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| Suicide In The Trenches Summary & Interpretation by Siegfried Sassoon |
Summary of Suicide In The Trenches
“Suicide in the Trenches” begins with the excitement of a young boy who seeks adventure to overcome his meaningless life. Before the war, the young boy enjoyed a simple life but after joining the army his enjoyment was taken away. The horror or war and trenches and the emptiness of being alone caused the boy the commit suicide. The message of the poem is the futility of war and the irresponsible society as they make many innocents to lose life.
Detail analysis of Suicide In The Trenches
“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.”
The first stanza talks about the innocent guy man 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 the larks. The peaceful life of an innocent boy is well expressed here. He represents the peace and happiness of every individual. They are free from the sound of bombs, gunfire or shells. They enjoy the sweet sounds of nature. Their day begins with the sounds of the birds. Such innocent boys are persuaded to join the army to serve their country.
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.
There is a shift in the situation in this stanza. The readers could sense the seriousness of the soldier’s thoughts. His depression and fear could not be expressed by the young soldier.
He is depressed by the explosions of the shells, lack of rum and insect bites. He is driven to the extreme and shot himself in the head. After his demise, no one spoke of him again. Soon he is forgotten by society. A very dramatic situation is described here. His cowed and glumness is just the opposite of his joy.
“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.”
In this 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 you will never go through the war (hell) which could destroy the youth and laughter of the innocents.
The theme is the horror of war, the whole poem talks about the futility of war. It focuses on one soldier who represents a million soldiers. The poet beings by visualizing the happiness of an innocent boy who enjoys his life whistling with the birds in the morning and sleeps peacefully at the night before joining the army. But so soon and quickly he realizes the reality of warfare which made him depressed and alone. He commits suicide. His death doesn’t stir the society. It is one of the many topics in the community. It is not a loss for society but a great loss for the family of the young soldier. The message is well expressed with the simple and happy life of the young soldier. Patriotism could not give life, instead, it could destroy happiness.
The poem is written in three stanzas each consisting of four lines (quatrains). The rhyme scheme followed in the poem is AABB. The stanzas show the great shift from happiness to sadness, innocence to confusion, togetherness to loneliness and nature to human power.
About the Writer
Siegfried Sassoon was born to a wealthy Jewish family in 1886. His mother named him Siegfried, for her love of Wagner’s operas. He was the second of three sons. He was educated at the New Beacon School and Marlborough College and at Clare College, Cambridge. He spent a few years playing cricket and writing verse. He wanted to play for Kent County Cricket Club. He was married to Hester Gatty who was twenty years younger than him. They had a child, whom he admired so much. He adored his son and dedicated many poems to him. He was converted to Roman Catholicism. He showed interest in the supernatural powers and joined in the Ghost Club. He was the commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1951. He died from stomach cancer on 1st September 1967.