What does one mean though when one talks about Sassoon's views? Is that his later poems or his initial reaction to the war? Sassoon went into the war head first and was reckoned to be far too brave and basically far too wreckless for his own good taking actions with apparent indifference to his own safety. His poems took a turn and he started to think about the war in a different light because of the experiences he had and the losses that he suffered. What do we mean by the views of the ordinary soldier? Do we mean the views they had when they all marched off happily in the first place arms in arms - or do we mean the views they had when many returned partially broken men often refusing to even discuss their experiences? Surely things are far from black and white?