Comparison of Owen and Sassoon

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Comparison of four poems exploring how they reveal the conditions of and the poets’ attitudes towards the First World War

During the First World War there have been many interpretations of the “Great War” as it was called.  At the start of the war Britain was fighting a losing battle so a conscription was introduced calling all men between the ages of 18 to 41 to take up military service.  Young soldiers were enthusiastic to join up and be sent off to the front line to fight for their king and country, feeling patriotic, glorious, and full of courage, life and adventure.  Their families and friends so proud, but the harsh reality of war was waiting for them hiding behind the government’s propaganda posters

Sassoon came from a rich, banker family.  After fighting, Sassoon became disillusioned by the war and wrote a statement to his commanding officer refusing any more service.  Instead of being shot (a fate for those who refused service) the officer thought Sassoon was insane, so he was sent to Craig Lockhart hospital to be treated for shell shock.

Wilfred Owen was born in Shrewsbury, was the son of a railway worker and also enlisted himself to fight in the war.  Owen also realized how cruel and brutal the war was and wanted to show the public the truth about it but didn’t know how until he read a book of poems about the war by Sassoon.  When Owen discovered he was at the same hospital as the poet, he was determined to meet him.  The two poets became friends and wrote powerful poetry together about the harsh reality of war.  Simultaneously their message was to those who were not in the conflict that there should not be shielded from the awful truth of suffering and slaughter.

Although the message they wished to convey to their readers was the same, their approach and style of writing poetry are completely different.  To demonstrate their difference we shall look at the poems: Dulce et Decorum est and Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen then Suicide in the Trenches and Does It Matter by Siegfried Sassoon.  These poems give us a clear sense of the suffering experienced by troops who fought in the First World War.

Dulce et Decorum est is a poem about trench warfare and the terrible consequences of a gas attack “the blood/Come garling from the froth-corrupted lungs”.  The language in this poem is direct and shocking.  The figurative language combined with Owen’s technique of sound creates a portrait of extremely graphic imagery, the compelling metaphors reinforces his point that war is terrible and devastating.  From the language used this poem is too descriptive to be from a 3rd person perspective, it is Owen’s firsthand experience bringing the truth and realism of war to its reader.

Although of a totally different approach but just as effective Sassoon’s poem “Suicide in the Trenches” is written in a deliberately straight forward style as this poet did not want the language to obscure his message.  The poem tells the story of just one young soldier’s mental deterioration and ultimate suicide and again just as Owen is written in the first person.

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Likewise both poems are narrative and use rhyming patterns in their poems.  Sassoon uses the simple rhyming couplet rhythms of AABB whereas Owen uses the alternating rhymes of ABAB CDCD EFEF.  They are both ironic compared to the chaos and despair of both poems.

Both poets begin their first stanza with imagery quite differently, Sassoon uses alliteration beginning with “I knew a simple soldier boy” in “Suicide in the Trenches” creating a strong bright rhythm to make it sound almost like a nursery rhyme leading the reader into a false sense of security, Sassoon paints a picture of a ...

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