Base Details
Siegfried
Sassoon
About the Author…..
 Sassoon survived in the army in the trenches and to his record
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holds many feats of bravery.
Sassoon was born into a wealthy banking family in 1886.
He joined the military in 1914 after being motivated by patriotism
and fought in several battles as a brave officer and was awarded
with a Military Cross for bravery.
However, during his time in the military he gradually came to the
realization that war was not as sweet as it was said to be. He
protested against the horror of the wars and became intent on
destroying government propaganda.
When he became wounded during the war, he was sent to a
hospital in Edinburgh where he met Wilfred Owen, he then died in
1967.
Siegfried Sassoon
What’s up with the name?
 YES it has a
Double meaning :
 The title of the poem itself serves as a
strong opinion. ‘Base Details’ is a pun:
‘Base’ could simply refer to the Majors’
headquarters or,
OR
Could refer to the treatment of the soldiers
compared to that of the Majors, the Majors
are ‘Base’ in character.
Notes
 Written from the perspective of a high level
general during WW1.
 Sassoon talks about heroes such as himself in
the battle line trenches fighting for the generals in
the “nice hotels”.
 He has a very proud arrogance about him and
lets you know in his writing. It also shows up in
his diction in the poem
 You see consistently in this passage that he
references military ideas and hierarchy.
Line 1-3
If I were fierce, and bald, and
short of breath
I'd live with scarlet Majors at
the Base,
And speed glum heroes up the
line to death.
Notes
 Sassoon’s opening line is quick to employ a sense of
mockery, he uses adjectives such as ‘fierce’ and ‘bald’ to first
create an image of greatness (fierce) which is then shattered
by a sardonic remark (bald).
 He even makes use of colour to demonstrate his opinion,
‘scarlet Majors’. Scarlet is a shade of red which represents
anger :
which could be showcasing Sassoon’s anger at the Majors
or
the unnecessary anger of the Majors which makes them
less appealing characters due to their lack of appreciation
for their position in the war.
Line 4-8
You'd see me with my puffy petulant
face,
Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel,
Reading the Roll of Honour. "Poor young
chap,"
I'd say -- "I used to know his father well;
Yes, we've lost heavily in this last scrap."
Notes
 Sassoon makes use of alliteration -‘puffy petulant’ and
‘guzzling and gulping’, this puts emphasis on the unsightly
appearances of the Majors.
 Sassoon’s description of the Majors’ faces, ‘puffy petulant,’
present the men as ill tempered, unattractive and unfit which
contrasts greatly with the soldiers.
 This description creates caricature images in the mind of the
reader which serve as degradation, again showcasing
Sassoon’s ill feelings towards this inequality
Notes
 The verbs ‘guzzling’ and ‘gulping’ are also onomatopoeic;
they are unpleasant words which reflect the gluttony of the
Majors. They eat lots while the men in the trenches starve.
 He continues expressing this opinion by making us aware
that the Majors are staying in ‘the best hotel’ which
suggests they are superior.
 This line highlights the inequalities of war.
 The upperclassmen get to plan the war from
their luxurious accommodation while innocent
young men fight and die on the front line for
their country.
Notes : Why do the mayor’s speak?
 Sassoon uses quotes from the Majors in the poem to allow
the Major to speak for himself to show you that his opinion
of them is not wrong. They confirm his initial criticisms by
what they say.
 Their quotes inform the readers of what the Majors are like,
 ‘Poor young chap,’ he portrays them as being
patronizing because of their snobby, upper-class
language.
 The word ‘chap’ suggests a sense of detachment; the man
has no name, just a typical reference. (Theme of
anonymity)
Notes : Why do the mayor’s speak?
 He (major) adopts an arrogant tone,
‘I used to know his father well,
Yes, we’ve lost heavily in this last scrap,’
 There is a lack of concern and a sense of apathy
instead of the sympathy which should be there.
 Sassoon very cleverly used this quote to show
the terrifying indifference people have towards
the men who are dying for their country.
Line 9-10
And when the war is done and
youth stone dead,
I'd toddle safely home and die -- in
bed.
Notes
 The last line of the poem,
‘I’d toddle safely home
and die – in bed,’ is a significant line which
highlights the security of the Majors. They have
little to fear and are unaffected unlike the
soldiers; they will live in fear and see horrible
sights.
 This line is like an overview of the poem, it
revisits the entire point of the poem: inequality.
Structure
 The layout of a poem is very important, it reveals a lot about
the poet’s thoughts on the topic.
 The poem has short sweet sentences with Capitals at every
beginning of every line.
 The form in this poem consists of only one ten-line
stanza.
Structure continued
Why does he keep it short?
 would stay to the point and that every word he chose hold
more meaning.
 He wanted you to know what the Major was thinking , they
were going to be able to choose his own death while sending
others off to theirs.
 This short, re-fined stanza reflects a lot about the poet’s
opinions of the Majors.
 He is angry and frustrated and this frustration remains in the
poem from start to end.
 It is blatant that Sassoon thinks little of the Majors; this is
evident through the shortness of the poem.
Structure continued
 It is important to note that throughout the poem there are only
three sentences.
1. His first sentence is his description of the Majors,
2. The second lists the activities of the Majors contrasted with the
idea of soldiers dying on the front line.
3. The third sentence is about how unaffected the Majors are by
the war.
 Each sentence is used to discuss a different point and each of
them are prolonged.
 The long sentences in such a short poem suggest Sassoon’s
eagerness to elaborate on the negative qualities as they rush out
of him. This is important as it reflects how easily he can think
negatively of the war and how quickly he can express it.
Language & Tone
 He uses basic language, with short words to get his message
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across quickly and to the most basic of people.
The attitude = satirical as well as bitter.
It has a very direct tone. It is achieved through the language,
Sassoon makes his satirical remarks very obvious through his
description of the Majors ‘puffy petulant face’, he uses
mockery to degrade them.
The bitterness is also very obvious, ‘I’d toddle safely home
and die – in bed,’ the inequality clearly gets under Sassoon’s
skin and his feelings begin to pour out of him.
The mood of the poem is one of injustice; Sassoon does not
think it fair that these men get security and luxuries while the
soldiers are on the front line.