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How do Wilfred Owen and John McCrae differ in their attitude to war?
Study 'Dulce et Decorum Est' and 'In Flanders Field'
These two poems are the most famous and best written poems of World
War 1. Wilfred Owen wrote ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ in 1915 and John Mc
Crae wrote ‘In Flanders Field’ which was 1st published in 1919, four
days before Mc Crae died. These two World War poets have distinctively
different views on war. But, there are also some similarities between
them for example the poems were both 1st hand accounts and that the
poets had 1st hand experience of the war. Another similarity is that
the poets died from the effects of the war. These two poets have
different attitudes towards the war in general as Owen originated from
the 1st wave of World War 1 poets. These types of poets strongly
opposed the war; they saw the war as bloody and non-patriotic. On the
other hand, John Mc Crae was in the 2nd wave of poets. He viewed war
to be beautiful and not so much to be patriotic, but to be known to
have died whilst fighting for ones country.
To start analyzing these poems, I will look at the basic points.
In Owens, we can clearly see that the poem is divided into 3 stanzas.
The tone of the stanzas is different and they all deal with different
ideas related to World War 1. Stanza one deals with the tiredness and
fatigue of the soldiers and also the utter exhaustion of them. Uses of
verbs such as trudge, limped and adjectives like knock-kneed, bent
double show us the extreme conditions that they had to fight in and
the effects. Again, the verb ‘cursed’ to describe there movements
shows how physically enfeebled they are and that the only way that
they can move is by cursing. The statement ‘men marched asleep’ shows
again their exhaustion as they were totally tired and seemed to march
whilst sleeping. The phrase ‘blood-shod’, which is assonance, shows
the hardship that the soldiers are suffering in. Words like, lame,
blind, drunk and deaf show that the senses of the soldiers are stopped
up and that they can no longer walk, smell, see and hear (hoots).
From the sad tone of stanza 1, we are introduced into stanza 2 which
is a frenzied opening in other words in complete contrast to the
previous stanza. The first words ‘Gas! Gas!’ show violent movement.
The words fumbling and clumsy show the difficulty the soldiers were in
trying to get their masks on. Owen goes onto describe very effectively
Wilfred Owen and Bruce Dawe both experienced war, however they were involved in two different conflicts. Owen was an English soldier and anti-war poet who died a hero in conflict one week before World War I ended. This demonstrates success for the country itself and the veterans being seen as heroes. Contrastingly, Dawe was a university educated anti-war poet from Australia who joined the air force during the Vietnam War. This was controversial for both soldiers and people from the country being conflicted about their involvement in the war.
Although there were still poets who wrote of the glories of fighting, poets such as Wilfred Owen, who fought and in the end was killed during the First World War, began to write realistically, showing war in a true light, removing any romanticism. In the poems I am going to look at, we can see a clear divide between the poetry of the pre 1900's and that of the post 1900's. A good example of this pre 1900 approach to war is "Before Agincourt" from William Shakespeare's play "King Henry the Fifth. " This is a speech written in blank verse, which is appropriate for such a significant subject.
“Dulce Et Decorum Est” is a World War One poem written by Wilfred Owen, to express the dreadfulness of war and that no glory awaits men.
energies and passions above all else to the noble pursuit of fame, honor and valor.
told he was out of action for six months. It was here that he first
How Wilfred Owen Uses Language and Imagery in His Poetry to Communicate his Attitudes of War
pride for and are loyal to. It is a belief in your nation. In a
World War One had an inevitable effect on the lives of many young and naive individuals, including Wilfred Owen, who, like many others, joined the military effort with the belief that he would find honour, wealth and adventure. The optimism which Owen initially had toward the conflict is emphasised in the excerpt, in which he is described as “a young poet…with a romantic view of war common among the young” (narrator), a view which rapidly changed upon reaching the front. Owen presents responders with an overwhelming exploration of human cruelty on other individuals through acts of war and the clash of individual’s opposed feelings influenced by the experiences of human cruelty. This is presented through the horrific nature of war which the
Human conflict is a violent confrontation between groups of people due to differences in values and beliefs. During World War I, poet and soldier, Wilfred Owen, faced the harsh realities of human conflict, dying at a young age of 25, only six days before the war ended. Owen’s personal encounters during war had a profound influence on his life as reflected in the poems and letters he wrote before his passing. In using a variety of poetic devices to write about the suffering and brutality of war, vividly captured in his poems ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’, Owen effectively conveys his own perspective about human conflict. ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ depicts the horrific scenes on the battlefield and a grotesque death from drowning
The next line expresses the way in which he has no grave stone, just a
Considered the leading English poet of the First World War, Owen is remembered for realistic poems depicting the horrors of war, which were inspired by his experiences at the Western Front in 1916 and 1917. Owen considered the true subject of his poems to be "the pity of war," and attempted to present the true horror and realities of battle and its effects on the human spirit. His unique voice, which is less passionate and idealistic than those of other war poets, is complemented by his unusual and experimental style of writing. He is recognized as the first English poet to successfully use pararhyme, in which the rhyme is made through altered vowel sounds. Owen’s distinct way of both writing and reading poems led to influence other poets in the 1920s and 1930s.
Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” makes the reader acutely aware of the impact of war. The speaker’s experiences with war are vivid and terrible. Through the themes of the poem, his language choices, and contrasting the pleasant title preceding the disturbing content of the poem, he brings attention to his views on war while during the midst of one himself. Owen uses symbolism in form and language to illustrate the horrors the speaker and his comrades go through; and the way he describes the soldiers, as though they are distorted and damaged, parallels how the speaker’s mind is violated and haunted by war.
in his poems. There is also the view that war has turned into a cycle,
‘Disabled’, by Wilfred Owen, is about a young boy who experiences war first hand, which results in losing his limbs. The loss of his limbs cause him to be rejected by society and be treated ‘’like a queer disease’’. Wilfred Owens personal opinion on war is evident throughout the poem. Own expresses a negative attitude towards war due to own traumatic past, experiencing war first hand.
Wilfred Owen wrote both the poems 'Dulce et Decorum Est' and 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' during the First World War. World War I is considered as total war. According to online Oxford Dictionaries, total war is a war that is unrestricted in terms of the weapons used, the territory or combatants involved, or the objectives pursued, especially one in which the laws of war are disregarded. World War I began on July 28, 1914 and lasted until November 11, 1918; the four-year struggle shook the world and seemed to mark the end of a whole phase of Europeans civilization (Mahmud, 2007).