Does It Matter?

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Does It Matter?

Siegfried Sassoon

Before we start..

A short test to see what you remember

In The Soldier, by Rupert Brooke, why was the concealed dust 'richer'?

1. It was made of gold.
2. It was made of honour.
3. It was made by a rich man.
4. I have absolutely no idea.

Which poem was more positive about war?

1. Dulce et Decorum Est
2. The Soldier
3. Both were very positive
4. Both were very negative

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

Let's continue

Does It Matter?

by Siegfried Sassoon

About the author

• Siegfried Sassoon
• 1886 - 1967
• Joined army

About the author

• Survived the war
• Wrote a statement against the war
• Met Owen in 1917 and
  influenced his work.

What else do you remember about Sassoon that might be relevant?

What is a stanza?

Before we start..

What is the same with each stanza?

The similarity is...

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

1. What is the rhyme scheme of this poem?

The rhyme scheme is...

ABBCA DBBED FGGHF

• Difficult as there is a lot of repetition

STANZA 1

Analysis

Which describes the tone of this poem best?

1. Patriotic
2. Colourful
3. Ironic
4. Praising

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. 

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. 

STANZA 2

Which figure of speech (stijlfiguur) do you recognize in this poem?

1. Anaphora
2. Onomatopoeia
3. Enjambment
4. Simile

Which figure of speech do you recognize in this poem?

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. 

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. 

STANZA 3

Analysis

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

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.

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. 

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

What do you think these dreams are about?

The dreams are about

The horrific scenes soldiers see and encounter on the battlefield.

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

Discuss in pairs or groups of three.

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
  

I think I understand this poem well enough for the test.

Yes

No

Continue

If you have answered yes, focus on your week task.

If you have answered no, please let me know what you do not understand (yet).