Summary
Summary Stephen Spender - "Two Armies" - Analysis
This is a summary and analysis of the poem "Two Armies" by Stephen Spender.
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When imagining a battlefield we paint, with bloodied brush, a scene ofslaughter where vehement rancor drives enemies into a frenzy of
mutual massacre. We commonly associate uncompromising
antagonism between enemy soldiers with the battlefield. With this in
mind, we attribute solidarity to allied soldiers, while such connection
between enemy soldiers seems impossible. However, the shared
discontents, fantasies, and discipline of all soldiers can unify men,
regardless of affiliation.
In “Two Armies” Stephen Spender depicts the unifying power of these
discontents and fantasies. The relentless winter weather and
disillusionment with the war are the primary discontents that connect
the soldiers. The collective fantasy of escaping the conflict also
engenders a common aspiration between the men on both fronts.
Spender’s poem provokes the reader to perceive the peculiar and
subtle solidarity formed from common sentiments amongst foes.
Ultimately, the poem reveals the dismantling of this universal solidarity
due to a mutual trait: obedience. If not for this obedience, the solidarity
amongst enemies could dismantle the antagonism that perpetuates
wars.
The poem refers to all the soldiers indistinguishably and makes the
reader forget the desolate expanse of No Man’s Land that separates
the armies, yet the title “Two Armies” ironically emphasizes the
separation between the two sides. The first stanza elucidates the
title’s irony:
Deep in the winter plain, two armies
Dig their machinery, to destroy each other.
, Men freeze and hunger. No one is given leave
On either side, except the dead and wounded.
These have their leave; while new battalions wait
On time at last to bring them violent peace.
The poem begins with distinct subjects–“two armies”–but “men”
in the third line unifies the two subjects into a single subject. The
use of this single collective subject continues throughout the poem.
The continuity of this all-inclusive category implies similarity between
the soldiers of both sides.
Regardless of affiliation, all soldiers suffer the frigid weather. The cold
becomes the common enemy of all the soldiers, unifying them against
a concrete nuisance. In this manner, hardship mutually endured
creates solidarity between enemy lines. The title differs from the
content of the poem and the expectation of antagonism is
undermined.
Through the juxtaposition of the title and content, irony emphasizes
the peculiar nature of the solidarity amongst enemies. The title
focuses the reader on the relation between enemies and the
possibilities of such uncanny relations.
Disillusionment, like the discontent of the weather, also engenders
solidarity amongst enemies. Disillusionment reigns the battlefield
because the justifications for war have fallen apart and no longer
inspire the soldiers. The soldiers share vehement hatred for the
rhetoric that initially justified their deployment and actions. The cold
continues to torment the soldiers as it pushes them to “[hate] the
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