I thought that the presentation on Siegfried Sassoon was well done. I thought that it was interesting how at first in his work Sassoon, was at first, patriotic and swept up in the commotion that, glorified war. However, after his friend Wilfred Owen and his brother did, he became a proponent against war. Similar to the work of Wilfred Owen, Sassoon used imagery as a key element of his unique style, of poetic story-telling. I thought it was interesting how he used an ABAB rhyme scheme rather than iambic pentameter, like some of Owen's work did. I thought that Sassoon’s use of paradoxes was clever at the end of Rear-Guard, by saying "Unloading hell behind him, step by step." This was a paradox due to the fact; the bunker and the battlefield in the poem were both used as symbolic allegories for hell. I also thought that Sassoon’s use of oxymoron’s in phrases like "Rosy, gloom," was a clever way to phrase the scenes of the shells in the sky. Overall, I found the presentation entertaining and very informative.
I thought presentation about Rupert Brooke was interesting in the fact, which Brooke's wrote about war having never experienced combat. The poem "The Soldier" seemed to contrast with the idea that contemporaries like Owen and Sassoon were trying to avoid, the glorification of war. "The Soldier" focused on the sort of nationalistic and patriotic rhetoric that was the reality that many soldier fought of when first off to battle. However unlike the works of Sassoon or Owen; Brooke's piece seemed to lack the sort of grime-realism that "Dulce et Decorum Est" or "The Rear-Guard," contained. While Brooke's work focused on patriotism it still used some of the same literary devices Sassoon and Owen employed in their works. An example would be the poem was done in the format of a sonnet, with the octane presenting a problem, "If I should die." In the end of the sonnet Brooke uses the sestet to set a resolution, of the idea of the Transparent Eye; similar to some later romantic idealists. Another theme Brooke's implored throughout his work was the idea of an extended metaphor, which was expanded upon throughout the poem. Brooke's also used to the idea of pastoral imagery to add even more emphasis on the idea of patriotism, throughout the poem. Finally Brooke's used gothic imagery to contrast the pastoral imagery to add a sestet, "Rich earth a richer dust concealed." He does this to add a further sense of resolve at the end of the work. I thought the presentation was good because we got to see an average citizen saw the war from the home front.
I thought the presentation on "Glory of Women," was an entertaining and analytical look, at women view the trials of war, by seeing only what the media wanted them to see. Sassoon used the technique of the petrarcan sonnet to talk about the specific theme and it was interesting in the ninth line how, the topic changed. The poem itlself follows techniques displayed by the other poets such as, alliteration, metaphor and imagery to create meaning in the poem. Sassoon shows hos women didn't know about the travesties of war by saying, "Trampling the terrible corpses-blind with blood." Sassoon also uses the technique of imagery to express the horrors of the war by saying; "When hell's last horror breaks hime, they run." Sassoon does this to show how the men would often desert the army, after having seen the carnage. Sassoon further adds a sense of sarcasm and satyr by saying, "You worship our decorations," this quote furthers the message of the poem; women have no clue, what's really going on in the war.
The poem "Break of Day in the Trenches," by Isaac Rosenberg was an tale of a soldier's struggle to survive, to get back home. Rosenberg attepts to add a sense of hope to the poem by saying, "The darkness crumbles away." He says becasue it gives the reader the sense that the soldier will survive. A key element of the poem is the personification of the rat, which Rosenberg uses as a type of rhetorical question to the government. He asks the rat, "Why must he survive while, the average soldier must be forced to lay down his life on the front?" Rosenberg uses the style of free-verse to clearily express his thought without following any, unique poetry style. This add a certain sense of realism to the poem. Rosenberg uses the technique of alliteration to symbolize the firing of artilley shells. Another key element is the use of the poppies they are to symbolize the death the soldier face and, his families eventual morning. Rosenberg uses the title, "Break of Day," to symbolically represent hope, when the mood of the poem is dark and depressing, and concerns death.
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