Does It Matter?

I personly agree with Kid of Harlesden From the UK!
You speak the TRUTH, We (all Man-Kind) only Here of what was lost in a Physical sense. But what about the Psychological Problems that must be endure by the men and wemon Fighting for us, well for anyone. The ones that are hurt so much in their minds who end up in Psyc wards because of what the did. And chris from the US, I am an American and a I am and will always be a Patrait and I do firmly beleave in Hu-Ra! But you are intittled to give your oppinon but I must strongly disogree w/ you becase yes I'm sure that the UK complaines but we complaine just as much as the do and I do not here them complaining about us complaining much so I am all for the deavotion to your contry just don't condeam those who do the same for their contry.
So what I am saying is that I feel you should speak but not atack someone elses.
*Hearts* to all races cultures and region and or Political Status!
Trinah

First off guys stop bloody arguing.Both countries lost huge numbers of men in the First World War and it seems to me we were on the same side. The side which made the largest contribution of all, and Americans seem to love forgetting about was Russia. in world war 2, they fought alone for 4 years losing 25million men. If they hadn't held out there would have been no war for you to'save'. I thought we were discussing the poem and I think Chris its all too easy to say its worth losing a limb for your country. Sassoon was a soldier and officer who was trying to come to terms with complacent generals and civilians who unthinkingly offered thousands up to the slaughter without considering the horror, suffering and mental trauma that it inflicted. In the poem he makes a sarcastic jibe at the 'kindness' of those at home who are willing to be nice and thankful about the injuries and psychological suffering they went through. Unfortunately too many people today think complacently about the terror and horror thousands of men endured in a cause which rapidly became pointless and could have been ended by politicians long before it was. War is not glorious and never has been, its a bloody and horrific and eventually pointless way of solving political disputes. This is essentially what Sassoon is saying here. Owen's Dulce et decorum est is also a poem worth looking at in a similar vein. The old lie - how sweet and pleasant it is to die for your country.

I'm all up for love on this site...but the americans have to realise that a hell of a lot of you came from britain originally so shut up thinking we won the damn war coz you really didnt, and Charlotte is right russia did suffer the most, i mean standing up for themselves for 4 years on their own was amazing and extremely draining on their economy but its brave as hell, however Everyone lost something. The End. Poetry, poetry is good. lets talk about that rather than bicker about which country was better. Does it matter? is a satircal bitter poem by sassoon, it is NOT about bravery and all that other crap about it loosing a limp being worth it. you go loose one then you'll change your mind. sassoon should be looked at at face value and deeper value because you can get much out of the poem. it may sound all tra la la la but its really anything but. like a lot of sassoons poems he is often mocking someone or something in this case its the people who got to keep their leg or their sight and so on. sassoon was greatly opposed to the war after he'd been 'tricked' into going bt the thoughts of it being glorious. sassoon is stating that the men who lost something like a leg or died, died for nothing but the egos of the political classes as they found it very easy to throw away lives that werent theirs, especially if they were working class. the title does it matter? is being addressed to a politian or a person of higher rank than sassoon. sassoon wrote the poem under the title of does it matter? because it clearly does to him even if it doesnt to you or anyone else. you can either agree or disagree with sassoon but you do have to look at every aspect of the poem to have a good understanding of it.it might be a little hypocritical from what i was saying earlier(and i dont care) however you should all agree to stop arguing... its just poetry for godsake. go take your arguements to the forum.

The other Americans may wonder why I am using proper english and not our daft Americanised version, well its because I prefer English Spelling, it looks better and sounds better, plus I lived in england for about five years, and England is great so dont knock it until you go there. Anyway, I'm afraid most americans just dont get british humour and sarcasm unfortunatley. I also believe that the poem does not glorify war, there is nothing honourable and chivalrous about the subject matter. If you're looking for poetry which glamourises war go look at Jessie Pope or Sir Henry Newbolt. Unfortunately again people dont help each other another thing Sassoon is mocking 'For people will always be kind' Really, will they?, I highly doubt it, every one is too wrapped up in their own lives to care about the people who really lost something. The poem is showing how men of high social status dont care about the men they sent to war to get bits of themselves blown off, all the countries did it. Do you honestly think that every single man went their to play cricket and write poetry and have a jolly good time. No they didn't. The men went there because some lunatic decided to start a war and wouldnt just sort it out with the opposition's leader. instead it all had to be done with brute force which took longer and a lot more death. War should be sorted out by putting the two leaders of the opposing countries into a room until it is sorted...but no death of course. A view I'm sure a pacifist like Sassoon would agree with today if he were alive. And if you didnt know sassoon was a pacifist and opposed the war I suggest you go do your history and read his declaration about his view or the war.

Hello, I'm from The Netherlands and we're reading poems on school about WO I. I'm really sorry if my english is not completely correct!
It's interesting to see the different opinions about 'Does it matter'. United Kingdom thinks it's sarcastic, United States takes it literal, as a patriotic poem.

