Analysis Does It Matter?

Does It Matter?
Havo 5 Literature
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Cette leçon contient 35 diapositives, avec quiz interactifs, diapositives de texte et 1 vidéo.

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Does It Matter?
Havo 5 Literature

Slide 1 - Diapositive

Before we start..
A short test to see what you remember

Slide 2 - Diapositive

In The Soldier, why was the concealed dust 'richer'?
A
It was made of gold.
B
It was made of honour.
C
It was made by a rich man.
D
I have absolutely no idea.

Slide 3 - Quiz

Which poem was more positive about war?
A
Dulce et Decorum Est
B
The Soldier
C
Both were very positive
D
Both were very negative

Slide 4 - Quiz

Both poems take place at the same time. When was this?

Slide 5 - Question ouverte

Let's continue
Does It Matter?
by Siegfried Sassoon

Slide 6 - Diapositive

What is a stanza?

Slide 7 - Question ouverte

About the author
  • Siegfried Sassoon
  • 1886 - 1967
  • Joined army
  • Wrote statement "against" the war

Slide 8 - Diapositive

What else do you remember about Sasson that is of importance to his work?

Slide 9 - Question ouverte

What does the year of his death (1967) tell us?

Slide 10 - Question ouverte

About the author
  • Survived the war
  • Met Owen in 1917 and
    influenced his work.

Slide 11 - Diapositive

Slide 12 - Vidéo

What do you see...?
What is the same with each stanza?

Slide 13 - Diapositive

The similarity is...
They all start with a question. We'll see later on why this is important.

Slide 14 - Diapositive

1. What is the rhyme scheme of this poem?

Slide 15 - Question ouverte

The rhyme scheme is...
ABBCA DBBED FGGHF

  • Difficult as there is a lot of repetition

Slide 16 - Diapositive

Which describes the tone of this poem best?
A
Patriotic
B
Colourful
C
Ironic
D
Praising

Slide 17 - Quiz

Ironic = correct answer
  • Each situation (question) described in the first line of each stanza is quite horrific
  • These situations are all after-effects from the war
  • However, they are all nullified by the ‘advantages’ given in the rest of the stanza
  • Therefore they do not seem to matter.

Slide 18 - Diapositive

STANZA 1
Analysis

Slide 19 - Diapositive

Correct answer
  • The speaker asks a sarcastic question about whether or not losing one’s legs “matters”. 
  • The answer to this question should be , yes, of course, it matters. 
  • But, the speaker goes a different route in order to show the absurdity of war and the public’s lack of understanding about the suffering that the soldiers go through. 
  • There are wounds that can’t be healed, mental and physical, by “kind” people. 

Slide 20 - Diapositive

Correct answer
  • This man is now unable to go hunting with his friends and family, sitting and cheerily greeting the returning hunting party. 
  • These other people don’t see the soldier’s pain and he works hard to hide it. 
  • The others “gobble their muffins and eggs,” totally unaware of the suffering that the soldier is going through. 

Slide 21 - Diapositive

STANZA 2

Slide 22 - Diapositive

Which figure of speech (stijlfiguur) do you recognize in this poem?
A
Anaphora
B
Onomatopoeia
C
Enjambment
D
Simile

Slide 23 - Quiz

Correct answer
  • The speaker asks another question that he answers immediately. 
  • He uses blindness as an example this time.
  • There’s “splendid work for the blind,” he says as if this fact does away with this sorrow of losing one’s sight.
  • By suggesting that kind people are enough to make up for this injury the poet is drawing attention to how very untrue the statement is. 

Slide 24 - Diapositive

Correct answer
  • One of the best, and most memorable, images in ‘Does it Matter?’ comes at the end of this stanza with the speaker describes this now blind man sitting outside and turning his face “to the light”. 
  • This is a sorrowful scene that shows the longing in the man’s mind and heart for a time when things were different than they are now. 

Slide 25 - Diapositive

STANZA 3
Analysis

Slide 26 - Diapositive

What does the author mean
with the word 'pit' in stanza 3?

Slide 27 - Carte mentale

Correct answer
  • The “dreams of the pit” are the focus of this stanza. The “pit” is likely a reference to both the Hell that is war and to the actual trenches that soldiers were forced in the bunker and fight from. 
  • His sarcastic question in the first line is followed up with statements that suggest that people who don’t understand the impact of war won’t comprehend the true damage that soldiers endure.

Slide 28 - Diapositive

Correct answer
  • The speaker suggests, sarcastically, that you can “drink and forget and be glad” and then no one will recognize that “you’re mad”.
  • Others will be happy to accept a soldier’s drinking because he fought for his country and they won’t have to worry about him at all. 

Slide 29 - Diapositive

3. What does the author mean
with the word 'pit' in stanza 3?

Slide 30 - Carte mentale

In Dulce Et Decorum Est the author talks about “smothering dreams”. In this poem the author also talks about dreams. 

Slide 31 - Diapositive

4. What do you think these dreams are about?

Slide 32 - Question ouverte

The dreams are about
The horrific scenes soldiers see and encounter on the battlefield.

Slide 33 - Diapositive

What are the similarities and differences between Does It Matter and Dulce et Decorum Est?




Discuss in pairs or groups of three.

Slide 34 - Diapositive

Similarities / Differences to Dulce (notes!)
Similarities:
  • Both poems written in 1917 (when Sassoon and Owen met)
  • Both Dulce Et Decorum Est and Does It Matter are negative about the war.
  • Both poems talk about having nightmares from the battlefield

Differences:
  • Dulce et Decorum Est is much more graphic

Slide 35 - Diapositive