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Sample writing assignment: Bitter irony in “They.”

See the following sample assignment for an argument about the tone of Sassoon’s poem “They.”

Note the way in which poetry is cited (by line numbers, if available) and that line breaks are

indicated by “/”.

As always, in your assignments, I will be looking for a clear argument, strong textual evidence, and a

well-formatted and written response.

Please be sure to provide a Works Cited. This can be in any form you are most comfortable with

(AP, MLA, Chicago, Oxford, etc.), but should make it clear what is being referred to and where that

item can be found.

Please note: the 250-word limit (plus or minus 10%) applies only to the text of your argument. It

does not include the works cited or the heading information.

Sample question: What tone does “They” adopt to the war?

A. Student

Writing Assignment, Module 7

“They” adopts a tone of bitter irony as it confronts the reality of war. Sassoon had participated in

the Battle of the Somme, in which 1.5 million combatants were killed, and his poem reflects the

bitter disillusion that he felt afterwards. Indeed, so pronounced was his horror that he refused to

fight, wrote a potentially treasonable denunciation of the war effort, and was hospitalized in a

mental asylum. This disappointment is evident in “They,” as the poem targets the Church, pointing

out the propaganda it deployed and offering an alternative version of the reality of war.

The poem is split into two equal stanzas of six lines each, reinforcing the sense of two

different perspectives. The first stanza gives the Bishop’s speech, with his argument that the war is

almost a crusade. The soldiers, he claims, have led “the last attack/ On Anti-Christ” (ll. 3–4) and

have thus earned the right to have children. The war has changed them from boys to men. The

second stanza, however, provides a different view, with the soldiers pointing out that this change

has been for the worse: they have lost limbs, sight, and lives. In a bitter twist on the propaganda

posters that linked enlistment to masculinity, the soldiers say that even the sexual experiences

abroad have been debilitating. Instead of learning to “tickly Mary” (Bailey, Lecture) as the wartime

addition to “It’s a long way to Tipperary” had it, Bert has “gone syphilitic” (l. 10). The final line is the

most bitterly ironic, with the bishop saying the soldiers are not able to understand the bigger

picture: “The ways of God are strange!” [272 words].

Works Cited.

Bailey, Quentin, “Module 7 Lecture: The Poetry of War II,” English 220.05. Spring 2016.

Siegfried Sassoon, “They,” Module 7 Readings: English 220.05. Spring 2016.