Life Summary

Siegfried Sassoon was a British poet & soldier best known for his anti-war poetry during World War I. Initially celebrated for his bravery, he became disillusioned with the war and publicly protested its continuation, risking court-martial. His time in a military psychiatric hospital brought him into contact with fellow poet Wilfred Owen, whom he mentored. Sassoon’s later years were marked by internal conflict between his public image and private identity; he struggled with his homosexuality in a society that criminalized and stigmatized it. Though he had relationships with men, including writer Stephen Tennant, he eventually married and had a child, a decision widely seen as an attempt to conform to societal expectations.