1. "I knew a young soldier boy" - The use of past tense reveals that the author does not still currently know the soldier boy. Sassoon also emphasizes the fact that this soldier is young by the use of the word 'boy'.

2. "Who grinned at life at life in empty joy," - Before he became a soldier he was reasonably happy with his life. Empty joy gives the perception of happiness without a reason which relates to the innocence of the boy, reinforcing the emphasis on age. The simple rhyme scheme is similar to that of a nursery rhyme which is generally cheerful, this is contrasted by the later content of the poem.

3. "Slept soundly through the lonesome dark." - He sleeps well at night with a clear conscience. The work lonesome is personifying the dark and giving it a more personal connotation. Lonesome and dark both come with negative associations that could be considered foreshadowing for what is to come in the poem.

4. "And whistled early with the lark." - A lark is a bird known for its cheerful song, therefore meaning that if he is waking up early and whistling, he is enthusiastic and filled with joy.

5. "In winter trenches cowed and glum" - Emphasizing the conditions in the trenches to be horrible and using imagery to get the reader to imagine what it would be like being forced to live in such horrific conditions.

6. "With crumps and lice and lack of rum," - Adding more explanations relating to the quality of life in the trenches and how brutal the conditions were. Issues like lice and crumps were prevalent in the trenches. The lack of rum is explaining that intoxicants are needed to deal with the conditions but this is not a reality.

7. "He put a bullet through his brain." - He committed suicide while living in the trenches due to the horrors and stress he had been exposed to.

8. "Nobody spoke of him again." - Like many others in the war, the loss of this life was not significant enough to be acknowledged.

9. "You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye" - The poet is attacking the general public in saying that they are ignorant and smug.

10. "Who cheer when soldier lads walk by," - Addressing the individuals that encourage the soldiers to fight for their country and glorify war even though they have no idea of the brutal reality of war.

11. "Sneak home and pray you'll never know" - This line shows that Sassoon would not wish the pain and horror that the soldiers go through on anybody else because of the negative impact it has.

12. "The hell where youth and laughter go." - The poet is comparing war to a type of hell where youths lives are ruined and joy and happiness are taken away from soldiers.

This poem was created by Sassoon during his service in WW1 where he experienced the brutality and inhumane actions men carried out on other men. With a passion for writing and poetry he decided to use his talent for expressing his experiences and using his poems as a means of getting information to the general public that had no idea what the reality of war was. The story within the poem would have been a common occurrence in the trenches as the conditions were so terrible that they would literally drive a man to his death, with contributing factors such as disease, hygiene, exhaustion, starvation, etc. The poem's tone is constantly deteriorating through the stanzas and begins off with a slightly more positive note, this change in tone and attitude of the poet portrays the change in attitude of the soldiers from the beginning of the war until they were living stagnantly in the trenches. The mental and physical stress that the soldiers were under during those times would sometimes lead to the extreme measures of suicide.