“Attack”, by Siegfried Sassoon, effectively represents a vivid and graphic view of the apathy of war by divulging into the minds of the soldiers, giving a more personal view to his poem. There are many such instances in which Sassoon’s clever diction. Instead of the norm of authors of his time, Sassoon did not emphasize the dramatics of war during the battle; he accentuated the pre-war stage.
Firstly, Sassoon divulges into the fears of the soldiers. He does this by construing a grave scene. Shrewdly, Sassoon starts with a sunrise: an occasion everyone knows and can relate to. He slowly transitions from the mystical purple sun into reality. “Smoldering through spouts of drifting smoke that shroud the menacing scarred slope” is the line that …show more content…
“and, one by one, Tanks creep and topple forward to the wire.” The meaning of this sentence is clear; the first World War was fought in trenches. Lining the perimeter of these trenches were barbed wire. This is what the sentence is referring to when it states that the Tanks crept and toppled “forward to the wire”. Beyond the barbed wire was “No Man’s Land”, a barren landscape filled with armed mines, shrapnel, and the constant threat of being shot at by the opposing trench’s army. The mines were especially dangerous, since they were buried deep underground, and very inconspicuous to the soldiers. Because of the mines, many tanks were obliterated after traversing only a few feet past the barbed wire, and as a result, there was always fear whenever a Tank “toppled” forward to the …show more content…
The soldiers would go in predetermined lines over the top of the trenches, to try and progress their territory forward. Usually, however, the soldiers would be shot before they were even in spitting distance of the barbed wire on their own sides by the snipers from the other sides. As the days went on, fear began to boil in the stomachs of the soldiers who knew that they would spend everyday on the other side of the safety of the trenches. Even the thought of going over the edge of their safe dugout was enough to “mask their faces in
Firstly, Sassoon divulges into the fears of the soldiers. He does this by construing a grave scene. Shrewdly, Sassoon starts with a sunrise: an occasion everyone knows and can relate to. He slowly transitions from the mystical purple sun into reality. “Smoldering through spouts of drifting smoke that shroud the menacing scarred slope” is the line that …show more content…
“and, one by one, Tanks creep and topple forward to the wire.” The meaning of this sentence is clear; the first World War was fought in trenches. Lining the perimeter of these trenches were barbed wire. This is what the sentence is referring to when it states that the Tanks crept and toppled “forward to the wire”. Beyond the barbed wire was “No Man’s Land”, a barren landscape filled with armed mines, shrapnel, and the constant threat of being shot at by the opposing trench’s army. The mines were especially dangerous, since they were buried deep underground, and very inconspicuous to the soldiers. Because of the mines, many tanks were obliterated after traversing only a few feet past the barbed wire, and as a result, there was always fear whenever a Tank “toppled” forward to the …show more content…
The soldiers would go in predetermined lines over the top of the trenches, to try and progress their territory forward. Usually, however, the soldiers would be shot before they were even in spitting distance of the barbed wire on their own sides by the snipers from the other sides. As the days went on, fear began to boil in the stomachs of the soldiers who knew that they would spend everyday on the other side of the safety of the trenches. Even the thought of going over the edge of their safe dugout was enough to “mask their faces in