Sassoon was born in 1886 and fought in the trenches as an officer in world war one. Even though he was injured a number of times he insisted on going back to the battlefield. In 1917 he was awarded the military cross for bravery but at that stage he condemned england’s involvement in the war. He publically called on england to pull out of the war and, as a result, was almost tried for treason. Given his involvement in the war, it is not surprising that he deals with war in his poetry.

The poems that i have studied are ‘base details’, ‘the general’ and ‘the hero’. All poems are passionately anti war but each poem deals with slightly different aspects of war. He presents a deeply unflattering picture of the majors with their puffy petulant face s guzzling and gulping in the best hotel.

This picture is contrasted with ordinary soldiers or glum heroes who are herded up the line to death. Sassoon expresses his disdain for a war where the youth are sacrificed for the greedy elite who fail to take their deaths seriously. The final line of the poem refers cuttingly to the general, but he did for them both with his plan of attack.

It is a very poignant poem that recounts how an officer tells a mother that her son has died in the war. The poem conveys the pain of the mother, …something broke/in the tired voice that quavered to a choke. It also shows how difficult it was for the soldier who was obviously terrified during the war. Sassoon was a brilliant poet and his poetry made me reflect on the horrors of war.

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I found the work of sassoon most impressive because of its passion and great use of language. The poet employs a pun on the word base as it refers to the base camp of the soldiers as well as base in a low moral sense. The first line of the poem portrays them as fierce, and bald, and short of breath. The poet again uses a clever pun on the word scarlet to reinforce their unhealthy and indulgent lifestyles.

He is extremely flippant when he refers to a battle that claimed the lives of glum heroes as a scrap. The major doesn’t need to care because he will …toddle safely home and die – in bed. Sassoon uses irony and dark humour to great effect in this poem and i was seriously impressed by it. Once again the poet displays great economy of language and you are left with a haunting image of both the soldiers and the general. The general can afford to be a cheery old card because he is not going to the line.