What are the critical analysis of the poem "Hero"
Answers
“The Hero,” by the English poet Sigfried Sassoon (1886-1967), is one of the many notable lyrics Sassoon wrote in response to World War I. Sassoon himself was a war hero, known for his unusual bravery, but eventually he turned against the conflict which he came to consider as pointless and badly managed. This poem reflects his disillusionment with the war.
Like much of Sassoon’s poetry, this work is written in a simple, clear, straightforward style. As the opening line suggests, the poem uses the kind of language actually spoken by “real” human beings. It employs no lofty rhetoric or exotic phrasing; neither of those would be appropriate to its subject matter. Instead, the tone is colloquial and familiar. The mother refers to her son as “Jack,” using his nickname rather than his probable formal name (“John”).
The first three lines of the poem use a very regular “iambic” meter, in which odd syllables are unaccented and even syllables are stressed. Iambic meter is so often used in English poetry because it is thought to be closest to the actual rhythms of normal, everyday speech. It is an appropriate rhythm, then, for Sassoon to have chosen for this poem.