For the FallenBy Laurence Binyon

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea.

Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres, There is music in the midst of desolation And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young, Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted; They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; They sit no more at familiar tables of home;

They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound, Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,

To the innermost heart of their own land they are known As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;

As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, To the end, to the end, they remain.

Meaning• The euphemistic title of the poem is the first striking point that can be seen in the

poem, as the poet makes it seem slightly alluding to the dead, as he doesn’t actually mention the fact that the men are neither dead nor dying, indicating that he possibly didn’t want to acknowledge the truth of what was going on as a result of the war.

Form and Structure• The poem takes the form of a eulogy, shown by the title, stating it is ‘For’ the dead, or as he describes them, ‘the

fallen’. This is similar to that of A.E. Housman’s ‘Epitaph on an army of mercenaries’. Both poems are dedicated to those who fought for their country, however neither title actually mentions the fact that the men are dead. This euphemistic attitude could be linked to the fact that both poems are written in 1914.

• The consistent structure of the verses throughout the poem provide it with a formal essence as well as making it appear regimented. This again could be linked to the time of writing. The consistent structure could be symbolic of how the soldiers were expected to be when going off to fight in The Great War in 1914. Therefore, as no one understood how the war was going to become a violent and destructive affair, so they made the men work hard to look and act respectably, in a “regimented” manner.

• The rhythm and rhyme pattern are also consistent throughout the poem, making it uniform and showing a lack of chaos. This could be representative of how no one was aware of the chaos and destruction it would bring into their lives, with there being a myriad of deaths.

• The tone of this poem is ironic, because although he is going on about the respect the men have gained from their country he is also indicating how the men will ‘mingle not with their laughing comrades again’ or ‘sit no more at familiar tables of home’. These points enhance a negative tone present in his writing, as it shows how the men who fight for their country are not likely to return home.

• The poem uses a pre war Georgian style, possibly used to enhance the patriotic ‘Englishness’ of England as the people at home supported their sons as the fought in the war.

Language• In this poem we can see a sense of dichotomy in the writing. In stanza three that we begin to

see the repetition of the word ‘they’. This could be seen as two types of dichotomy. The first being the difference between the dead and the living, as in stanza four we see how Binyon compares them to those who weren’t killed, saying how they ‘shall not grow old’ and ‘age shall not weary them’. This point is also made in 'Six Young Men' by Ted Hughes, as both poets agree that the memories of the dead will live on even if they don't.

• The second use of dichotomy can be seen further on in the poem. In the sixth and seventh stanzas we see a repetition of ‘as the stars’. ‘Into Battle’ by Julian Grenfell indicates how the stars are a place for the heroes and previous warriors as they deserve to be in a place higher than those who didn’t die for the same cause as they did. Therefore Binyon could be using ‘They’ to define the difference between the heroes and those who didn’t contribute.

• Both these uses of repetition could have been used by Binyon to make sure that the audience of the time of writing along with further generations remember the men

• .The first stanza shows personification of England stating how she is mourning ‘for her dead across the sea’. This is similar to ‘Dead Mans Dump’ by Isaac Rosenberg who also uses the personification to show the nurturing side of England, claiming she is a mother waiting for her children, our soldiers, to return to her.

• ‘Solemn the drums thrill’ enhances the negative tone already depicted in the first stanza. The use of Solemn adds a sombre tone to the next stanza, making it us realise just how depressing the war was making people. This is not typical of poetry from this time of the Great War because unlike in ‘All the Hills and Vales Along’ where we see the men singing happy tunes as they head of to war, we imagine a slow and depressing song being played on drums.

Context• The poem was written in 1914, and as previously noted this has a large effect on the writing. This is because the

war had only just begun, so the only information people had about the frontline was what the government were telling them. However, the government would often hide the truth in order to make families happier, and also used propaganda to glorify the war in order to make younger men want to join.

• The poem is jingoistic, as the poet seems to be falling under the pressure of the government to believe everything they say. This makes his writing show a sense of naivety as he writes about the honour and respect he had for the men as they headed off to war.

• Binyon was a quaker, meaning he was a pacifist living in one of the most destructive times known in history. However, this text is not typical of a pacifist as he seems to be showing support to the men who were taking part. A comparison can be made to the writing of a well known pacifist of the time, Seigfried Sassoon. In Regeneration, we read 'A Soldier's Declaration', a letter he wrote which was read out in Parliament. In this letter we see Sassoon voicing his opinions on the war and how it is being 'deliberately prolonged by those with the power to end it'.

• Also, in ‘The Hero’ there is one striking line in the final stanza which states how ‘no one seemed to care’. This is evidential of how some people believed that no one cared if the men died as long as England won the war.

• Sassoons quest for the the revelation of the truth contrasts to Binyons poem which states how everyone will remember them, showing that they are all praised for their courage and treated like heroes rather than depersonalising them.

Is it representative?

This poem is not typical for the time period in which it was written, especially as it is making note of the myriad of deaths at the beginning of the war.

However, as it is written by a pacifist who seems to be going against the usual anti-war attitudes shown by such writers. Therefore it shows just how big an impact the propaganda had on the opinions of people. This is a good representation of how the government were trying to make people believe what they wanted them too.

Also, the way in which Binyon expresses how the men were not likely to return home shows just how bad an effect the war was having on the lives of the families as well as the soldiers too.