Poem

Suicide In The Trenches By Seigfried Sassoon

Suicide In The Trenches By Siegfried Sassoon | Suicide In The Trenches Analysis

Literature, English Literature, Poem, Poem Analysis
Suicide In The Trenches By Seigfried Sassoon
Suicide In The Trenches By Seigfried Sassoon

Suicide In The Trenches Poem

I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.

In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.

You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.

Introduction

          Suicide in the Trenches is a poem, composed by Siegfried Sassoon, the great war poet during the first world war (1914-1918). Like most of Sassoon’s poetry, Suicide in The Trenches is inspired by the poet’s personal experiences as a soldier. It was first published in 1918, a collection of poems called ‘Counter-Attack and Other Poems’. The poem is an illustration of the futility of war and the folly of the persons who are engaged in war. After being wounded in action, Sassoon wrote a letter of protest to the war department refusing to fight anymore.

“I believe that this War is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it.”

About Siegfried Sassoon

            Siegfried Sassoon is remembered for his angry and compassionate poems about World War I. He was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Sasson’s poetry often criticized and expressed anger towards those whom he believed caused the war. He was the friend of Robert Graves and Wilfred Owen. Siegfried Sassoon also was the mentor of Owen. Among his world-famous war poems included – The Troops, Trench Duty, Break of Day, Before the Battle, I Stood with The Dead, Attack, Counter Attack, The Effect, The Death Bed, The Hero, The Last Meeting, and Banishment.

Form and Structure Of the Poem

            Suicide in The Trenches is written in three quatrains, which means the poem has a total of 12 lines. It is written in iambic tetrameter. The rhyme scheme of each quatrain is – AABB.

Themes Of The Poem

            War is the theme of Suicide in The Trenches. The poet focuses on how the horrors of war impact young soldiers, like the man who chooses to kill himself rather than spend more time in the trenches of World War I. He also focuses on how soldiers are celebrated and quickly forgotten by the public.

About The Title

            The title suggests the suicide of someone in a trench because he seeks solace and is desperate and unhappy with the existing condition of life. The poet stresses the fact that the government should at least improve the conditions of the soldier; the people who are most dedicated to serving society and the nation as a whole.

Suicide In The Trenches Poem Analysis

            Suicide in The Trenches begins with the excitement of a young boy who seeks adventure to overcome his meaningless life. The first stanza is about the innocent guy who became a soldier. He led a happy youthful life. He used to enjoy the dark night with a peaceful sleep and would rise with great happiness whistling along with larks. The peaceful life of an innocent boy represents the peace and happiness of every individual. They are free from the sound of bombs, gunfire, or shells. They enjoy the sweet sound of nature. Their day begins with the sound of birds. Such innocent boys are persuaded to join the army to serve their country.

            In the second stanza, the readers could sense the seriousness of the soldier’s thoughts. The soldier is depressed by the explosions of the shells, lack of rum, and insect bites. He is driven to the extreme and shoots himself in the head. After his demise, no one spoke of him again. Soon he is forgotten by Society.

            In the third stanza, the poet describes the nature of the community and their approach toward the soldiers, The Smug-faced crowds clap and applaud the soldiers with fiery eyes marching through the streets. But the soldiers pass they hurry back home and pray to God he will never go through the war (hell) which could destroy the youth and laughter of the innocents.

            Sassoon wants the readers to understand the fact that how important soldiers are for any country. He also explains the selflessness and the love for the country of a Soldier.

            A Soldier is also a normal individual who could have selected any other occupation instead of fighting for his country but he does so just because he loves his motherland more than himself and his family and is selflessly keeping the people of a nation from any external danger. The government should provide the best living conditions possible for the army. He feels that love and harmony should prevail in all nations. Just because of the hatred of a few people, the innocent families of the soldiers suffer.

            The poet is using literature to portray his hatred for war and like conditions. He is very angry with the fact that soldiers are not given what is minimum required, proper living conditions.

            Sassoon also points out the sharp difference between apparent patriotism and people’s hypocrisy. People sing patriotic songs and express their patriotic feeling, but when it comes to serving the nation they take a step backward.

