“Repression of War Experience” is one of now several portrayals we’ve seen of a narrator struggling with mental health in relation to the Great War, but it’s the first we’ve seen in metered poetry, as opposed to Smith and Aldington’s prose. How does the existence of meter as a force that structures the poem interact with the narration of the post-war mind, which is arguably a fundamentally unstructured thing? How might the change in form from prose to poetry impact a reader’s experience of this subject?
“The Redeemer” and “Christ and the Soldier” both portray men who appear to be Jesus Christ in contact with the war, but the two portrayals are very distinct. Notably, the symbology of the crown of thorns is explicitly divergent between the two. What kinds of differing or parallel images do the two poems paint regarding Christ in relation to soldiers and the Great War? How might this tie into Sassoon’s more overarching views on England, or on religion?
Sassoon varies the tone of his poetry and the voices imbedded into it a great deal; the dialogue-centered, sardonic “They” and “The General” exist alongside dense, highly-detailed, visually-oriented narration, such as the voice that narrates “Counter-Attack” and “A Night Attack.” What are the differing purposes or effects of these styles, or other poetic styles Sassoon assumes? Is there a particular advantage (or disadvantage) that one of these approaches might hold in writing about the war for a particular audience?
8 thoughts on “Katia’s Reading Questions for February 10th”
2. The first difference in the image of Jesus in these two poems that stands out to me is who Jesus represents in each poem. In “The Redeemer”, he’s clearly a soldier in the trenches. He’s instead likened to Jesus, comparing the cross Jesus was crucified on to the burden of war and the duties soldiers had to carry out. There’s also the literal burden of the heavy packs soldiers had to wear, which weighed significantly on the soldiers. Meanwhile, in “Christ and the Soldier”, Jesus appears to be a way for the soldier to comfort himself in a time of great trauma. Almost like with “The Bowmen” one could argue about whether or not the soldier is actually speaking to Jesus, or merely a hallucination or manifestation of him. In both cases, I think Jesus represents something concerning the burden of soldiers, but, like I said above, with “The Redeemer”, it’s the tasks they must carry out, whereas with “Christ and the Soldier”, instead it’s the mental tax that war takes on the soldiers
1-“Repression of War Experience” is a powerful work by virtue of its meter. Simple prose is not as compelling as the image of a moth scorching its wings for glory. Like a soldier rushing to the front to fight for king and country. But the interesting thing that Sassoon does is personifying things like books and a garden. This jumble of deep emotion and personification seems to me to be the consequence of battle fatigue (shell shock). The end is particularly interesting as Sassoon refers to ghosts among the trees. We talked about Gothic influences in WWI writing yesterday in the 12:30 section and I feel this last stanza reflects that trope.
1. I agree with Bonnie, meter plays a significant role in “Repression of War Experience.” War poetry allows for a deeper connection to the narrator because it feels like a true glance into their head rather than the narrator trying to come to terms with their thoughts enough to tell a comprehendable story. In prose readers hear the narrator’s story, but in poetry the audience is drawn in to try to make sense of what the narrator feels in order and unpack it enough to help them tell the story. The sound of the meter also contributes to the portrayal of the post-war mind because the rhythm mirrors the sounds of war. The line “Hark! Thud, thud, thud,—quite soft … they never cease—” not only explains the narrator still hears the gunshots, but also brings the audience into that experience so they can hear it too. While meter forces structure in some ways, poetry overall allows for a more unstructured form of storytelling becasue the narrator can just spill their thoughts in any order without the pressure of a prose narrative strucutre. For instance, Sassoon writes “I wish there’d be a thunder-storm to-night,/With bucketsful of water to sluice the dark,/And make the roses hang their dripping heads” and immediately transitions to “Books; what a jolly company they are,/Standing so quiet and patient on their shelves,” without having to worry about having a traditional explanation to transition.
2. The first difference in the image of Jesus in these two poems that stands out to me is who Jesus represents in each poem. In “The Redeemer”, he’s clearly a soldier in the trenches. He’s instead likened to Jesus, comparing the cross Jesus was crucified on to the burden of war and the duties soldiers had to carry out. There’s also the literal burden of the heavy packs soldiers had to wear, which weighed significantly on the soldiers. Meanwhile, in “Christ and the Soldier”, Jesus appears to be a way for the soldier to comfort himself in a time of great trauma. Almost like with “The Bowmen” one could argue about whether or not the soldier is actually speaking to Jesus, or merely a hallucination or manifestation of him. In both cases, I think Jesus represents something concerning the burden of soldiers, but, like I said above, with “The Redeemer”, it’s the tasks they must carry out, whereas with “Christ and the Soldier”, instead it’s the mental tax that war takes on the soldiers
1-“Repression of War Experience” is a powerful work by virtue of its meter. Simple prose is not as compelling as the image of a moth scorching its wings for glory. Like a soldier rushing to the front to fight for king and country. But the interesting thing that Sassoon does is personifying things like books and a garden. This jumble of deep emotion and personification seems to me to be the consequence of battle fatigue (shell shock). The end is particularly interesting as Sassoon refers to ghosts among the trees. We talked about Gothic influences in WWI writing yesterday in the 12:30 section and I feel this last stanza reflects that trope.
1. I agree with Bonnie, meter plays a significant role in “Repression of War Experience.” War poetry allows for a deeper connection to the narrator because it feels like a true glance into their head rather than the narrator trying to come to terms with their thoughts enough to tell a comprehendable story. In prose readers hear the narrator’s story, but in poetry the audience is drawn in to try to make sense of what the narrator feels in order and unpack it enough to help them tell the story. The sound of the meter also contributes to the portrayal of the post-war mind because the rhythm mirrors the sounds of war. The line “Hark! Thud, thud, thud,—quite soft … they never cease—” not only explains the narrator still hears the gunshots, but also brings the audience into that experience so they can hear it too. While meter forces structure in some ways, poetry overall allows for a more unstructured form of storytelling becasue the narrator can just spill their thoughts in any order without the pressure of a prose narrative strucutre. For instance, Sassoon writes “I wish there’d be a thunder-storm to-night,/With bucketsful of water to sluice the dark,/And make the roses hang their dripping heads” and immediately transitions to “Books; what a jolly company they are,/Standing so quiet and patient on their shelves,” without having to worry about having a traditional explanation to transition.