...Poetry: Post 1900: An essay analysing ‘Strange Meeting’ by Wilfred Owen in terms of Imagery, themes and sound effects Wilfred Owen’s poetry expresses the horrors of war through dramatic and memorable imagery, whether it’s physical or the soldiers’ inner mental torment. It allows us to feel deep pity with the young soldiers and we share resentment for the government in Britain for encouraging the war. Strange Meeting is an example of a thought provoking poem that carries complex messages regarding the soldier’s mental state. Themes include hopelessness and pity, in stanza three he says ‘Now men will go content with what we spoiled’[1], from ‘we’ we recognise that he himself is taking his share of the responsibility encapsulating the guilt that he and the soldiers must feel. The poem explores the idea that the enemy soldiers are just like them, holding bitter resentment towards the politicians and generals who have caused and encouraged this war, not these ordinary men. The poem’s themes include disillusionment, compassion and the need for reconciliation, we feel hopelessness due to the precise details given regarding emotions, thoughts and sights of the soldier, for example ‘…must die now, I mean the truth untold/the pity of war’[2], we feel pathos as the soldiers must have felt alone and that the truth would never have been told to the people back home so they can stop this meaningless brutality. The future for the living is bleak and with the rest having blood on their...
Words: 1553 - Pages: 7
...Wilfred Owen wrote his poems as an attempt to stop the war and to make people realise how horrific it was. In a thorough examination of the poems "Anthem for Doomed Youth", "Dulce et Decorum Est" and "Disabled" and also with some reference to other works by Owen, it can be seen that he uses different poetical features, styles and methods. Wilfred Owen addresses his readers from different stances right up to him addressing the reader personally. This method is very effective in evoking feelings from great anger and bitterness to terrible sadness and even sarcasm, making the reader sometimes even feel guilty. Whichever way he chooses to portray the pity of the war the end result is always the same. "Dulce Et Decorum Est" is a direct attack at the people in Britain who had been taken in by the propaganda drive by telling them the truth of what life is really like at the front and in what conditions their sons, fathers, brothers etc. are in. "Dulce Et Decorum Est" consists of four unequal stanzas, the first two in sonnet form, and the last two in a looser structure. The first stanza sets the scene of soldiers limping back from the front. The authorial stance is of Owen telling us of his own personal experiences. The second stanza focuses on one man who could not get his gas mask on in time. This is a recurring nightmare that Owen has, where he sees one man "drown" in the gas and in the third stanza he describes how the man "plunges" at Owen, "guttering, choking, drowning." This...
Words: 2515 - Pages: 11
...Themes and Elements of British World War 1 Poets July 28th, 1914 was a very grim day that changed history throughout the entire world. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria sparked the start of the first World War in Europe (Gorman 21). During World War 1, British soldiers began to express their wartime experiences through poetry as a way of recollection and to voice their own opinions about the war. Often writing poems to remain sane, the common themes and elements of the British soldier-poets often included the horrors of trench warfare, and the deplorable conditions of war; that the British soldiers encountered on an everyday basis. Two of the most influential poets of the great war were Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. They both displayed many common themes and elements during the peak of their writing. These common themes and elements as well as some differences in their writings shall be discussed. Siegfried Sassoon grew up in a wealthy Jewish family where he often wrote poetry as a young child. As a young adult Sassoon’s only desire in life was to become a poet. Motivated by patriotism Sassoon joined the British Army, just as the threat of World War 1 was realised. As a soldier-poet he would eventually become one of the most well known and influential poets of the first World War. His poems were generally angry and compassionate towards the war, which often brought him public and critical acclaim. Sassoon served with the Royal...
Words: 2188 - Pages: 9
...In the poem “Dulce et Decorum est,” the author Wilfred Owen describes how war is hell. Men are pushed savagely across wildernesses to battle against their greatest fears. During the progressive era of World War I the use of barbaric tools of destruction were used in the midst of the war. Chemical Warfare was introduced and new mechanical demands were developed to destroy men’s hopes of freedom. Men feared each other because of the deeds they would perform to survive. Wilfred Owen transmits in words the emotions that men felt as death rained down upon them. Through Wilfred Owen’s poem, “Dulce et Decorum est,” he argues that men’s ethics had to be destroyed because of the will to conquer and survive, he portrays the logic behind a soldiers’ minds...
