defeand our country' that is just what sassoon is trying to illustrate is so very wrong!
try reading dulce.. by owen and you will see they both showed great oppostion to people like pope who saw war as patriotic and honourable.
sasoon is trying to say its not like that at all and unfortunately i think you are in a bit of a bubble if you think they would be treated the same as disabled persons. try reading disabled by owen. people just wouldn't treat you the same even though we would like to think they do. ass it says in disabled you just receive 'pitty'.
i also agree that americans dont get british humour but then again aussies and brits dont find alot of the american stuff funny either. the brits are v clever with their commedy and dry humoured - takes some getting used to but is prob funnier than american commedy cos they dont need to use canned laughter to let people know when to laugh. however i must say i love friends!
anyway before people comment i think they should show respect to great writers such as sassoon and get it right!!
sassoon would hate to think people acts took his poem litterally so do your research before you make a comment. even looking at the date it was written would have given a HUGE hint and also you should know sasoon was on the front ( therefore i dont exactly think he thought war was good)
also brits , americans arnt stupid they just dont get your more advanced humour but i agree with the person who said there are black sheep.
ana from Australia
Comment 31 of 38, added on February 4th, 2009 at 7:42 AM.
This Poem, in my opinion, is very well written. Sasson emphasises the pitiful state of soldiers who lost something precious in the war using a heavy use of irony and sarcasm. Calling it merely "Dripping with Sarcasm" is an understatement. Although I am merely 14, I can easily sympathise with those who gained disabilities and lost their minds during the war. I am glad I got this Poem to write an essay on.
Now, on to the people commenting. There are 2 types of people I have seen too much of and am getting quite tired of them. I am talking about the "all Americans are stupid" Brits and "we saved your hides during the war, so you owe us" Americans.
First, for the Brits. Because of a few Americans reading this Poem literally, doesn't mean all Americans lack a sarcasm-reading ability (Note that I did NOT say stupid here). No country needs a stereotype on their head because of a few black sheep.
Next, the "we saved your hides, so you owe us. Stop complaining" Americans. Did you save them? Did YOU? Were you one of the few having to risk your lives on the battlefield? Did you feel little pieces of death zipping past you at extreme speeds? Did you have to charge into a fortified fortress WITHOUT AIR SUPPORT? Did you have to trudge through swamps and deserts while hoarding more than 20kg of Equipment?
If you did and survived, congrats to you, old man. I am sure that you were a brave warrior pretending to be dead while your fellow comrades died around you. Or perhaps reinforcements came in the nick of time? Or perhaps you were assigned Sniper duty? As a war Quote from Bertrand Russell nicely puts across, "War does not determine who is right - only who is left." If you survived the war, good for you, you were one of the lucky ones. The greatest marksman in the squad may fall and the slacking coward may survie, purely because of the fact that the enemy went for the better man instead.
Where am I leading to with all this? Well, then answer me this - WERE YOU EVEN IN THE WAR? If yes, look above. If not (Which is hugely likely), what right do you have to say "we haved your hides during the war"? Your ancestors were the ones who did all the work, and the ones who claim credit are people like you. I may be 14, I may know nothing about how it feels like to be in a war, but at least I don't go around pretending I saved people by whom were saved by my great-grandfather. Fortunately, there are better Americans out there.
Anyway, back to the Poem. I have to rush my essay now, so I will just finish this off. I feel pity for those who lost their limbs, their eyesight, their hearing, their MINDS during the War. Then, instead of being understood, instead of being specially cared for or awarded well for their bravery, they were looked down upon. YOU GET LOOKED DOWN UPON BY PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES YOU SAVED. Do the leaders who mindlessly waged the war suffer any risk of dying? Yes - After millions have died trying to save them. Those who have yet to reach the age of 20 may be sent to war and die an early, undeserved death. Look at what our 20 year olds in our society are doing right now. Look at what good lives they lead, instead of having to risk their lives on the battlefield. Yet there are people who waste away their lives by doing stupid things like smoking weed...
I shall end this with another quote which pretty much sums up wars. “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” - Herbert Hoover
Theodore from Singapore
Comment 30 of 38, added on December 3rd, 2008 at 2:24 PM.
as is rachel, im studing poetry from the great war at a level currently also. and i would just like to further what has already been said. bu firstly I would like to kick that chris bloke up the arse, many of the soldiers in WW1 would rather have been killed than have to continue with the conditions they lived in, in the trenches, and then ontop of that be haunted by memories and live greviously wounded for the rest of their lives.
can you even imagine what it would be like to lose your limbs?
i think that the 'dying for your country' stuff is bollocks really. yes, it takes balls to sign up, maybe now-a-days, but back then, the war was an escape from the boringness and dullness of a working life! you have to understand the context of the time.
as sassoon himself rightfully said in 'finished with the war - a solidiers declaration', the war which began "as a war of defence and liberation, has now become a war of agression and conquest".
it is very famously known that the leaders and authorities ofthe time truly believed the war to be finished by christmas!
if anyone is going to make any serious comments about such controversial poetry, then they should atleast read wilfred owen's 'disabled' (as has already been suggested) or maybe atleast have ONE speck of knowledge of what theyre talking about... but perhaps 'disabled' gives an easier to understand insight into what happens to the people that dont die. the people that survive, but get left behind because of what they now suffer from, because of the war.
Hannah-Meg
Hannah-Meg from United Kingdom
Comment 29 of 38, added on April 14th, 2008 at 6:23 AM.
Sorry, i meant he threw away the ribbon of the medal, but the medal itself was recently found
MW from United Kingdom
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Also Michael Jackson, if you're going to insult someone elses input (boy with an ego) at least get your facts straight. There were U-boats, they were a major force in World War One.
Emily from United Kingdom