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The lexis that is used to present the overall feelings of war is slightly different in henry v and the three poems. In ‘suicide in the trenches’ Sassoon uses metaphors to demonstrate the true outline of war. The most important word he uses is ‘hell’, this metaphor is used to re present what the writer is feeling.‘hell’ was the worst thing you could ever want to happen to you, due to the religious nature of many during the war, which shows to the audience that many would rather die than experience it, ironic that during a war they are desperate to survive in battle but their living conditions and experiences are so bad that they would rather ‘put a bullet’ in their brains that continue. Sassoon wrote this poem during his military service and after he lost his brother. some may argue that if Sassoon sorrowfully lost his brother due to the war he may automatically have an anti-war feeling against it therefore his poems which are full of anger, melancholy and like an inferno is just a one sided opinion however, in ‘Dulce et decorum est.’ own uses oxymoron’s such as ‘ecstasy of fumbling’ this illustrates to the audience that maybe Sassoon’s poems are not one sided but just the true nature of war. the line ‘ecstasy’ is used to describe pleasure, this is contradicting the subject of what Wilfred Owen is trying to put across from his poem. he used the word ‘ecstasy’ ironically. nothing about war is felicity or blissful however ridiculously he uses a word which is used to mean euphoria and exhilaration even though he wants to describe an abhorrent and harrowing experience. ‘in the memoriam’ mackintosh uses language to show the truth of war. the phrase elucidate the feeling of lose. the line ‘the little helpless babies’ imports the audience that it was not just older men who fought in war but defenseless, unprotected : diminutive people. This is also demonstrated in ‘Henry V’ in the line ‘your naked infants’. when reading the description of infants involved in war our natural instinct is to protect therefore the audience feels inordinate shame and exasperation. ‘Henry v’ also describes numerous accounts of violence. this is shown significantly in the line ‘spitted upon pikes’ this demonstrates just how brutal war could be. ‘pikes’ suggests that there was more than one victim as it is plural. additionally ‘spitted’ is something an individual would do if there was no appreciation or esteem during war. overall all poems and Henry V show the true mortality of war. the language used is exceedingly helpful in the explaining of war. they all show tribulation, animosity, vexation, guilt and bereavement.

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The structure that is presented in Henry V and the other texts are significant to the emotional voice associated with war. In ‘Suicide in the trenches’, Sassoon uses rhyming couplets to emphasise the bad nature of war. The line ‘empty joy’: ‘lonesome dark’ represents the dolefulness and solitude understanding that we receive from his poems. the use of ‘lonesome’ is seen to show the life of soldiers. this was an noticeable a destitute time during the war. Sassoon used this literary technique to inform the audience the living conditions in an eye catching way. Rhyming triplets can also be seen in ‘Dulce et de decorum est.’ Wilfred Owen uses the same literal technique in the line ‘ecstasy of fumbling’: ‘yelling out and fumbling’ this is demonstrating the soldiers frantic desire to escape wars realties. In contrast ‘in memoriam’ uses repetition to comprehend the truth of war. The line ‘old man’ is continually been repeated throughout the poem. Mackintosh used this influential line to help

the audience understand the truth that is hidden behind the other common untrue, glorifying portrayals of war. Repetition is also shown in Henry V however it is shown in a pride and glorifying way. In the line ‘we few, we happy few, we band of brothers’ demonstrates an apparent example of patriotism this is an highly significant quote from the king as it is stating that there is only ‘few’ of us however we are like ‘brothers’. This presents war as a close bond and like a family. in ‘Henry V’ act 3 scene 4 the king’s speech lasts a length of 43 lines. in these lines he defines the true meaning and interpretation that is war. In the line ‘the blind and bloody soldiers’ shows the realism of the war the soldiers fought in, it demonstrates to the audience that soldiers suffered through blindness and bloodiness to fight for their country. the full length of the kings speech was beyond over the top and outrageously gruesome and impetuous.

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