Siegfried Sassoon’s 1919 collection compiles the verses he produced during his service as an officer in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. The text rejects the romanticized view of combat, focusing instead on the physical reality of the Western Front. Sassoon describes the rot of rain-soaked trenches, the stench of decomposing corpses, and the mechanical indifference of artillery fire. His verses document the psychological breakdown of young infantrymen and criticize the comfortable ignorance of civilians and high-ranking military officials back in England who directed the slaughter from safety.
This book serves historians and readers interested in the shift from Victorian idealism to modern disillusionment. It appeals to those studying the psychological impact of trench warfare and the development of 20th-century anti-war literature. Readers finish the collection with a technical understanding of how satirical language can be used to dismantle military propaganda. They gain an unfiltered perspective on the exhaustion of the common soldier and the stark contrast between official patriotic rhetoric and the grim logistical facts of life in the mud.
- Published
- 1919
- Language
- EN
