Biblical allegory and the criticism of Britain's WWI politicians and elderly civilians in Siegfried Sassoon's 'Ancient History'

This article examines Siegfried Sassoon's poem "Ancient History" by approaching it as an allegorical anti-war poem loosely based on the story of Cain and Abel from the Old Testament. The article explores the ironical and critical potential of this poem, analyzing the way in which it presents the grief felt by a father who has lost both of his sons. Adam, the grieving father, is a metaphor for WWI politicians and elderly civilians, while the dead Cain and Abel are metaphors for WWI young soldiers. The poem is considered in the context of Sassoon's declaration against the war of July 1917, and this, anti-war approach to this poem makes it somewhat original as, in scholarship, "Ancient History" has so far mainly been seen as an allegory for Sassoon's internal struggle between his soldierly and his poetic spirit. Among other things, this article also stresses that "Ancient History" defied the atmosphere of enthusiasm for the war, prevalent in Britain at the time, by means of the same tool that was used by the propagandists to nourish it – namely, religion.