Ms Cotter's Class

Siegfried Sassoon

The poem is written in the subjunctive mood, where the speaker imagines themselves as a “scarlet major” who spends his time “at the base” sending young soldiers to the front while he eats and drinks comfortably in “the best hotels”. The poem is a biting critique (a strong criticism) of the military elite and the injustice of war and while it is intended to be satirical (ridiculing or making fun of something) it is also reflective of the reality of war.

The title of this brief yet brilliant poem has a double meaning- base in this instance refers to both the military base that the Majors remain at, far removed from the violent conflict at the Front and the fact that the Majors consider the multiple deaths of young soldiers trivial or “base details”.

The poem opens with the speaker imagining himself as “fierce, and bald, and short of breath” and living with “scarlet majors at the base.” The word “scarlet” is a pun- the majors would wear red jackets to distinguish themselves from the lesser ranks, but their faces have also become reddened from drinking and eating excessively. The speaker imagines that he would “speed glum heroes up the line to death”, as if the soldiers are on an assembly line at a factory. Sassoon’s tone becomes more embittered, as he uses alliteration to reflect his disgust at the Majors’ gluttony- he describes their faces as “puffy and petulant” as the spend their time “guzzling and gulping”. The speaker imagines himself nonchalantly reading a list of the dead as he acknowledges the amount of lives lost in “this last scrap.” The word “scrap” undermines the seriousness of the years’ long conflict and minimises the experiences of millions of soldiers. Sassoon concludes the poem by stating that when “youth (is) stone dead” he will “toddle” home and die in the comfort of his own bed. The word “toddle” reminds us that these men were unfit and overweight as they did not have to engage in physical combat.