A lot of interesting, heart-breaking and controversial things have been done to honour the centenary of World War One. The latest controversy surrounds Sainsbury’s Christmas advert, which to some is poignant, whilst to others is shamefully using the millions of deaths to sell Christmas turkeys. Thankfully there are some amazing programs out there, of which The Somme in Seven Poems is one. Only twelve minutes long, it is extremely intense and powerful. It is a catalogue of seven animated poems by war poets including Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, David Jones and several others. Their poems are striking when read; I was sceptical of the animation at first but I was soon engulfed by the dark images mingling with the sounds. It’s a moving 12 minutes, that is worth your time over a three minute, slightly offensive advert.
By Frances Roe
Frances Roe is a 4th year English Literature student and Editor of the TV & Radio section.
