The Battle and Attack

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  • Created by: Faolan
  • Created on: 09-05-15 12:15

The Battle and Attack

Similarities

  • Louis Simpson who wrote The Battle was an American paratrooper who fought in Europe during WW2. This poem is based upon his first hand experiences of war
  • Siegfried sassoon was also a war poet who grew disillusioned with the tactics employed in pursuit of war in particular trench warfare.
  • Theme- Both poetic speakers deal with the theme of war. The Battle describes a company of soldiers as they set up camp in a wood and the bloody battle which ensues. the poet captures the grim, brutal reality of war.  The attack explores the features of trench warfare and attempts to capture the terror and heroism of the soldier.
  • Tone- Both poems have tones of terror and uncertainty. Attack's tone blends a sense of horror with sympathy for the soldiers.
  • Both poets use onomatopoeia to get across their image of war. The Battle uses it in several occasions "Thudded" is used in the first verse to suggest the ominous power of the guns which can be heard "Somewhere up ahead." Crack is also used in verse three to indicate the destructive foes of the "first shell." In Attack Sasson uses onomatopoeia to capture the the defending sound of the artillery fire as they bombard the enemy trench in preparation for the men going over the top "The barrage roars"
  • Both poems uses colour. The use of colour in Attack describes the sun "Wild purple" creates a dark sinister intensity. The Battle uses colour in verse three to capture the harrowing reality of The Battle.
  • Both poetic speakers uses imagery in their poems. In The Battle the pome ends with image of a burning cigarette the brightness and "pulse" of the cigarette contrasts with with and emphasises the lifelessness of the soldiers. It is also a symbol- just as life of a cigarette is short, the image foreshadows the premature deaths of many soldiers. In Attack imagery is used to stress the dereliction and destruction of the scene by focusing on the smoke. he uses sibilance in lines 3 and 4 to perhaps create the hissing sound of its burning embers and emphasise the the harshness of the scene

Differences

  • The Attack was written about WWI while The Battle describes and explores WWII
  • Attack uses personification of the Sun "glowering" transforms the conventional image of the sunrise to make the scene more menacing.
  • The Battle uses a very suggestive simile "They sank like moles… " they are compared to such tiny inconsequential creatures, the poet captures vulnerability in battle.
  • The Battle is written in four line verses with a rhyme scheme of abab- each line contains 10 syllables.
  • The Attack in th efirst 6 lines describe the "vlile landscape" while the next  6 lines describe the soldiers as they go over the top. Attack uses only one verse to give the descriptions greater intensity.
  • Attack is written in present tense which creates a sense of immediacy as we, the reader, relive the experience with the poet as it happens
  • The Battle's fist three verses are written in the third person plural to stress the harrowing experiences fi the soldiers. The final verse shifts to first person to emphasis the bleakness of the poets lasting memory.

Overall comparison

I believe both poets explore the theme of war really well. My favourite language method which is use has to be the caesural pauses. in The Battle Simpson uses a lot of caesural pauses. This slows down the pace of the poem, creating a stop- start rhythm which suggests the physical exhaustion of the soldiers.  The Attack uses Caesural pauses in the last line which emphasises the the desperate cry of despair that bring the poem to a dramatic conclusion.

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