I'm not sure, but I think Sassoon is displaying his bitterness. Many of Sassoon's poems are full of biting sarcasm directed at the people who still believed in the glorious side of war. He's also writing about the frustrations of the soldiers whose experiences in the trenches had made it impossible for them to lead normal lives again.
Especially the last line "And no one will worry a bit." displays Brooke's intention. He wants to protest against the civilians who are doing so easy about war. Yes, you should be glad you've survived war, but that's it?!? They just don't understand where the soldiers have gone through. They can't imagine. Everyone is living his own life.

The poem is most definitely a sarcastic poem, i believe intending to highlight the unnecessary loss both mentally and physically to the soldiers. If it is a satirical version of the Pope's poem it may be attacking the expectations of those who haven't gone to war about those who have. I'll try to be clearer about that - 'They will know that you've faught for your country' and 'need not show that you mind' show that expectations are that the soldiers would come back, possibly a little worse for wear but ultimately the same sort of people they left as. What those who remained at home wouldn't reallise would be the absolute horrors they saw day after day and how this would traumatise the soldiers.
There are phrases which approach issues and possibly mock things such as patriotism and religion, i.e. 'your country'; 'turning your face to the light'

all in all, it is my opinion Sassoon had his tongue firmly placed in his cheek for the most part of this poem , and the mere contemplation that this would seriously be a partiotic uplifting poem is VERY hard to believe.

I would just like to say, in case Chris from page 2 ever looks at this again (unlikely), even if America did save Britain in WW2, Britain will probably save America in the World War 3 that Bush is creating.

And about the poem, Sassoon is being quite sarcastic, i think, but not about the people being kind, because they would indeed be far too kind and would make the soldiers feel pitied and pitiful. The sarcasm, or whatever you want to call it, is in the 'does it matters', because of course it matters, but people would say that you lost it in glory, fighting for a cause, but by that time im sure the soldiers would have realised there was no cause just a huge heap of death and pointlessness. So its quite bitter. I agree with the person who said it was quite bitter. Yes.

as is rachel, im studing poetry from the great war at a level currently also. and i would just like to further what has already been said. bu firstly I would like to kick that chris bloke up the arse, many of the soldiers in WW1 would rather have been killed than have to continue with the conditions they lived in, in the trenches, and then ontop of that be haunted by memories and live greviously wounded for the rest of their lives.
can you even imagine what it would be like to lose your limbs?
i think that the 'dying for your country' stuff is bollocks really. yes, it takes balls to sign up, maybe now-a-days, but back then, the war was an escape from the boringness and dullness of a working life! you have to understand the context of the time.
as sassoon himself rightfully said in 'finished with the war - a solidiers declaration', the war which began "as a war of defence and liberation, has now become a war of agression and conquest".
it is very famously known that the leaders and authorities ofthe time truly believed the war to be finished by christmas!
if anyone is going to make any serious comments about such controversial poetry, then they should atleast read wilfred owen's 'disabled' (as has already been suggested) or maybe atleast have ONE speck of knowledge of what theyre talking about... but perhaps 'disabled' gives an easier to understand insight into what happens to the people that dont die. the people that survive, but get left behind because of what they now suffer from, because of the war.

Hannah-Meg

This Poem, in my opinion, is very well written. Sasson emphasises the pitiful state of soldiers who lost something precious in the war using a heavy use of irony and sarcasm. Calling it merely "Dripping with Sarcasm" is an understatement. Although I am merely 14, I can easily sympathise with those who gained disabilities and lost their minds during the war. I am glad I got this Poem to write an essay on.

Now, on to the people commenting. There are 2 types of people I have seen too much of and am getting quite tired of them. I am talking about the "all Americans are stupid" Brits and "we saved your hides during the war, so you owe us" Americans.

First, for the Brits. Because of a few Americans reading this Poem literally, doesn't mean all Americans lack a sarcasm-reading ability (Note that I did NOT say stupid here). No country needs a stereotype on their head because of a few black sheep.

Next, the "we saved your hides, so you owe us. Stop complaining" Americans. Did you save them? Did YOU? Were you one of the few having to risk your lives on the battlefield? Did you feel little pieces of death zipping past you at extreme speeds? Did you have to charge into a fortified fortress WITHOUT AIR SUPPORT? Did you have to trudge through swamps and deserts while hoarding more than 20kg of Equipment?

If you did and survived, congrats to you, old man. I am sure that you were a brave warrior pretending to be dead while your fellow comrades died around you. Or perhaps reinforcements came in the nick of time? Or perhaps you were assigned Sniper duty? As a war Quote from Bertrand Russell nicely puts across, "War does not determine who is right - only who is left." If you survived the war, good for you, you were one of the lucky ones. The greatest marksman in the squad may fall and the slacking coward may survie, purely because of the fact that the enemy went for the better man instead.

Where am I leading to with all this? Well, then answer me this - WERE YOU EVEN IN THE WAR? If yes, look above. If not (Which is hugely likely), what right do you have to say "we haved your hides during the war"? Your ancestors were the ones who did all the work, and the ones who claim credit are people like you. I may be 14, I may know nothing about how it feels like to be in a war, but at least I don't go around pretending I saved people by whom were saved by my great-grandfather. Fortunately, there are better Americans out there.