Words: 1205 - Pages: 5
...Docorum Est by Wilfred Owen The World War One poet, Wilfred Owen, wrote two poems named ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ and ‘Disabled’. The main themes running throughout both poems are that of the pain and worthlessness of war, and the crime towards the young soldiers it was. The beginning and ending of these two poems link these ideas through the use of imagery contrast and language features. The poem ‘disabled’ begins by describing a physically and mentally destroyed soldier, clearly a result of war, welcoming darkness to come and end his misery by taking him away. The image of a “wheeled chair” implies that he is disabled and probably dependent on others. Legless, sewn short at elbow” further implies the disability of the persona. Wilfred Owen describes him as a ‘ghastly suit of grey’ painting a picture of a colourless and lifeless man, an idea that is driven home through the use of the word ghastly, which the reader may easily mistake for ‘ghostly’. “Voices of boys rang saddening” reminds him of the old times when he used to be like them, playing and enjoying himself. The language used in this description of these boys carries very positive connotations, ‘play and pleasure’, in contrast to the dull words used to describe the wounded soldier. Darkness fell too quickly for these boys who were forced to end their games and retire inside, unlike the soldier who welcomed nightfall. The two contrasting sentences are used as juxtaposition, and set up the main theme of the poem, that would...
Words: 829 - Pages: 4
...imagery so important in Wilfred Owen’s Poem? The statement Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori, means “it is good and fitting to die for one’s country”. Wilfred Owen is arguing against this statement through his poem. Imagery is important for this because it helps portray to the reader or “the friend” the horror of war. The soldiers of the poem are described as “boys” not men, they are not described as heroic, they instead are described as “bent double, like old beggars under sacks”, and as ill, “knock kneed, coughing, marching asleep”. Normally soldiers are displayed as inspirational, as strong, Wilfred’s imagery goes against this. He uses metaphor to convey this using “drunk with fatigue”, invoking a strong image of them exhausted and weak. When the gas actually comes the soldiers do not react with training, but instead are described as fumbling, and just putting their helmets on just in time. The earlier imagery of exhausted and overworked soldiers shows how they are not prepared for the gas, or any danger of war, therefore they are likely to die. This again highlights that they are they’re not the soldiers that the Latin phrase refers to, strong and heading to worthy deaths, they are weak, and ill prepared for death, and their health is not valued, they are there to fight and die. The use of gas instead of conventional or seen enemies, shows the reader the faceless nature or mechanism of death in war. Death can come from anywhere, and it does in the poem, when the gas appears...
Words: 580 - Pages: 3
...Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen an Analysis The Work: Dulce et Decorum Est is a poem written during World War I by soldier and poet, Wilfred Owen. The poem is known for Owen’s graphic and realistic depiction of the horrible trench warfare of WWI. Owens paints a verbal picture of the scene, speaking in first person, and describes what’s going on to him and his fellow troop members. Important to mention is what the poems title means, it is latin for “It is sweet and right to die for one's country”. The phrase was commonly used during the WWI era, and thus would have resonated with Owen's readers in that time period (Poets.org). The poem starts out with Owen describing the troop of army men of which he is a member. He chronicles the men as been doubled over, “coughing like hags” as they “cursed through sludge”. He paints a grim picture of trench warfare that was so prevalent during WWI; describing the men trudging through the mud, saying “many had lost their boots but limped on”. In the next stanza comes utter panic as gas shells are dropped and hurled in troops direction. They rush to put on their helmets on and run to safety but by the end of the stanza Wilfred notices one of his comrades is in trouble, writing, “As under a green sea, I saw him drowning”. In the next two lines Owen uses powerful imagery talking about the helpless soldier. Saying, “In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.” He truly gives you a sense...
Words: 908 - Pages: 4
...The Great War was the worst of times but it would become the focus and inspiration for some of the greatest works of art. Wilfred Owens would use his experience on the battlefield to capture the purest, most untainted image of war in his literary work. His ability to let the moment speak for itself, letting the vivid imagery represent the war and not adding anything to change what happened, would be the catalyst for what makes Owens the greatest war poet. However, greatness always has a beginning, born on March 18, 1893 in Oswestry, England, Wilfred Owen would go on to be educated at Birkenhead institute and would enroll in the University of London. According to the encyclopedia of Britannica, “after an illness in 1913 he lived in France. He had already begun to write and, while working as a tutor near Bordeaux, was preparing a book of “Minor Poems—in Minor Keys—by a Minor”. In 1915 he would enlist in the British army to serve for his country of origin. The warfare of The Great War would swiftly affect the young soldier. Seeing the various methods of countries’ inhumane slaughter of others led to Owens choice to document the war and its effects. These experiences are forever etched in history because of his literary work that survived the Great War. Sadly his work is the only piece of him that survived as he would be killed...
