"Suicide in the Trenches" is a poem by the British poet Siegfried Sassoon, published in his collection Counter-Attack and Other Poems (1918). As with the other poems in that collection, "Suicide in the Trenches" draws on Sassoon's own experiences as a soldier in the British Army during World War I. The poem provides an account of the war that sharply contrasts with some of the more romanticized perspectives offered by poets like Jessie Pope and Rupert Brooke. This poem's speaker begins by describing a typical soldier—young, innocent, and somewhat naive. Tragically, the horrific reality of war drives him to commit suicide in the trenches. The poem then criticizes the public back at home, which it claims encourages young men to give up their lives without fully acknowledging the terrors that await "simple soldier boy[s]."
|
Get
LitCharts
|
|
The Full Text of “Suicide in the Trenches”
1I knew a simple soldier boy
2Who grinned at life in empty joy,
3Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
4And whistled early with the lark.
5In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
6With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
7He put a bullet through his brain.
8No one spoke of him again.
9You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
10Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
11Sneak home and pray you'll never know
12The hell where youth and laughter go.
The Full Text of “Suicide in the Trenches”
1I knew a simple soldier boy
2Who grinned at life in empty joy,
3Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
4And whistled early with the lark.
5In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
6With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
7He put a bullet through his brain.
8No one spoke of him again.
9You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
10Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
11Sneak home and pray you'll never know
12The hell where youth and laughter go.
-
“Suicide in the Trenches” Summary
-
-
“Suicide in the Trenches” Themes
-
The Tragedy and Horror of War
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
-
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, -
Lines 3-4
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark. -
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. -
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.
-
-
“Suicide in the Trenches” Symbols
-
The Lark
- See where this symbol appears in the poem.
-
-
“Suicide in the Trenches” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Alliteration
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Consonance
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
End-Stopped Line
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Enjambment
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Metaphor
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Polysyndeton
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Juxtaposition
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
-
“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
-
- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
-
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
-
Ask LitCharts AI:
The answer to your questions
Powered by LitCharts content and AI.
