This particular poem emphasizes a common gruesome experience, which, Gurney implies can only be understood by those who participate in the Great War. His writing, much like many poets of his time, depicts the heroism of the soldiers in the frontline by describing the dilemmas that those who bravely served, faced. "The Silent One," on the other hand is more vivid with its theme of futility in war for "honorable/heroic deeds," as Gurney emphasizes how "heroes" die in combat and cowards live (Greenblatt 2029). However, Gurney is criticized for such use of imagery to negate nationalistic propaganda of the war, as he did not indeed witness the soldier's death in "To His Love" (Harvey 40). His mental disorder is believed to have gotten worse during the war, which can be correlated to his style of writing (Das 9). .
In his earlier poems the persona speaks of the war with resentment and attitude, subjects that show his firm take on the war that are structured with soft sounds alluding to his acquired reputation in music. His early work underlines nature and Gurneys love for the English countryside, which he utilized to contrast his experiences during the war. While his first poems, such as "To His Love," do highlight Gurneys frustration of his memories on the frontline, it is not as vivid or fragmented as his later work. Moreover, in his later poems like "The Silent One," Gurney evinces sentiment and concern for the untold truths of the war, which when we look at his biography and broken poetry, suggests how the war tormented him; leaving his mind and memory fragmented up until his death (Greenblatt 2028). "The Silent One" is more vivid and deploys a powerful sense of realism of the dilemmas faced in the frontline. His later poems, after the war, continue to use the same themes that seriously depict his unstable mind.