Wilfred Owen's War Poetry
If Wilfred Owen's war poetry had one main aim, it would be to expose
"the old lie": that war is always a good and justified thing and that
it is a good thing to die for one's country. Owen had experienced
first hand the horrors and tragedies of the First World War, so he
inevitably wanted to break open the false façade and let the world
know the truth. I am going to explore what I find to be three of his
best poems and show how he achieved this aim.
Owen was born on the 18th of March 1893 in Shropshire, England. He
received a good education as a child and in 1915 he enlisted in the
army when he was 22 years old. He was injured in a shell explosion in
France and transferred to a war hospital back in England, where he was
given the chance to stay for the rest of the war. But due to his
loyalty to his troops, he returned to the frontline. He was killed in
action attempting to lead his men across a canal on November 4th 1918.
His death was particularly tragic as it came just a week before
Armistice Day and the end of the war.
A common misconception is that all war poets of the First World War
were against war. Usually on their way to war, some famous poets such
as Rupert Brooke wrote some very famous war poems. Poems such as "The
Soldier" and "The Volunteer" give very positive and romanticised views
of war and words such as "lance", "chivalry" and "legion" came up very
regularly. These poets were not stupid or attempting to get people to
enlist, they just didn't know any better due to the classic public
school education and the fact that there was no media, such as films
to, inform the public of how terrible war is. Even Wilfred Owen
himself wrote a very famous pro war line: "O...
... middle of paper ...
...hose that died and that we mustn't under any
circumstances forget them and he is asking why nobody talked about the
carnage. The obvious answer is that it was all too shocking for these
men to mention again; this is what Owen wants to emphasise.
I believe that Wilfred Owen's poetry achieved its purpose fully and
that no one after reading it will believe that the First World War was
for a good purpose and will see behind the false façade of the
propaganda. I think Owen's two most important lines in his poetry are
"You would not tell with such high zest to children ardent of some
desperate glory, the old lie" and "Why not they speak of comrades that
went under". These tell his beliefs- that war is never justified and
it is not a good thing to die for your country, and also that we must
never forget those who died and the suffering that they went through.
served two tours there and came back a decorated war hero. After his return to
army, he jumped at the chance. He was not sorry for what he attempted to do when he
Portrayal of War in the Pre 1900 Poetry Before 1900, war was always seen as a glorious thing. People truly believed in the words of the ancient writer Horace, "Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori. " This phrase can be translated, as "It is a lovely and honourable thing; to die for one's country". Pre 1900 war poetry was strongly patriotic and glossed over the grim reality of death, preferring instead to display the heroic aspects of fighting. If death was mentioned, it was only in a noble and glorious context.
are not free in service, you do what you are told and this is the same
War has cursed man for eternal history. Its devastation has prolonged tragedies for millions of people. The gruesome killings represents the pain of innocent men who fall in the drains of perdition. The instruments of violence target the zones of demolition and the souls of brave men. This essay examines the massacres of war in Owen.
told he was out of action for six months. It was here that he first
The next line expresses the way in which he has no grave stone, just a
What is Wilfred Owen’s attitude towards Worlds War 1 and how is this shown through his poetry?
How Wilfred Owen Uses Language and Imagery in His Poetry to Communicate his Attitudes of War
a lie to say that it is sweet and honorable to die for one’s country.
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.
Wilfred Owen can be considered as one of the finest war poets of all times. His war poems, a collection of works composed between January 1917, when he was first sent to the Western Front, and November 1918, when he was killed in action, use a variety of poetic techniques to allow the reader to empathise with his world, situation, emotions and thoughts. The sonnet form, para-rhymes, ironic titles, voice, and various imagery used by Owen grasp the prominent central idea of the complete futility of war as well as explore underlying themes such as the massive waste of young lives, the horrors of war, the hopelessness of war and the loss of religion. These can be seen in the three poems, ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’, ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ and ‘The Last Laugh’, in which this essay will look into.
... The history of the old lie is that it means that it is sweet and
When poems are written, poets incorporate important literary devices that constructs the meaning of their poem. One literary device that is heavily used in poems are rhyme scheme. Rhyme scheme is used to analyze the ending of each line, and checking if the word rhymes with the next ending line word. However, while analyzing W.H Auden “ Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone” the rhyme scheme was clear. On the other hand, Wilfred Owen “Dulce et Decorum Est” had a different rhyme scheme concept. This could be because of the writing style of the poem, and how it flows with the setting.
Wilfred Owen’s poem “Anthem for a Doomed Youth” is a 14 lined sonnet written in a deviated form of iambic pentameter. This poem has a rhyme scheme of ABABCDCD EFFEGG with the first stanza being an octet and the second stanza being a sestet. Owen uses the Petrarchan sonnet form with a Shakespearean style rhyme scheme. Owen does, however, deviate from the typical iambic pentameter style by using extra syllables and a different number of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line. Generally, in a sonnet where there is a separation in stanzas, there will be a shift in the poet’s ideas, a change of course, or a problem and a solution, in “Anthem for a Doomed Youth” the shift is from the battlefield to the citizens back home. Throughout the poem