If I were fierce, and bald, and short of breath
I'd live with scarlet Majors at the Base,
And speed glum heroes up the line to death.
You'd see me with my puffy petulant face,
Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel,
Reading the Roll of Honour. "Poor young chap,"
I'd say — "I used to know his father well;
Yes, we've lost heavily in this last scrap."
And when the war is done and youth stone dead,
I'd toddle safely home and die — in bed.
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From guest guest
(contact)
this poem is about how better off majors were, compared to the good men that were dying on the front line. his intention when writing this was to express the anger he felt towards the way the war was organised. like his other poem the general he expresses this anger by using sarcasm and generally makes a mockery of the majors. "Base" has two meanings, ither the actual army base or base as in dishonourable...which is very much in tone with the poem. he describes how majors were unfit old men who lived in luxury whilst ordereing men to their deaths, and they did nothing. -
world war one
From guest katie.w. & katie.s. (contact)
we like this poem it is a really nice and a really sad one. -
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This poem shows the obvious contempt Sassoon had for the Officers of WW1. They sit comfortably eating, drinking far from the line of fire, a customary nod of the head for the dead soldiers without really caring. Sassoon sees them as living to a ripe old age and dying in their comfortable beds.
These words are targeted at their arrogance in not realising that it was important to save lives, it was not considered important at the time.
Von
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