Written in August 1916 after he applied for
commission to fight abroad. 'Blenheim Oranges' are
actually apples. 'Blenheim' is also a palace is
Oxfordshine. Connotes aristocracy, Englishness,
History as well as war.
"Not memorable//
Save that I saw them
go"
He had watched the months pass
and had perhaps felt boredom
The time had passed quickly and he hadn't thought much of the years
he had spent on his own- therefore feeling the guilt that he was able
to see what they would never see,
The fact they weren't 'memorable implies he remembers
very little of the time that had paased and had not thought
to cherish the time he had had left.That time was
something he had very little of did not occur to him.
He perhaps feels guilt about
survivng the war when
others had not.
He had watched the young
men leave and he is
therefore feeling the guilt.
"Outmoded, dignified//
Dark and untenanted"
"And when the war began//
To turn young men to dung
"In its beds have lain//
Youth, love, age and pain: