Soldiers Don’t Go Mad, a new book by journalist and author Charles Glass, examines the lives of two of the most famous poets of World War One, Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, and the important role that Craiglockhart, a hospital in Edinburgh for shell-shocked soldiers, played in their lives. Glass was intrigued by the story of these two poets and set out to write a non-fiction version of Pat Barker’s celebrated Regeneration trilogy, which was set in Craiglockhart. The hospital was renowned for its use of Freudian psychoanalysis rather than the more brutal methods used in other hospitals, such as electroshock therapy and cold baths.
Owen and Sassoon’s experiences at Craiglockhart allowed them to develop their craft and aided in Owen’s actualisation of his potential as a poet. They encouraged and helped one another to improve their writing. Captain Brock, Owen’s psychiatrist at the hospital, believed that productive labour was the best way to overcome mental breakdown, and he encouraged Owen to write. During the years it was operating as a shell shock hospital, Craiglockhart treated between 1,500 and 1,800 patients. Patients were encouraged to be as active as possible, and according to Glass, Craiglockhart was able to return more soldiers to the front than any other mental hospital during the war.
Glass’s book explores the mental anguish experienced by soldiers during the war and highlights the empathy and sensitivity that Owen and Sassoon displayed towards the men under their command who suffered so much. Glass hopes that reading his book will help people to better understand the mental anguish the poets experienced and the inspiration behind their poetry.
Although Owen and Sassoon both returned to service after their time at Craiglockhart, only Sassoon survived the war. Owen was killed one week before the war ended. After the war, Sassoon was instrumental in bringing his friend’s work to the attention of a wider audience. Owen’s most famous poem, Dulce et Decorum est, was published posthumously and remains a powerful critique of the war and the glorification of dying for one’s country
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