After reading and analyzing the poem “Base Details” by Siegfried Sassoon, it became quite clear that Sassoon used imagery as a dominant poetic device to convey that the speaker’s attitude was that of disgust towards the way in which World War I soldiers behaved. Ironically, the speaker is also included in the subject of this poem because he is, in fact, talking about himself. Imagery is dominant because every single line of the poem contains picturesque prose that causes the reader to feel as though they are sharing the same moment with the speaker. Disgust is quite apparent as the speaker’s attitude due to the gory and unsettling pictures that are painted with extremely vivid imagery.
One line of the poem that I would like to focus on particularly is the very opening line because it immediately reveals the speaker’s attitude: “If I were fierce, and bald, and short of breath. . .” Though this is only the first line of the poem, it jumped out at me specifically due to its vivid imagery and its brutally honest take on the soldiers of World War I. Generally, society likes to think of soldiers as young, handsome, strong, and determined men, but Sassoon has proved just the opposite with his use of imagery and tone of disgust. Let’s break down the poem’s first line even further, shall we? The term fierce can be thought of as a word relating to passion and strength, but other synonyms include: brutal, angry, murderous, dangerous, and savage - thus, creating negative connotations through imagery. The term bald usually refers to a person who has little to no hair on their head, but in this case it could also be referring to the fact that this poem is exposing the true nature of World War I. Lastly, “short of breath” is generally used to describe someone who is out of shape or has trouble breathing, thus proving that not all soldiers are fit. Each of these terms/phrases are elements of imagery that emphasize speaker’s disgust towards the overall way in which World War I was carried out.
Let’s analyze a few other lines from Siegfried Sassoon’s poem “Base Details” in terms of imagery and how they reveal the speaker’s disgust. Lines four through five paint a shocking picture that reveals the true behavior of the soldiers of World War I; “You’d see me with my puffy petulant face, / Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel.” Continuing the idea that society generally views soldiers as handsome and proud men, the speaker eradicates these views with line four by describing himself as having a face of a soldier who is unfit and also quite grumpy. The next line goes on to say that he is drinking sloppily in a fancy hotel, painting the picture that soldiers during the time were not exactly ideal gentlemen who practiced proper etiquette.
Overall, the poem “Base Details” by Siegfried Sassoon reveals the speaker’s disgust towards himself and his fellow soldiers during World War I through vibrant and unsettling imagery.
