What is the tone and beat of Does it matter Siegfried Sassoon?

Answer 1

The poem "Does It Matter?" is an ironic poem written in a sarcastic style. It implies that alinements such as "losing your legs" or "losing your sight" are not important, which reflects the naivety of people at the time of the poem's writing. They thought that the soldiers had not suffered much and they had no reason to be thought of as heros; the best gesture offered to them could only be people being "kind". The poem explores activities that the injured soldiers cannot participate in anymore, such as "hunting" or "gobbl[ing] muffins and eggs". Sasson angrily attacks the views that the soldiers have to pretend that they do not "mind" pretending that they have not been affected by the war in front of intolerant other people. "Splendid work" sarcastically suggests the way ex-soldiers are expected to carry on their daily lives, ignoring their injuries. The last alinement described is a mental condition as sasoon suggests that the "dreams form the pit" are unbearable. Sasoon suggests that soldiers should not have to suffer these horrific "dreams" alone and he condomes the lack of empathy towards the soldiers, stating how they are expected to "drink and forget and be glad", however hard it may be. The only words of sympathy that seem to be able to be offered are that "people won't say that you're mad", as they "know that you've fought for your country", which suggests that fighting for your country is infact, madness. The poem bitterly attacks the naive views of the general public, attempting to enforce sympathy on them by mimicking their views of the ex-soldiers and enforces them to realise the suffering the soldiers have experienced.

more to say about the tone, style, beat etc.