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Attack

Attack. SIEGFRIED SASSOON. About the poet!. Sassoon was born in 1886 Soldier WWI-earned nickname “Mad Jack” 1917-injured and sent home Angry, bitter feelings towards war ‘Attack’ written while at war hospital in Scotland, near Edinburgh. Structure and Rhyme. STRUCTURE

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Attack

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  1. Attack SIEGFRIED SASSOON

  2. About the poet! • Sassoon was born in 1886 • Soldier WWI-earned nickname “Mad Jack” • 1917-injured and sent home • Angry, bitter feelings towards war • ‘Attack’ written while at war hospital in Scotland, near Edinburgh

  3. Structure and Rhyme STRUCTURE • Incomplete sonnet • Last line absent • Suggests soldier died at this point RHYME • Inconsistent rhyme • Links ideas • Random rhyme reflects overwhelming image of battlefield

  4. Language LINE 1 • Dawn- repetition of war. New day, starting cycle again • Emerges-ridge personified • Dun- brownish grey colour. Heavy syllable-ominous LINE 2 • Wild purple contrasts w dun • Glowering sun-Anger of nature at the war LINE 3 • Sibilance-evokes strong imagery • Painting a picture of the scene under the smoke • Shroud-suggests death • Smouldering-present tense tells that the war is ongoing

  5. Language LINE 4 • Menacing-intimidating the soldiers • Scarred slope-previously been hurt by wars, personification, sense of human danger • One by one-build up of war that involves both human and non-human LINE 5 • Tanks-also personified, shows to be tentative LINE 6 • Barrage roar-rowdy, contrasts with peaceful beginning • Clumsily bowed-soldiers who don’t know what they are doing, forced or untrained

  6. Language LINE 7 • Listing-build up of war imagery • Repetition of `and’ emphasizes weight of gear and oppressive fear LINE 8 • Bristling fire- sharp, uncomfortable. Threatening • First time anything human are mentioned. Aliens in war territory LINE 9 • Grey-absence of life, dull and tired. Contrast with vibrant colours of sky(nature) • Muttering- psychological impact of war on men • Soldiers not seen as individuals, rather units in a machine • Masked with fear- seems slightly less than human, any human emotions or awareness are neutralised by fear

  7. Language LINE 10 LINE 11 • Time ticks blank-no certainty of when things will start or end(the war, battle, life) time running out LINE 12 • hope- personified as soldiers vain efforts to stay alive “with furtive eyes and grappling fists”. Give an idea of franticness or desperation. LINE 13 • Flounder in mud- Heaviness, futility of hope. Deters soldiers. Fish out of water (death throes) • O Jesus make it stop!-Last plea, cry of a soldier.

  8. Language LINE 13 • Flounder in mud- Heaviness, futility of hope. Deters soldiers. Fish out of water (death throes) • O Jesus make it stop!-Last plea, cry of a soldier. Personal cry changes de-personalised poem. Focused on an individual that stands for the masses who cries to Jesus. Leaves terrible impression that war won’t stop. Faith, hope and all humanity are useless in environment of destruction.

  9. Tone • Literal – Direct and to the point, makes it more striking and creates image in mind effectively. • Figurative – Help emphasize personifications and the deeper meaning of the poem • Graphic imagery portrays horror of trenches and the speaker’s anger towards the inhumanity of brutal and deadly war • Sharp, uncomfortable verbs and adjectives “Scarred slope”

  10. Contrasts HUMAN AND NON-HUMAN • Collapsing of distance between speaker and the subject of the poem • Starts talking about non-human aspects of war (territory, machinery) gradually brings in more life (personification, talking about men) • Last line is really personal and emotional COLOURS • Glowering and purple sun contrasts with dun, grey colours of war SOUNDS • Roars of machinery against mumbling of people

  11. Comparisons • Anthem of Doomed Youth-war theme • Cambodia-terrors of war, endless deaths.

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