literature

1. Men who sit on chairs
Men who sit on chairs is a poem about war and therefore belong to the literary
movement ´War poetry´. It could be said that it was written by Siegfried Sassoon
due to the style and techniques present in the poem. The topic of this poem reflects
unfairness and injustice. Several poetic devices like metonymy, irony, alliteration,
and diction can be found on this piece of literature.
Before anything else, it would be important to mention the similarity Men who sit on
chairs with Does it matter? written by Siegfried Sassoon. The similarities standout
in rhyme, pattern (repetition if lines), and the use of irony. To exemplify, it is enough
to take a look at the second stanza and the final word of each line (´home´, ´more´);
or in the third stanza (´bereaved´, ´achieved´). This rhyming technique is also
present in ´Does it matter?´. As regards the patterns, in both poems each stanza
begins with the same clause (´Men who sit on chairs´ and ´Does it matter?´
respectively). This repetition might be used to contrast two characters: The men
who sit on chairs and the men who fight, ergo ´the others´. For instance, ´Men who
sit on chairs sleep soundly in their beds, Unlike the men in psyche wards being
force-fed on their meds´. The author here is trying to emphasize the privilege those
men who promote war have, a privilege they do not deserve but that they are
attributed just because of the power they have. Then, to help that contrast to have
a real impact on the reader, the narrator uses irony, which is shown in the following
example: ´...Minus one or two or three or four or more.´. There is a really
perceptible implication behind this phrase as there were thousands of men who
died during the war period. Through the ironic tone is possible to presume the real
thoughts the author has about war and what is more the writer is trying to show a
side of the war that is often forgotten. Furthermore, in order not to sound
aggressive and direct, the narrator uses other poetic devices such as metonymy to
refer to power-men (´men who sit on chairs´), alliteration to emphasize or carry the
irony (repetition of the title), and diction. The last one is shown in this poem in the
way he uses the language to expose the attitudes of those who, in Sassoon´s view,
were responsible for promoting war.
To conclude, the similarities are incredibly noticeable to Sassoon´s poem ´Does it
matter?´. The most outstanding aspect is the language used to convey irony,
meaning, and therefore to cause the reaction on the reader. War is a topic often
approached from the pain of the soldier but in this case, it is approached from
anger and a deep feeling of injustice.
- Teran Ariadna Celeste