The Last Meeting

The Last Meeting

The loss of Siegfried Sassoon's friend David Thomas.

• "I thought: ‘A little longer I’ll delay" - Throughout the poem Sassoon uses personal pronouns to show that this is his experience, which makes the poem more powerful as it creates more emotion.

• "...hold His human ghost" - Alliteration/religious imagery is used here despite the fact that Sassoon is an atheist to show that he hopes that his friend's spirit has survived (he is a ghost) rather than it being completely lost. 

•  "He was beside me now, as swift as light." Sassoon uses a simile to show that David Thomas is still with him even after death. Shows how much Sassoon cared for him and that he focuses on his memories of him to get through difficult times.

• " I will go up the hill once more To find the face of him that I have lost" Sassoon is visiting a place that is special to him to ponder on his memories of David Thomas; this quote shows that he misses him. The fact that it says 'once more' shows that Sassoon visits this place to think about his friend often.

• "the folk Loitered about their doorways, well-content With the fine weather and the waxing year." The death of David Thomas has obviously seriously affected Sassoon's life, yet it has had absolutely no effect on those who did not know him. This shows how insignificant soldiers were in the war and how they were expendable. 

All Quiet on the Western Front initial views

Upon reading the first chapter of All Quiet on the Western Front, one idea that has become evident is that the war drains the morale of the soldiers fighting in it, and something as simple as a few packets of cigarettes is all it takes to make the soldiers feel better. "The most important thing, though, is that there are double rations of tobacco as well." Similar ideas are present in Birdsong (except with extra rest rather than extra cigarettes), as Stephen suggests that a few days away from the front line are enough to 'heal' a soldier, which Stephen describes as being a 'cruel trick', due to the ability of rest making a soldier aware of the horrors of war which they were previously numb to.