Hero Poem by Siegfried Sassoon

Hero

Rating: 3.5


'Jack fell as he'd have wished,' the Mother said,
And folded up the letter that she'd read.
'The Colonel writes so nicely.' Something broke
In the tired voice that quavered to a choke.
She half looked up. 'We mothers are so proud
Of our dead soldiers.' Then her face was bowed.

Quietly the Brother Officer went out.
He'd told the poor old dear some gallant lies
That she would nourish all her days, no doubt.
For while he coughed and mumbled, her weak eyes
Had shone with gentle triumph, brimmed with joy,
Because he'd been so brave, her glorious boy.

He thought how 'Jack', cold-footed, useless swine,
Had panicked down the trench that night the mine
Went up at Wicked Corner; how he'd tried
To get sent home, and how, at last, he died,
Blown to small bits. And no one seemed to care
Except that lonely woman with white hair.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Neesha Morton 01 June 2008

The regular, ordered structure of this poem with the complicated and emotional content reflects the public mood at the time towards the war. It was ostensibly calm, optimistic and controlled, but in the reality of the trenches it was chaotic, meek and there was much death. It is ironic also, that the death of Jack, 'blown into small bits' is not in the least bit 'glorious'. It shows the soldiers were fighting a war that reduced 'heroes' into panicking wrecks trying to get sent home. The 'woman with white hair' in this poem is a character that echoes the extremely british notion of maintaining a 'stiff upper lip' - ' The false information given to the woman so that she can remember her son as a 'brave' and 'glorious boy' reflects to what extent the authorities covered up the truth about the war to maintain morale and optimism.

78 17 Reply
Nabila 20 October 2018

Thanks this helped me understand this

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THE PIG POET 18 April 2018

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

10 15 Reply

I disagree. “RËÈÊĒĖĘEEEEEÉEEEEEEEEÈEEEEEEĖEEEEEÊEEEEEEĒEEEĘ” is the correct conjugation of the present participle form of this Estonian verb “ReetSartreet.

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fgsffe 16 June 2020

fuckyou all xdxdxdxdxdxdxd

0 1 Reply

Fuck u

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OoF nAtIoN 24 October 2019

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOF

3 1 Reply
Big Man Tings 24 October 2019

oof offofoofofoffoofofofoffofofof

2 3 Reply
Jakey 04 June 2019

Epic games oooooggggaaa bbboooooggggaaaa

6 4 Reply
poo nation 03 June 2019

can i ahit on BIG FAT HEAD OF YOUR SOMEONE THX :)

3 4 Reply
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