At Carnoy

Down in the hollow there’s the whole Brigade
Camped in four groups: through twilight falling slow
I hear a sound of mouth-organs, ill-played,
And murmur of voices, gruff, confused, and low.
Crouched among thistle-tufts I’ve watched the glow
Of a blurred orange sunset flare and fade;
And I’m content. To-morrow we must go
To take some cursèd Wood… O world God made!

July 3rd, 1916.

Analysis (ai): This poem, written by Siegfried Sassoon in the midst of World War I, contrasts the horrors of war with the beauty of nature. The speaker observes a camp of soldiers bathed in the fading light of sunset, finding solace in the moment before the inevitable horrors of battle.

The poem's language is spare and direct, with the focus on sensory details. The "mouth-organs, ill-played" and the "murmur of voices" create a sense of disharmony amidst the natural beauty of the sunset. The speaker's contentment contrasts with the dread of the approaching battle, encapsulated in the exclamation "O world God made!"

Compared to Sassoon's other war poems, this one is less explicitly anti-war, focusing instead on the contrast between the beauty of nature and the brutality of war. It reflects the shift in tone in Sassoon's poetry as the war progressed, from youthful idealism to disillusionment and resignation. (hide)