Darkness (Motif)
In Sassoon's work, darkness is a representation of the damage that war inflicts on the human body, psyche, and spirit. The image of darkness is often used for the battlefield itself. For example, in "The Redeemer" the word "darkness" and a colon precedes an elaboration of the terrible conditions of the trenches. The speaker in "Before the Battle" beseeches trees, streams, and other parts of the natural world to "bear [him] safe through dark," meaning he is asking to survive the war (Line 6). Darkness appears also as a representation of death in "The Death-Bed," where a wounded soldier travels through different states of consciousness. The motif of darkness contributes to Sassoon's vivid use of imagery in his war poems.
Bullets (Motif)
Bullets appear repeatedly in Sassoon's poems, representing the violence of war. As physical objects, they are tools of violence, but Sassoon positions them in unique ways. For example, bullets "[spit]" in the poem "Counter-Attack," and they "flick" in "A Letter Home," and they "[sing]" in "The Redeemer." Through this use of personification, Sassoon brings the violence of warfare alive.
Bullets also symbolize the complex emotions that accompany the experience of war. In "Suicide in the Trenches," a young soldier cannot bear the conditions of the trenches, and he puts a bullet through his brain. Though this violence does not occur directly in battle, it is still a result of the war. The soldier's erasure from public consciousness (no one ever speaks of him again) expresses shame; this bullet was meant to bring about the death of the enemy and support the Allied effort, but instead, the soldier's companions feel that he wasted it.
Roll of Honour (“Base Details”) (Symbol)
The Roll of Honour is a document that acknowledges and honors the service of military personnel, but in "Base Details," it is used in an ironic way, making it a symbol of hypocrisy. The major who reads the Roll of Honour is charged with the responsibility of making decisions that affect the lives of soldiers, but this major abuses his power. While the soldiers presumably suffer on the front lines and die in battle, the major engages in gluttonous behavior. The only reward the soldiers receive if they die is to have their names read from the Roll of Honour, but Sassoon implies that this ceremony of honor is actually a farce.
The Hawthorn Tree ("The Hawthorn Tree") (Symbol)
In "The Hawthorn Tree," the father of an active-duty soldier goes every day to visit the white hawthorn tree that he and his son used to spend time at. The symbolism of the tree changes over the course of the poem. At first, it represents the father's hope that his son will one day be able to return and see the tree with his own eyes. For the time being, the father makes a daily pilgrimage to the tree and thinks about his son. In the second stanza, the father states, "I think I'll never weep again / Until I've heard he's dead" (Lines 12-13). Here, the tree becomes a symbol of the despair of not knowing, and the way in which the war disrupts people's lives.
The Torch ("The Rear-Guard") (Symbol)
In "The Rear-Guard," the light from the soldier's torch (another word for flashlight) uncovers something that is best left undiscovered: a human corpse. In this way, it symbolizes how humans will encounter atrocities during a war. Darkness is also a motif in Sassoon's poems, representing the effects of warfare, so the torch in "The Rear-Guard" exposes what lies within this darkness.
