Suicide in the trenches by Siegfried Sassoon

Suicide in the Trenches 
by Siegfried Sassoon (1917) 

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.

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.

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. 


First impressions of the poem-
When reading, I was struck by it's simplicity. The simple AA,BB rhyme pattern has been used many times before but I found that this example
was particularly powerful. The content of the poem is it's self simple- Suicide. While the reasons behind are complicated, the act itself is straight forward. This is echoed throughout the poem.

AO4- Common themes
The disdain that the poet feels towards the 'smug faced crowds' is also in other literature. Sassoon in regeneration is prescribed to have a 'hatred' towards the people at home. In many letters, this view comes across.