An Analysis of Wilfred Owen’s Strange Meeting
Analysis of a working manuscript for Wilfred Owen's "Strange Meeting" provides the student with insight into the creative process. Owen's original wording coupled with his subsequent revisions illuminate how he may have intended the poem to be understood by the reader. Owen's revisions show a determination to accomplish three apparent objectives. First, Owen paid close attention to the connotative meanings inherent in his diction. Equally as important, Owen attempted to refine his language mechanics to enhance the esthetic quality of his work. Finally, there is evidence of a concerted effort to universalize the poem for readers of diverse experience.
In contrast to prose writing, diction must be sparing and more powerfully effective in poetry. Each word must serve a specific purpose beyond the creation of basic meaning. Word connotation must remain foremost in the poet's mind.
While different words may mean virtually the same thing in general terms, the intricate nuances of meaning and imagery associated with specific words goes far beyond generic lexical definitions. Connotative meanings contain the real power to evoke identification and emotional response in the reader. Owen's revisions to "Strange Meeting" show his desire to achieve the best synergy between lexical meaning and connotative imagery.
Line 11 of "Strange Meeting" contains two interesting word revisions. In the manuscript Owen wrote the word "fears" over some word impossible to decipher. Over that word, Owen wrote another word, probably "ways", which he later crossed out. The Norton Anthology of Modern poetry has published the line with the word "pains". Apparently Owen spent significant energy determini...
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...ast three aspects of the creative process in his work. First, poetry is inherently an act of language mechanics, involving attention to rhythm and esthetics. Secondly, the connotative choices involved in diction are significant, and can greatly affect the overall impact of a poem in powerful ways. Finally, Owen seems to have specifically attempted to broaden the potential audience of "Strange Meeting" by substituting words and phrases with less specific references.
Works Cited
Owen, Wilfred. The Wilfred Owen Multimedia Digital Archive. Http://www.hcu.ox.ac.uk/jtap/images/mss/bl/ms43720/20f3a.jpg
Owen, Wilfred. The Wilfred Owen Multimedia Digital Archive. Http://www.hcu.ox.ac.uk/jtap/images/mss/bl/ms43720/20f4a.jpg
Ellmann, Richard and O'Clair, Robert, ed. The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, Second Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1988.
poem. The tone used by each poet is critical because it indicates to the reader their
How Wilfred Owen Uses Language and Imagery in His Poetry to Communicate his Attitudes of War
Another tool in developing the effectiveness of the poem is the excellent use of diction. The word "blood-shod" explains how the troops have been on their feet for days without rest. Also, words like "guttering", "choking", and "drowning" shows us that the troops are suffering in extreme pain and misery. If you haven't noticed, most of these words are examples of cacophony, which are words with harsh and discordant sounds. As this poem is about how harsh and terrible war is, Owen's use of cacophony is very effective in generating the tone of the poem.
Comparing two war poems written by Wilfred Owen: Dulce et decorum Est. and Anthem for Doomed Youth. In this essay I will be comparing two war poems written by Wilfred Owen: ‘Dulce et decorum Est’ and ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’. By Comparing the two I will be able to distinguish the fact that Wilfred Owen is very anti-propaganda and that's why he feels so strongly about this. The two poems have many similarities but also a fair amount of differences, which I will be discussing in this essay.
Wilfred Owen is a tired soldier on the front line during World War I. In the first stanza of Dulce Et Decorum Est he describes the men and the condition they are in and through his language shows that the soldiers deplore the conditions. Owen then moves on to tell us how even in their weak human state the soldiers march on, until the enemy fire gas shells at them. This sudden situation causes the soldiers to hurriedly put their gas masks on, but one soldier did not put it on in time. Owen tells us the condition the soldier is in, and how, even in the time to come he could not forget the images that it left him with. In the last stanza he tells the readers that if we had seen what he had seen then we would never encourage the next generation to fight in a war.
Owen's poems the irony between the truth of what happens at war and the lie that was
A Comparison between Shakespeare's Agincourt Speech and Wilfred Owens Dulce Et Decorum Est This essay will scrutinize Shakespeare's 'Agincourt Speech' and Wilfred Owens 'Dulce Et Decorum Est'. Initially the essay will analyse elements of the poems context as well as the origin of the actual passage and how it is created by the influence on each writer's own experience. Additionally, the analysis will similarly focus on more intimate elements of each poem such as the attitude towards war at the time that they were written and how the author shows there own attitude and beliefs towards war (The Myth of War). Furthermore the essay will conclude by contextualising the language and structure of each poem, by showing how the authors create an impact upon the reader and by noting the differences or the similarities between the poems as well as the writer's themselves.
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
Owen, Wilfred. “The Sentry.” Poetry X. Ed. Jough Dempsey. 9 Sep 2003. 10 Feb. 2014
“Poetry is a form of art that consists of oral or literacy works in which language is used in a manner that is felt by the user and the audience” (Poetry). In which case, they are used to convey emotion or ideas to the reader or listener in a summarized form. Poetry uses devices such as repetition, imagery, and diction to generate the meaning of the poem (Poetry). Because of its nature of using language specifically for the content, poetry is known for being difficult to translate (Poetry). Poetry is frequently used as a means of oral history and storytelling and the two following poems, “Dulce et Decorum Est” written by a middle-class war veteran, and “We Real Cool” written by well-known African American, postwar poet, does exactly this. Both poems hit home on the original meaning behind poetry, enhancing on the seven poetic elements: speaker, time period, word choice, images, figures of speech and sound elements.
Owen, Wilfred. “Dulce Et Decorum Est.” World War I British Poets. Ed. Candace Ward. Dover Publications, Inc; New York, 1997.
As seen in both poems, ‘Dulce et Decorum est Pro Patria Mori’ and ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ Owen brings the audience into the his world, making them feel and think like him, knowing what he has experienced and what he dreads, and therefore successfully involves the reader into the world of poetry.
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.
Owen begins the poem with a depressing description of a man in a wheeled chair “waiting for dark”. The use of the word ‘dark’ gives connotations of death, implying that he’s waiting for his death to come. It also conveys a sense of isolation and sadness as the soldier no longer has a family. The mention of ‘sleep’ in the last line of the stanza can be an indication that death is near, since death is sometimes described as eternal sleep. Personification is used a...
Owen was able to evoke emotions through the use of imagery, as well as the usages of literary devices. This poet tends to use a lot of similes, metaphors and personification to express his image of the death and destruction of the war. ‘The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; And bugles calling for them from sad shires.’ The use of personification gives the reader a clear feeling of what Owen is trying to express. Furthermore, sense of demonic force is also shown about torture for the soldiers. . Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle’- personification, alliteration and onomatopoeia combine as methods to make war seen more brutal, violent and cruel. His uses of describing ...