Conclusion

          Thus, Suicide in the Trenches” is actually criticizing the loneliness, health conditions, patriotism, and also the lack of resources that the soldiers faced while they are in the trenches. The poem actually describes the grief of each and every soldier who fights for the country. Though the soldiers carry a deep feeling of patriotism for their country still they are not provided with optimum facilities during the war by the country.

            Now we can say that Suicide in The Trenches is one of the best patriotic poems written by for which can still the significance of patriotism among the readers.

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Village Song Poem Summary

Village Song By Sarojini Naidu Summary | The Village Song Summary

Indian Literature, Poem, Poem Analysis
Village Song Poem Summary
Village Song Poem Summary

Village Song Poem

Full are my pitchers and far to carry,
Lone is the way and long,
Why, O why was I tempted to tarry
Lured by the boatmen’s song?
Swiftly the shadows of night are falling,
Hear, O hear, is the white crane calling,
Is it the wild owl’s cry?
There are no tender moonbeams to light me,
If in the darkness a serpent should bite me,
Or if an evil spirit should smite me,
Rām re Rām! I shall die.

My brother will murmur “Why doth she linger?”
My mother will wait and weep,
Saying, “O safe may the great gods bring her,
The Jamuna’s waters are deep.” . . .

Introduction

            Village Song By Sarojini Naidu is a beautiful poem that speaks about traditional Indian villages. In the poem, the poet describes the difficulties faced by an Indian village woman. It was first published in Sarojini Naidu’s second collection of poems, The Bird of Time. The speaker of the poem is a small girl living in a village who has gone to fetch water from a river that is far away from her home.

            There are many places in India where people do not have the facility of running water and for that, they have to walk a long distance to collect water from wells, rivers, ponds, or similar water bodies. It is a chore usually done by women at home. Here the poet talks about a situation where a girl has gone to fetch water from the river. The poem deals with the traditional living style of the village and the attachment of the young girl to her family and how fear is created in her mind because of the darker environment.

About Sarojini Naidu

            Sarojini Naidu is known as the Nightingale of India. She was one of the greatest poets, short story writers, freedom fighters, and social activists. She has earned a respectable place in the English language and literature. She received many awards for his work. Sarojini Naidu was born in a Bengali family in Hyderabad. Her mother Varada Sundari Devi Chattopadhyay, was a poetess and used to write poetry in Bengali.

            Sarojini was so good at poetry, that the reason she started getting called The Nightingale of India or Bharat Kokila by Mahatma Gandhi. Her poetry imagery, color, and lyrical quality were so amazing. His famous poem collection included – The Golden Threshold, The Temple, The Birds of Time, Awake, Indian Weavers, and The Feather Of The Down.

Explanation Of the Poem

            The girl explains that the pitchers she is carrying are full of water and she has not reached her home yet. She has to walk a long distance carrying the water-filled pitchers to reach her home. Then she explains the reason for her being late as she was attracted by the song sung by the boatman. The time is almost evening, it is getting dark and the girl is getting scared by the sound of the birds surrounding her. She thought the sound is made by the white crane or it is the wild owl’s cry. The road she has taken is also not clean and plain, it passes through a jungle.

            The time referred to in the poem is twilight and it is getting darker and the moonlight is not present at that moment. The girl says that the tender moonbeam could give her relief from the fear she is facing. The girl takes a path that is not plain and clean, she fears that a snake may bite her or that evil spirits may haunt her. In this deep state of fear, she takes the name of God Rama to save her from misery.

            It is also notable that in many Indian traditions, it is believed that Chanting God Rama’s name keeps evil away from people and there is the possibility that the girl is taking Rama’s name to keep such evil energies away.

            The second stanza shows a shift in the speaker’s thinking process where she is now imagining the reaction of her brother and mother. She gets anxious as she remembers her brother and mother. She imagines that her brother will murmur in concern at her delay. On the other hand, her mother will wait and fear that someone bad had happened to her daughter as the water of Jamuna River is deep.

