WWI poems and information :: World War 1 I One

Siegfried SassoonBiographyWith fight on the horizon, a young Englishman whose life had heretofore been consumedwith the protocol of fox-hunting, tell goodbye to his idyllic life and rode off on his bicycleto trade union the Army. Siegfried Sassoon was perhaps the most innocent of the contend poets. JohnHildebidle has c on the wholeed Sassoon the "accidental hero." natural into a wealthy Jewish family in1886, Sassoon lived the pastoral life of a young squire fox-hunting, playing cricket,golfing and writing romantic verses. be an innocent, Sassoons reaction to the realities of the contend were all the more bitterand violent -- two his reaction through his poetry and his reaction on the battlefield(where, by and by the death of fellow officer David Thomas and his brother Hamo at Gallipoli,Sassoon take in the nickname "Mad Jack" for his near-suicidal exploits against the Germanlines -- in the early observation of his grief, when he still believed that the Germ ans wereentirely to blame). As said "now he unleashed a talent for irony and satire and contumelythat had been sleeping all during his pastoral youth." Sassoon also showed his innocenceby going public with his (as he grew to see that insensitive political leadership was thegreater enemy than the Germans). Luckily, his comrade and fellow poet Robert Gravesconvinced the review board that Sassoon was suffering from shell- setback and he was sentinstead to the military hospital at where he met and influenced .Sassoon is a key figure in the study of the poetry of the Great contend he brought with him tothe war the idyllic pastoral background he began by writing war poetry reminiscent of hemingled with such war poets as Robert Graves and Edmund Blunden he spoke outpublicly against the war (and yet returned to it) he influenced and mentored the thenunknown he spent xxx years reflecting on the war through his memoirs and at last hefound peace in his religious faith. Some critic s found his subsequent poetry lacking in comparisonto his war poems. Sassoon, identifying with Herbert and Vaughan, recognized and understand this "my development has been entirely consistent and in character" heanswered, " virtually all of them have ignored the fact that I am a religious poet." SurvivorsNo doubt theyll soon get well the shock and strainHave caused their stammering, disconnected talk.Of course theyre longing to go out again, -These boys with old, scared faces, learning to walk.Theyll so forget their haunted nights their cowed subjugation to the ghosts of friends who died, -Their dreams that drip with murder and theyll be proud