Glory of Women
Siegfried Sassoon * Track #4 On Counter-Attack and Other Poems
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Album Counter-Attack and Other Poems
Glory of Women by Siegfried Sassoon
Performed by
Siegfried SassoonAbout
Sassoon used poetry as therapy to get him through his experiences in the first World War. In this poem, he criticizes the glorification of war, specifically how females seem to expect all men to step up to their gender roles and be brave soldiers.
Glory of Women Annotated
You love us when we're heroes, home on leave,
Or wounded in a mentionable place.
You worship decorations; you believe
That chivalry redeems the war's disgrace.
You make us shells. You listen with delight,
By tales of dirt and danger fondly thrilled.
You crown our distant ardours while we fight,
And mourn our laurelled memories when we're killed.
You can't believe that British troops 'retire'
When hell's last horror breaks them, and they run,
Trampling the terrible corpses--blind with blood.
O German mother dreaming by the fire,
While you are knitting socks to send your son
His face is trodden deeper in the mud.