Trench Duty

This poem gives a grim account of a soldier being dragged from slumber to take watch duty in the trenches of the front line of active duty during World War 1. The soldier, un-named is reluctant and there are no signs of pride to serve his country.

Diction shows his oblivion such as, “numbed” which could imply more than his sleepy state but his numbness about the war in general. The tone of the poem is matter of fact as if war weary the soldier has given up the fight psychologically and is devoid of passion or emotion. Further word usage and diction such as “blunder” and “mirk” show his awkwardness and his dismal state of mind and the fact that the trenches are the worst place on this earth, a living hell which he manages to register even in his stupor. There is imagery of darkness which is contrasted with the “dark’s a glare” as they are attacked with bombs. Sassoon tries to depict both confusion, “rumbling and bumping” and dreadfulness with “horror” and fear and dread with “stiff and chilled”. What is clear is that the crouching men are only briefly aware of the events around them and are literally and figuratively kept in the dark which adds to the ominous tone and confusion. Again, they are fighting an enemy in the dark and they do not know why.

Siegfried made a public outcry against the war and his poetry reflects this theme. This is highlighted in upon hearing a soldier has been killed the response is, “why did he do it?” This implies the senselessness of a war that the soldiers do not understand. Why did this young soldier put himself in the line of fire and give up his life for a war that serves no purpose. This is further reiterated with the mention of stars in the sky which could be firings interspersed with the celestial beings of the sky. The metaphor “blank stars” means that while we associate a star lit sky as peaceful and romantic, here the stars are anything but that. They offer no light and beauty and do not twinkle in the sky like fairy dust. It is as if on this night in the trenches the stars real or otherwise have lost their sparkle and luster or sheen. They are devoid of all of these and are a blank empty vessel, much like the soldiers themselves who are now former shadows of their former selves. With their spirit broken they have lost their spark and the will to go on. They too like the stars are drained and empty, robbed of the exuberance and vigor of youth.

The final line shows that the noise and bone chilling fear has woken the soldier from his sleepy state. And yet, his matter of fact realization and declaration. “and some chap’s dead” brings home the reality of war. Soldiers can no longer care or show emotion, they are shell shocked into submission. They know the war is lost as there are never any real winners in war.