Words: 1086 - Pages: 5
... The reader is introduced to the horror of war in the first lines of the poem as Owen depicts the poor physical condition of the men.They are facing huge challenges and that they were not the men that they were at first because they were young men who were highly motivated. We cursed through sludge suggests to us how the soldier are off to war this shows that they are cursed and the word sludge suggests to us that they are off to fight in horrendous conditions. Additionally, at the end it shows us that rather being glories young men they turn into this horrible creature because they are being described as old beggars and hags and it shows that they are old before their time and they have got no control over their lives. They can’t walk properly and this tells us that they are very weak because it clearly shows that they are not prepared for it and that they were just brainwashed to go to war to fight for their country which was sweet and glory. Moreover, the soldiers are coughing like an old sick ugly women and this clearly defines how they are feeling and are compared to weak and old. This simile demonstrates how dirty and unhealthy the soldiers appear. The comparison to ‘old beggars’ Coughing like hags is a simile and they are compared to these old ugly women and this shows how weak they have become and that they are affected by the war. We cursed through sludge, This shows that...
Words: 2417 - Pages: 10
...l Wilfred Owens poetry Essay How are Wilfred Owen’s main themes and concerns conveyed through his poetry? Refer to two poems to support your response. Wilfred Owen was a soldier who wrote poems to raise awareness of the reality of war into the public consciousness. Having experienced the harsh impacts of war in first person Wilfred wished to create a negative perception of war “my subject is war and the pity of war”, “the poetry is the pity”. His purpose was to inform, awaken & enlighten the audience about the brutality of war. The focus about the horror of death in war is continued in Owen’s poem “Anthem for Doomed Youth” but it is in a more somber tone, and he shows us a sadder more pitiful image of death in the trenches, compared to Dulce ET Decorum Est.’s pure fury. Anthem for Doomed youth is a sonnet, structured into an octave and a sestet. This divides the poem into its core themes. The first stanza shows a tone of misery & horror which then shifts into a tone of compassion and sympathy in the second stanza. This tonal shift also highlights the different contexts of funerals, one at battle, with no grieving or rituals and one at home, with mourning and respect. Anthem for doomed youth is a poem that attempts to recreate the dehumanizing, wasteful deaths of war in an attempt to shock the audience. Owen explores the reactions of those at home and has genuine sympathy for their grief and helplessness. The lost...
Words: 1129 - Pages: 5
...Why is imagery so important in Wilfred Owen’s poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’? The Imagery used in Wilfred Owen’s ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ is a very important part of the poem; it is a very powerful tool when used correctly, and in Wilfred’s case he uses imagery very well to convey his point. The poem is about a soldiers experiences in the trenches at the Somme during World War One; what the soldiers had to deal with and how it affected them. When you read the poem you get a feeling of the harsh realities of war and what they endured from a currently serving soldier’s point of view. You also get a feeling of his thought on the Latin quote ‘Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori’ (Horace.Odes.3.2), which roughly translates to ‘It is sweet and right to die for your country’, and how opposed he is to the lure of the quote, used to recruit young men into the army. Firstly I will examine and look at what imagery is and why it is used. Once we understand this I will examine how Wilfred Own used imagery in this poem and to what extent. I will look at what the poem is about and what message the writer is trying to get across to the reader, and what use of literary devices are used to help in this. By understanding why and how Wilfred used imagery we will be able to better understand the importance of it in his work. Imagery is important to any poet or writer; imagery is what you see in your mind when you are reading. Imagery to the writer is as colour would be to a painter, it is used to give...
