“Suicide in the Trenches” Introduction

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“Suicide in the Trenches” Summary

“Suicide in the Trenches” Themes

• 

  The Tragedy and Horror of War

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Suicide in the Trenches”

• Lines 1-2

  I knew a simple soldier boy
  Who grinned at life in empty joy,

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 3-4

  Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
  And whistled early with the lark.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  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.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  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.

  

  

  

  

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“Suicide in the Trenches” Symbols

• 

  The Lark

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“Suicide in the Trenches” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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• End-Stopped Line

  

  

  

  

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• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Polysyndeton

  

  

  

  

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• Juxtaposition

  

  

  

  

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“Suicide in the Trenches” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Soundly
• Lark
• Trenches
• Cowed
• Glum
• Crumps
• Lice
• Smug-faced
• Kindling
• Lads

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Suicide in the Trenches”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Suicide in the Trenches” Speaker

“Suicide in the Trenches” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Suicide in the Trenches”

More “Suicide in the Trenches” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a reading of the poem by Stephen Graham. 

  • Bringing WWI to Life — In this clip, director Peter Jackson discusses his recent WWI film, They Shall Not Grow Old. Though technology, Jackson brings old war footage to vivid life.

  • More Poems From WWI — A valuable resource from the Poetry Foundation focusing on First World War poetry. 

  • Sassoon's Life and Work — A BBC Radio documentary about Siegfried Sassoon and his poetry.  

  • The Lark Ascending — A performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams's brilliant composition, inspired by George Meredith's poem of the same name (of which Sassoon was a great admirer). 

  • Sassoon's Correspondence — A letter from Sassoon to his uncle, shortly after Sassoon was wounded in battle. 

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Siegfried Sassoon

  • Attack

  • Base Details

  • The Death Bed

  • The Rear-Guard