Attack - Siegfried Sassoon

• The poem details how monotonous and repetitive the war is, and how it is a constant reminder of death.
• At the beginning it's clear nature is also corrupted by this conflict.
• The men involved in the war have now become desensitised and blurred from this reality.
• Sassoon starts with a natural image: "At dawn the ridge emerges massed and dun *Enjambment* In the wild purple of the glow'ring sun"
• Dawn is supposed to symbolise the start of a new day, bringing hope, tranquility and a new beginning. However, it's described by Sassoon as "massed" and "dun" where both adjectives combine for a monotonous, routine and uninspiring image. This mimics the uninspiring image that the soldiers hold on their faces "Lines of grey, muttering faces, masked with fear" Nature has collapsed on this battlefield, no prosperity can grow, hence the men are subject to this collapse as well. Image of hopelessness.
• The sun, a symbol of warmth and blessing, is described as a "wild purple" colour. Wild suggests that nature is no longer tame. It has been abused by the effects of war and now it serves no purpose to these men who have disrupted natural beauty in excess. "Purple" brings this idea together, as it implies the sun is now tainted by something sinister, given purple is associated with mystery. Nature is against these men for how they have abused it.
• "Tanks creep and topple forward to the wire" - creep and topple create a sinister image of a silent battlefield, whilst only the small noises of moving machinery can be heard. A powerful irony is created within how quiet the tanks roll, compared to the destruction they can entail. This presents war as extremely unsuspecting.
• "The barrage roars and lifts. Then, clumsily bowed" - The tanks invade the trenches rolling on top of the men. The contrast between the upheaval of the tanks and then the bulky lowering of the tank displays it's merciless attempt to shred through human life.
• "With bombs and guns and shovels and battle gear" Even though the men are given these tools, they are still no match for the merciless tanks. The list does not use commas, this shows that the tools are not a collective force that combine for a greater power.Instead it shows the individuality of the tools creating an uncoordinated and messy combination. It gives the impression these tools are just flung upon the men for the sake of it.
• "Men jostle and climb to meet the bristling fire" hopeless image through "jostle" and "climb" partnered with "bristling" unpredictable fire creates an air of uncoordination and mania.
• "Lines of grey, muttering faces, masked with fear" - "Lines" mimics a graveyard full of lying bodies. the fate is already sealed for these men. "grey, muttering faces, masked with fear" The grey links back to the "dun" natural image at the beginning. "Masked with fear" Adds to this futile image. They are surging into battle blinded by the conflict, there is no hope.
• Adding to the disorientation on the front "Time ticks blank and busy on their wrists" Tiem does not recognise this conflict, there is no one coming to save these soldiers. The consonance is harsh like the mercilessness of the war. It also emphasises the sound of clockwork. The quote suggests that time is no construct in this battlefield, it's only an everlasting entity that carries on and forgets about this conflicy.
• "Furtive eyes" and "grappling fists" The soliders are trying to grasp towards something, anything that can save them from this agony. They have to turn to religion, out of pure desperation "O Jesus Make it stop"
• "Flounders in mud" - Buried alive, reaching out for a hand to save them.
• Man vs nature and man vs machine. Sassoon is attacking the irony of man. They made this conflict that they cannot withstand, now they expect a saviour to aid them through it. Nature and machinery has turned on them.
• The struggle, the clumsiness, the incompotence is all futile. "O" Is like a cry out, signifying death.