            Her mind comes back to the fearful thoughts of self. She weeps thinking about what will happen to her if a storm breaks. If the lightning starts where she hides to save herself. Her fear increases as she thinks about these things. She calls her god, again and again, to protect her footstep and guide her to reach her home safely.

Conclusion

            The poem of Sarojini Naidu Village Song depicts the feeling of an Indian girl, who lives in a village. Though the poem was written in the 90s, the condition still exists in many Indian villages. It is about the traditional village way of a girl’s attachment to her family and how the darker surroundings create anxiety in her thoughts.

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A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal By William Wordsworth

Summary, Literature, Poem, Poem Analysis
A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal
A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal By William Wordsworth

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Poem

A slumber did my spirit seal;
I had no human fears:
She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.
No motion has she now, no force;
She neither hears nor sees;
Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course,
With rocks, and stones, and trees.

Introduction

            A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal is one of the five Lucy poems written by the great romantic poet William Wordsworth. It was first published in the volume Lyrical Ballads that Wordsworth co-authored with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. This volume was written in 1798 and published in 1800. This is a poem about Wordsworth’s deep love for his beloved and his reaction to her sudden and untimely death.

            Wordsworth had experienced some harsh realities of life like the French Revolution, the War between France and England, etc., hence this poem holds the spirit of Escapism from city life to the elemental nature which, for the poet, is an ideal place. Through this poem, Wordsworth describes an appreciation of life beyond death.

About William Wordsworth

          William Wordsworth was one of the founders of English Romanticism. He was born in Cockermouth, Cumbria on April 7, 1770. P. B. Shell another great poet of romanticism called him Poet of Nature. Wordsworth along with Coleridge published Lyrical Ballads in 1798 in which he defined poetry as,

“Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling.”

            Imagination, Nature, Subjectivity, and Humanism are the basic theme of Wordsworth’s poetry. During his long poetic career, he wrote a large number of poems among which – Tintern Abbey, The Daffodils, The Solitary Reaper, Lucy Poems, and Lyrical Ballads are well known. Like all great romantic poetry, his poetry is a record of his inner experiences.

Structure Of The Poem

            A Slumber did my Spirit seal is a short two-stanza poem made up of two quatrains, or sets of four lines. The rhyme scheme of this beautiful poem is ABAB CDCD which gives it an even more enchanting touch. The second and fourth line of each stanza contains six syllables, while the first and third contains eight.

The Theme of the Poem

            In the poem, A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal, the poet expresses his views after the death of his beloved. He is deeply grieved and troubled by the death of his beloved. He is deeply grieved and troubled by the depth of his beloved. He has gone numb but in his numbness, he realizes that he needs to move on and accept his fate. He realizes that death is inevitable and he needs to accept the fact that his beloved is no more.

            He shows the readers understand that even after death, his beloved or all our beloved dead people are alive as a part of nature. They are free from worldly affairs and are immortal.

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Poem Analysis

            In the first stanza, the poet says that he has put to rest his conscience and thus has no Human Fears. Human fears mean the fear of losing property, belongings, and life. Now having given up all such things that give birth to human fears he has now attained peace in nature. The poet talks about Lucy who is according to the poet, beyond the prison of life and has attained death.

            She does not feel the earthly time and earthly years have become timeless for her. Thus she is immortal now and it is Lucy because of whom the poet has attained fearlessness from earthly fears.

            In the second stanza, Wordsworth says that being immortal, she has no movement or energy. She neither does hear something nor sees. She has become part of the earth and is rolling with it as it turns from day to night and vice versa.

            Lucy is in her grave, covered with soil, and is under the shade of the trees. Thus the poet considers her to be in the lap of nature which is an ideal place. By narrating the story of the immortal Lucy, he appreciates the fearlessness of death which is not the root cause of human sorrows and worries.

Conclusion

            Thus, through the poem A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Wordsworth desires that he should attain the same peace as Lucy after becoming part of nature. Wordsworth describes becoming a part of nature and for becoming, so death is a must.

            So, William Wordsworth conveys the message that Death is Inevitable. Nobody is beyond the reach of death.

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