Anyway, back to the Poem. I have to rush my essay now, so I will just finish this off. I feel pity for those who lost their limbs, their eyesight, their hearing, their MINDS during the War. Then, instead of being understood, instead of being specially cared for or awarded well for their bravery, they were looked down upon. YOU GET LOOKED DOWN UPON BY PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES YOU SAVED. Do the leaders who mindlessly waged the war suffer any risk of dying? Yes - After millions have died trying to save them. Those who have yet to reach the age of 20 may be sent to war and die an early, undeserved death. Look at what our 20 year olds in our society are doing right now. Look at what good lives they lead, instead of having to risk their lives on the battlefield. Yet there are people who waste away their lives by doing stupid things like smoking weed...

I shall end this with another quote which pretty much sums up wars. “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” - Herbert Hoover

you shouldn't be proud of war.
of course britain is greatful for your help at the very END of the war but still , think of all those who died, you shouldn't be proud of 'stuffing' anyone because at the end of the day war is brutal wether you won or lost.plus how the americans behaved in the vietnam war was utterly disgusting and that was alot more recent than ww2

also those americans who thought 'he's talking about how these men dont care if they lose a leg or go blind as long as they know they helpd defeand our country' that is just what sassoon is trying to illustrate is so very wrong!
try reading dulce.. by owen and you will see they both showed great oppostion to people like pope who saw war as patriotic and honourable.
sasoon is trying to say its not like that at all and unfortunately i think you are in a bit of a bubble if you think they would be treated the same as disabled persons. try reading disabled by owen. people just wouldn't treat you the same even though we would like to think they do. ass it says in disabled you just receive 'pitty'.
i also agree that americans dont get british humour but then again aussies and brits dont find alot of the american stuff funny either. the brits are v clever with their commedy and dry humoured - takes some getting used to but is prob funnier than american commedy cos they dont need to use canned laughter to let people know when to laugh. however i must say i love friends!

anyway before people comment i think they should show respect to great writers such as sassoon and get it right!!
sassoon would hate to think people acts took his poem litterally so do your research before you make a comment. even looking at the date it was written would have given a HUGE hint and also you should know sasoon was on the front ( therefore i dont exactly think he thought war was good)
also brits , americans arnt stupid they just dont get your more advanced humour but i agree with the person who said there are black sheep.

Damn, some of these people are even more stupid then i thought. After reading most of the comments on these 3 pages i was quite surprised. firstly about US saving UK, i must differ. this is not true, the US only intervined in the last few months of the war. this was due to the u boat attack upon a cruise liner containing both british and american citizens. The war was won by the allies due to the mishaps of the axis, the germans broke through the allied front in th elast 2 months of the war and were advancing towards paris, and then it seemed as though thye would win. but due to the soldiers focusing of raping women and destroying land, they stalled themselves 2 months in time for reinforcements to come and wipe them out, not bcoz of americans.

About the dispute of the poem is a satire or patriotism, it is definatley a satire. again as some others may have mentioned, you need to be british to understand most of the sarcasm. sassoon was against war, and if you check him up on wikipedia or read his poems,they all are anti war, just like the poems of his friends wilfred owen etc.

And theodore, be a bit more respectful and learn what sassooon is trying to say in the poem. he is trying to say the EXACT OPPOSITE of what ou are sayin. he is telling us to keep in mind what the soldiers have done for us not call them cowardly old men. if you just fought for your nation, im sure you wouldnt be happy if someone came to you and said your an old coward, ofcourse not and ana, the sarcasm in this poem is so evident that you cannot miss it. take this line for example 'There’s such splendid work for the blind' do you think that some poeple are dumb enough to take it in a literal sense, well only if their IQ is lower than 50, which is common with most americans, so unless you are one yourself, you cannot classify british humor as advanced.

Id like to end by quoting a statement by a great man, benjamin franklin (ONE american with some sense)"There never was a good war or a bad peace."

well this is obviously a very much debated poem... but not actually about the poem!

the poem follows an ABBCA rhyme scheme. and is very much a satyrical poem and contains patronising undertones throughout, especially with lines such as "for people will always be kind" and "there's such splendid work for the blind".

the repetition of "does it matter?" lets the reader decide for themselves if it does really matter; which of course it does. the use of the word "hunting" is a war reminder, that would be hard for the soldier to deal with, as well as portraying the "others" who remain anonymous as greedy and selfish: "gobble" is animialistic.

"those dreams from the pit" suggest shell shock. and the reader can clearly see the forced gaiety in the line "you can drink and forget and be glad"- in other words meaning you can drown your sorrows.

"for theyy'll know you've fought for your country" is totally mocking the propa ganda at the time, and "no one will worry a bit" ambigious because no one really cares about the war itself, or what this person has done for it.

the jolly refrain has an upbeat tone adds to the irony of the poem, and you can almost hear a received pronunciation in the poem, making it typically british for the early 20th century.

Sassoon's poem is totally anti war and is full of anger and bitterness.

hope you enjoy analysising the poem as much as i did(not)... back to a-level revising i go... such a fun task :/