Themes of Suicide in the trenches

Opposing Blind Patriotism

In this poem, Sassoon challenges blind patriotism. He responds to
typically romantic and idyllic portrayals of warfare in the media at the
time, and offers his own realistic view of war. The simple soldier boy, an
acquaintance of the speaker, is implied to have been indoctrinated by
patriotic propaganda. Unable to cope with the harsh reality of war, the
young soldier commits suicide. At the end of the poem, Sassoon directly
criticizes patriots on the home front, calling them "smug-faced crowds"

Innocence
Sassoon emphasizes the innocence of the young soldier in this poem. He is
described as being a "simple soldier boy," who "grinned at life in empty joy"
(Lines 1-2). From this, we can assume that the soldier was probably a bit naive,
but he was a happy and optimistic person. As a result of the war, his cheerful
innocence was destroyed. This symbolizes a large-scale pattern: many of the
young men who joined the war effort quickly became disillusioned after
experiencing battle.

The Impact of War

Many of Sassoon's poems focus on the psychological impact that the
war had on soldiers. Coined by soldiers during World War I, the term
shell shock refers to a mental and behavioural disorder caused by
exposure to intense bombardment and fighting. Symptoms included
fear, flight, panic, the inability to function normally, and physical issues
such as tinnitus, amnesia, headaches, dizziness, tremors, and
hypersensitivity. Many soldiers became completely different men as a
result of the war, or could not cope at all. This is demonstrated in the
poem when the young soldier takes his own life.