Attack

• Siegfried Sassoon
• In the first stanza I think that the speaker is just telling us about the terrain of the area and explaining how everything looks to him. In the second stanza he is explaining to us what was actually happening in the battle i.e. what the men were doing, what type of weapons they were using, and how they were attacked.
• Personification: “Tanks creep” I think this is effective because creeping is something that cannot actually be done by a tank. Also by using the word “creep” I think it gave the reader a sense of horror, which was probably intended especially when talking about the Great War. Metaphor: “Flounders in mud.” I don’t think that Sassoon actually meant that there were flounders in the mud but I think this is a metaphor for the injured soldiers on the ground. This creates a strong image in my mind because when I think of flounders or fish in general I think of the aggressive flopping motion that it makes. This is possibly what the soldiers were doing because they were injured and possibly experiencing some pain.

 

Counter-Attack

• Siegfried Sassoon
• In this poem he is describing to the reader how it is to be attacked by the opposition in battle. He does this through a very detailed description of the men in the trenches and dialogue.
• Dialogue: I think the power of dialogue can be greatly underestimated at times. To me, dialogue has the strongest effect on me out of anything else in these poems. It gives you a deeper aspect of the poem while at the same time adding character to it. Content of Dialogue: within this dialogue I noticed one thing that stuck out like a sore thumb. In all three of these poems he uses the words “Jesus”, “Christ”, and “God”. This, in a way, puts into perspective how tough it was on the battle field that he constantly has to call on his faith to help him in the situations that he is in.

 

The Rear-Guard

• Siegfried Sassoon
• In this poem he is telling the audience about an experience that he had in some type of dark tunnel.
• Personification: “Dawn’s ghost.” This example of personification was really strong to me. The first time I read this I thought that it was actually a person named Dawn. When reading it over for a second time I realized it was talking about light. I also inferred since he was talking about the dark tunnel the whole time and plus he goes on to say “He climbed through darkness.” Hyperbole: “Unloading hell.” This doesn’t actually mean that he was in hell. I feel that this is the only way to allow the reader to possibly know how much fear, horror, and even death is in the tunnel.