Paper 2: Explication of Glory of Women
The poem “Glory of Women” written by Siegfried Sassoon can best be described as a direct address to women during the time of WWI. The title, “Glory of Women,” is quite ironic seeing as though the term “glory” carries a great religious affiliation. The word itself refers to praise, honor, and distinction, words generally not synonymous with Sassoon’s tone throughout the poem. Additionally, another irony present is Sassoon’s utilization of sonnet form for this particular poem. Sonnets are typically associated with the expression of love. When one thinks of a sonnet, an affinity of some sort comes to mind. Pleasant images are usually present, items missing from Sassoon’s shrewd, accusatory tone throughout …show more content…
You listen with delight, by tales of dirt and danger fondly thrilled.” Utilizing another metaphor, Sassoon is still lightly trodding through the feelings he has toward the women he is addressing. “Shells” stands to represent the weapons of mass destruction being created. However, instead of presenting that term ever so insensitively, Sassoon continues to keep his audience interested by using a simple, non harmful metaphor. Perhaps by not fully being as frank, he remains calm and collected to his readers, presenting himself similarly to the ways in which he feels the women have also been portrayed in society. “You listen with delight, by tales of dirt and danger fondly thrilled” presents the women a bit more mastermind-like than before, shining a light on what he truly thinks of them a bit more boldly. “You crown our distant ardours...and mourn our laurelled memories” is highly sarcastic and can almost picture a sassy, disgusted tone Sassoon most probably wanted to portray. This line highly suggests women’s blindness to what the actual war looks like and their reluctance to contribute to soldiers by doing more than “supporting” them through …show more content…
The shift from home to actual war occurs and the tone is more serious that the previous lines. The poem shifts from discussing men at home to the actions of men in war. “Retire” thus serves a euphemism for withdrawal, an idea impossible to a man in the actual act of war. Further pushing this thought, Sassoon writes “Hell’s last horror...trampling the terrible corpses” making the image of war more real and not as sugar-coated as before. It is no longer a “harsh” word like “disgrace” or a “shell”, it is the brutal reality. After that imagery comes the even more truthful and direct approach to whom the author may be addressing -- the German mother at
The poem “Glory of Women” written by Siegfried Sassoon can best be described as a direct address to women during the time of WWI. The title, “Glory of Women,” is quite ironic seeing as though the term “glory” carries a great religious affiliation. The word itself refers to praise, honor, and distinction, words generally not synonymous with Sassoon’s tone throughout the poem. Additionally, another irony present is Sassoon’s utilization of sonnet form for this particular poem. Sonnets are typically associated with the expression of love. When one thinks of a sonnet, an affinity of some sort comes to mind. Pleasant images are usually present, items missing from Sassoon’s shrewd, accusatory tone throughout …show more content…
You listen with delight, by tales of dirt and danger fondly thrilled.” Utilizing another metaphor, Sassoon is still lightly trodding through the feelings he has toward the women he is addressing. “Shells” stands to represent the weapons of mass destruction being created. However, instead of presenting that term ever so insensitively, Sassoon continues to keep his audience interested by using a simple, non harmful metaphor. Perhaps by not fully being as frank, he remains calm and collected to his readers, presenting himself similarly to the ways in which he feels the women have also been portrayed in society. “You listen with delight, by tales of dirt and danger fondly thrilled” presents the women a bit more mastermind-like than before, shining a light on what he truly thinks of them a bit more boldly. “You crown our distant ardours...and mourn our laurelled memories” is highly sarcastic and can almost picture a sassy, disgusted tone Sassoon most probably wanted to portray. This line highly suggests women’s blindness to what the actual war looks like and their reluctance to contribute to soldiers by doing more than “supporting” them through …show more content…
The shift from home to actual war occurs and the tone is more serious that the previous lines. The poem shifts from discussing men at home to the actions of men in war. “Retire” thus serves a euphemism for withdrawal, an idea impossible to a man in the actual act of war. Further pushing this thought, Sassoon writes “Hell’s last horror...trampling the terrible corpses” making the image of war more real and not as sugar-coated as before. It is no longer a “harsh” word like “disgrace” or a “shell”, it is the brutal reality. After that imagery comes the even more truthful and direct approach to whom the author may be addressing -- the German mother at