“They”

Poetry › Siegfried Sassoon (1917)

Siegfried Sassoon’s “‘They’” (1917) contrasts religious justification of war with the physical and moral devastation of soldiers who return from it. In just twelve lines, Sassoon exposes the hypocrisy of patriotic faith and the human cost behind pious rhetoric.

The Bishop tells us: “When the boys come back They will not be the same; for they’ll have fought In a just cause: they lead the last attack On Anti-Christ; their comrades’ blood has bought New right to breed an honourable race, 5 They have challenged Death and dared him face to face.” “We’re none of us the same!” the boys reply. “For George lost both his legs; and Bill’s stone blind; Poor Jim’s shot through the lungs and like to die; And Bert’s gone syphilitic: you’ll not find 10 A chap who’s served that hasn’t found some change.” And the Bishop said: “The ways of God are strange!”

Introduction

Siegfried Sassoon wrote “They” in 1917 after returning from the Western Front as a decorated soldier. Deeply affected by the suffering he witnessed, he began to challenge official narratives of the war in both public statements and poetry. Published in The Old Huntsman and Other Poems (1917), “‘They’” exemplifies Sassoon’s fusion of irony, moral anger, and plainspoken realism. The poem captures the growing rift between those who fought and those who remained at home—particularly the clergy, politicians, and patriots who sanctified the conflict.

The poem stages a dialogue between a complacent Bishop and disillusioned soldiers. In the Bishop’s voice, the war becomes a holy crusade: the “boys” are redeemed through sacrifice, leading a righteous battle “on Anti-Christ.” Sassoon’s satire lies in how easily such language sanctifies slaughter. The soldiers’ reply, grounded in bitter reality, shatters that illusion. Their “change” is not spiritual but physical and psychological—mutilation, disease, and death. The Bishop’s concluding remark, “The ways of God are strange,” restores the old moral comfort, allowing him to evade responsibility for their suffering.

Stylistically, “‘They’” demonstrates Sassoon’s mastery of irony and understatement. Its balanced structure—six lines of religious exaltation followed by six of grim realism—creates a moral seesaw between abstraction and experience. The conversational diction of the soldiers undermines the Bishop’s lofty sermonizing, exposing how institutional faith becomes complicit in violence. Sassoon’s controlled rhyme and meter reinforce the sense of order masking chaos—a polite form for impolite truth.

Historically, the poem reflects the disillusionment of 1917, when mounting casualties and futile offensives eroded public trust in wartime propaganda. Sassoon’s direct attack on the Church’s rhetoric was controversial, earning him both admiration and condemnation. Today, “‘They’” remains a sharp critique of how language—especially religious and patriotic—can obscure moral accountability. It challenges readers to question the comforting myths societies use to justify suffering.

Questions for Consideration

1. How does Sassoon’s use of dialogue shape the poem’s argument? What effect does placing the Bishop and the soldiers in direct conversation achieve?
2. Analyze the contrast between the Bishop’s diction (“Anti-Christ,” “honourable race”) and the soldiers’ plainspoken replies. How does language itself become a moral battleground?
3. The Bishop’s final line, “The ways of God are strange,” offers closure on the surface. How does Sassoon make that closure feel hollow or evasive?
4. Consider how the poem’s structure—two balanced stanzas—reflects a clash between idealism and realism. What happens when both sides speak in turn?
5. Research the historical role of the Church of England during World War I. How did many clergy justify the war, and how does Sassoon respond to that ideology?
6. What does the poem suggest about class and authority in wartime Britain? How do power dynamics between officers, soldiers, and clergy influence its tone?
7. Compare “‘They’” to Owen’s “Dulce Et Decorum Est.” How do both poets use irony to confront the moral language of patriotism?
8. How does Sassoon’s religious imagery differ from Owen’s more mystical approach in poems like “Apologia Pro Poemate Meo”? What does each poet reveal about faith under pressure?
9. Examine the phrase “New right to breed an honourable race.” What assumptions about morality, eugenics, or empire underlie this statement?
10. How does “‘They’” exemplify Sassoon’s larger goal as a war poet—to speak truth against national mythmaking?

Journal Prompts

1. Reflect on your response to the Bishop’s speech. Have you ever heard similar language used to justify conflict or suffering? How does Sassoon’s satire resonate with modern examples?
2. The soldiers’ “change” is physical and irreversible. Write about a time when an experience—painful or otherwise—changed your perspective permanently.
3. Research Siegfried Sassoon’s “Soldier’s Declaration” (1917). How might his protest help explain the anger behind this poem?
4. Write a journal entry from the Bishop’s perspective after hearing the soldiers’ reply. Does he truly believe his own words? Why or why not?
5. Sassoon sets religious idealism against harsh realism. How does the poem challenge the reader’s sense of moral certainty?
6. Consider the function of irony in this poem. How does Sassoon make readers complicit in the Bishop’s easy assumptions before exposing their falsity?
7. Compare the moral tone of this poem with Owen’s “Dulce Et Decorum Est” or Sassoon’s “The General.” How do the poets critique different forms of authority?
8. Imagine updating “They” for a modern audience. Who would the Bishop be today, and what might he say about contemporary warfare or politics?
9. The poem ends with a retreat into faith—“The ways of God are strange.” How do you interpret this line personally? Does it suggest comfort, hypocrisy, or resignation?
10. Write a creative response poem that gives voice to one of the soldiers mentioned—George, Bill, Jim, or Bert. What might he say to the Bishop?

Work Cited

• Abrams, M. H., ed. (1986). The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 2 (Fifth ed.). New York: W. W. Norton.