The speaker’s thought depict the poem’s central message—the fact that officers’ callously lead their troops to death. For instance, he states that he would “speed glum heroes up the line to death” (3). By describing the soldiers are described as “glum heroes” (3), the poet showcases the sullen and melancholic state that these soldiers tend to find themselves in. This sentence also suggests that officers carelessly issue orders which prompt unnecessary deaths. In addition, the speaker speculates that if he were a major, he too would have a ““puffy, petulant face” (4) and would spend his time “guzzling and gulping in the best hotel” (5). The poem presents a scathing image of the senior officers who sent their young men to die in battle, while they indulged themselves in luxurious excesses. In fact, the writer’s diction helps the audience envision officers as men who are fat and out of shape due to their constant eating and drinking. The speaker’s contempt stems from the fact that the majors are spoiled while those who actually sacrifice their life are overlooked.
Furthermore, the speaker also belittles the majors by portraying their indifferent attitudes when they hear the news of the dead soldiers. They refer to the battle lightly by referring to it as “a scrap” (8), and express concern for certain young men only because they knew the father. To the speaker these remarks indicate that the officers do not seem overly concerned about loss of soldiers’ lives but instead care more about their own. The speaker resents that the majors can “toddle safely home and die—in bed” (10) while the youth, on the other hand, are “stone dead” (9). Those who give the main orders are safe behind the lines. The lower echelons who have to carry them out are the ones exposed to warfare and death. The word “toddle” draws reference to the steps of young children. In a way, the majors are acting as if they are children by disregarding the seriousness of war and instead treating it as if it were a game.
In short, Sassoon utilizes visual imagery to criticize the older officers who profited at the expense of young soldiers. As readers, this poetic device enables us to grasp a better understanding of the bitterness that is expressed throughout the poem."Base Details" is an example of anti-war sentiment. Its portrayal of the cynical nature of military majors conveys the speaker’s contempt towards the callousness of those in charge of sending men to war.
I really enjoyed your discussion of imagery in the poem. Sassoon used really strong, vivid imagery throughout his poem as you discussed. Besides building his meaning, I feel that this imagery helps the reader jump into the poem. The imagery practically invites the reader in, calling them to take the position of the selfish major. Sassoon's imagery as well as his use of first person paints a picture for whoever reads it, allowing them to be transported into the poem itself. While I was reading this poem, I had little trouble imagining what was occurring because Sassoon's clear, straightforward imagery explains the major's actions without becoming confusing. Imagery has always been one of the more confusing aspects of poetry for me; it gets so artsy so quickly that I do not always understand what the author is attempting to say. I end up spending time I should use comprehending the poem’s major themes and messages debating with myself about why someone is walking in a forest. That’s probably why I tend to stay away from poetry but Sassoon’s directness as well as your analysis made this poem much easier to comprehend than many others which I have read before. Anyways, I greatly enjoyed your posting as always. I look forward to your next discussion.
ReplyDeleteLet me start by saying I really like how you put the actual poem at the beginning of your post. It allows people who have not read the poem to actually read it and analyze it before they read your post just so they formulate their own thoughts before reading yours. I also like the fact that we pretty much had the same views on the meaning of the poem and how the author uses poetic devices to convey meaning. To be completely honest, when I first glanced at the poem I had a completely different meaning in my head. When I read it over again, I started to realize what the author was really trying to say and it ended up make a lot more sense. In regards to format, I really like the way you incorporated specific details and textual evidence into your post. It seemed to make your words flow together and it seemed like it was effortless for you. Not many people incorporate specific evidence into these postings so I really appreciate how you included details that would allow the reader to actually go back into the text. Thank you for a good read!
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying. I also like the fact that you pulled out the visual imagery from the poem. My poetic device was diction and I did not really think past that. When I read the poem I felt like the speaker was acting like Yossarian. I think this man is a soldier who does not want to be in the war at all. Starting from the very first word he says "if" and then continues on to give examples of what he would be doing if he were fierce or bald or short of breath. In line 2 when he says"I'd live with scarlet Majors at the Base" I took that as he wants to be safe. To me the base is like the basic camp. It's like base in a game of freeze tag. If you are on the base nobody can touch you or tag you, In other words, when you are at the base you are safe and that is what he wants to be. He is saying that the Majors are safe and he wants to be like them. Then the next few lines are more examples of what he would be doing and what he wants to be doing however, only if he were fierce, bald and short of breath. I think he wants to grow old and die on his death bed rather than get shot on the field while fighting in a war he does not care about which is kind of like Yossarian.
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