Words: 925 - Pages: 4
...Wilfred Owen letter: My own dearest Mother, Immediately after I sent my last letter, more than a fortnight ago, we were rushed up into the Line. Twice in one day we went over the top, gaining both our objectives. Our A Company led the Attack, and of course lost a certain number of men. I had some extraordinary escapes from shells & bullets. Fortunately there was no bayonet work, since the Hun ran before we got up to his trench. You will find mention of our fight in the Communiqué; the place happens to be the very village which Father named in his last letter! Never before has the Battalion encountered such intense shelling as rained on us as we advanced in the open. The Colonel sent round this message the next day: 'I was filled with admiration at the conduct of the Battalion under the heavy shell-fire.... The leadership of officers was excellent, and the conduct of the men beyond praise.' The reward we got for all this was to remain in the Line 12 days. For twelve days I did not wash my face, nor take off my boots, nor sleep a deep sleep. For twelve days we lay in holes, where at any moment a shell might put us out. I think the worst incident was one wet night when we lay up against a railwav embankment. A big shell lit on the top of the bank, just 2 yards from my head. Before I awoke, I was blown in the air right away from the bank! I passed most of the following days in a railway Cutting, in a hole just big enough to lie in, and covered with corrugated iron. My brother...
Words: 3392 - Pages: 14
...a suggestion on a piece that I find very interesting and should be used in the next edition. That is a poem by Wilfred Owen “Dulce et Decorum Est.” I consider myself to be a bit of a war buff, and this poem gives you the feeling that you are there in the trenches with the men. Wilfred Owen is able to give you a first person point of view of war through his poem. Owen uses great visual imagery on what life is like during trench warfare to help you feel like you are there beside him during the horrors of war. I beg of you to include Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” in the next edition! Throughout the poem Owen uses visual imagery to get his message of the horrors of war through. In An Introduction, to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing you define visual imagery as “Often this experience is a sight . . .” (751). When reading “Dulce et Decorum Est” Owen gives the ability to visualize what is going on constantly throughout the poem. Owen is able to use visual imagery to show you the shape the men are in during the battle and what chaos goes on during a gas attack. Owen also uses visual imagery about the nightmares he deals with after the war. Many poems leave a lot to be interpreted, but Owen uses visual imagery to eliminate interpretation and give exactly what is happening. Through visual imagery Owen describes a clear picture of how all the men react during a gas attack. Owen tells how all the men rush around in chaos when they hear, “Gas! GAS! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling...
Words: 827 - Pages: 4
...Wilfred Owen Task 1: The Next War The author portrays Death as a personified character who does not cause the soldiers fear or grief. Although death has come in many forms the soldier has accepted that it is everywhere and has become unaffected by it. This is emphasised in the epigraph in the first stanza and further supported in the first line of the second stanza “we’ve walked quite friendly up to Death, sat down and eaten with him, cool and bland”. This highlights the soldier’s acceptance of death and war and how they relate. The soldier has ‘leagued with him’ and so the soldiers laugh as they have killed just like Death has. Anthem for Doomed Youth This poem draws an analogy between the death of the soldiers and a traditional funeral. It is ironically titled an ‘anthem’ which is usually praiseful or celebratory. The author makes a direct comparison between the ‘choirs’ and the wailing of Shells, and prayers to the rapid sounds of machine guns and rifles. The opening line the soldiers are referred to as cattle, which emphasize how insignificant each live is in the war scene. There are no prayers or choirs mourning for the soldiers who are slaughtered on the battlefield. It is only in the last few lines that the author portrays the silent grieving of the families and loved ones at home. The mood of the poem changes as the author then contrasts the emotion felt back home compared to the ‘cattle’ like death of the soldiers who are around other men whose death...
Words: 2279 - Pages: 10
...Futility by Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) Analysis; Wilfred Owen was born on March 18, 1893. He was on the Continent teaching until he visited a hospital for the wounded and then decided, in September, 1915, to return to England and enlist. "I came out in order to help these boys - directly by leading them as well as an officer can; indirectly, by watching their sufferings that I may speak have they as well as a pleader can. I have done the first". His perspective on war was for the sympathy of the soldiers that lost life for their countries. He wasn’t against fighting for the country but just sympathizing for the lives lost in war. Owens’ personal say was that "My subject is war, and the pity of war. The poetry is in the pity.” A misery poem filled with repercussions was one of the published poems in the lifetime of Wilfred Owen. The poem was out on the 15th of June 1918 and was written in a lyrical sonnet format, even though it was not built like one. The words used in the poem forms a clouded and pained atmosphere, arousing a frustration and cluster of emotions. The poems of Wilfred Owen focus on the representation of war, futility being one of the poems that describe the effect of war on the people that experience it from first hand. The poet concerns with the soldier lying on the cold ground as his body is graced into the sun and the feather touch of the warm beams that could give life to a ‘sown seed’ could revive this soul, thus is considered worthless...
Words: 656 - Pages: 3
