Base Details
Encyclopedia
Base Details is a war poem by the English war poet Siegfried Sassoon
. In the poem Sassoon condemns what he saw as the incompetence and callous indifference to the soldiers at the front displayed by the staff officers, or "scarlet majors" of the British Army
, who stayed at the Base "Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel" and sending "glum heroes up the line to death". Like so many of Sassoon's poems "Base Details" is bitterly sarcastic and utterly derisive of the comfortable establishment that supported the continuation of the war while showing little concern for the people who suffered its consequences. It took place during World War I in France around 1914-1918.
The theme is anger and bitterness. This is an attack on those who start wars and send their fellow men to their death. These army officers plan battles from safety of base, and are usually not involved in the fighting. The first two Quartiles are talking about the Majors, in a very sarcastic way, and the last Couplet talks about how the war isn't actually a joke, that it is very serious.
The title of the poem "Base Details"- Base possibly meaning a military base and Details could be a command assignment, someone or something lowly.
"fierce; and bald, and short of breath" this would be a stereotypical World War I officer. "Scarlet Majors" the colour scarlet representing the officer alcoholic way, angry demeanor, and the young blood they've shed.
"Glum heroes" refer to the uninspired, reluctant soldiers who are offered nothing but death. "Up the line" is the battlefield. "puffy petulant face" is the offices faces from the excessive eating and drinking. "Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel" the officeres eat and drink until their hearts delight while the best hotel refers to them living in the lap of luxury.
"Poor Young Chap" this direct speech mimics the Majors as they pretend to care, to get the public on their side.
"Scrap" The generals and Majors refer to the war as a game, or "scrap".
The last two lines however show how the war isn't really a joke at all, and how young boys are being slaughtered for small bits of land that really make no difference.
"Toddle" refers to the drunk Major, and "Die" is what Siegfried wants the major to do.
Siegfried Sassoon shows great disgust towards military majors. He is appalled at the way the majors act while men are dying in the battlefield. The majors are fat, insensitive, greedy, vain and very proud, and display no empathy with the soldiers whatsoever.
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon CBE MC was an English poet, author and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's...
. In the poem Sassoon condemns what he saw as the incompetence and callous indifference to the soldiers at the front displayed by the staff officers, or "scarlet majors" of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, who stayed at the Base "Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel" and sending "glum heroes up the line to death". Like so many of Sassoon's poems "Base Details" is bitterly sarcastic and utterly derisive of the comfortable establishment that supported the continuation of the war while showing little concern for the people who suffered its consequences. It took place during World War I in France around 1914-1918.
The theme is anger and bitterness. This is an attack on those who start wars and send their fellow men to their death. These army officers plan battles from safety of base, and are usually not involved in the fighting. The first two Quartiles are talking about the Majors, in a very sarcastic way, and the last Couplet talks about how the war isn't actually a joke, that it is very serious.
Base Details
- If I were fierce, and bald, and short of breath,
- I’d live with scarlet Majors at the Base,
- And speed glum heroes up the line to death.
- You’d see me with my puffy petulant face,
- Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel,
- Reading the Roll of Honour. ‘Poor young chap,’
- I’d say—‘I used to know his father well;
- Yes, we’ve lost heavily in this last scrap.’
- And when the war is done and youth stone dead,
- I’d toddle safely home and die—in bed.
The title of the poem "Base Details"- Base possibly meaning a military base and Details could be a command assignment, someone or something lowly.
"fierce; and bald, and short of breath" this would be a stereotypical World War I officer. "Scarlet Majors" the colour scarlet representing the officer alcoholic way, angry demeanor, and the young blood they've shed.
"Glum heroes" refer to the uninspired, reluctant soldiers who are offered nothing but death. "Up the line" is the battlefield. "puffy petulant face" is the offices faces from the excessive eating and drinking. "Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel" the officeres eat and drink until their hearts delight while the best hotel refers to them living in the lap of luxury.
"Poor Young Chap" this direct speech mimics the Majors as they pretend to care, to get the public on their side.
"Scrap" The generals and Majors refer to the war as a game, or "scrap".
The last two lines however show how the war isn't really a joke at all, and how young boys are being slaughtered for small bits of land that really make no difference.
"Toddle" refers to the drunk Major, and "Die" is what Siegfried wants the major to do.
Siegfried Sassoon shows great disgust towards military majors. He is appalled at the way the majors act while men are dying in the battlefield. The majors are fat, insensitive, greedy, vain and very proud, and display no empathy with the soldiers whatsoever.