Strange Meeting ‘Strange Meeting’ by Wilfred Owen is a poem about a soldier in war who makes contact with the spirit of a dead soldier. The poem begins with the relief of a soldier as he escapes the war; but then realizes where he was when he sees the dead soldier. The spirit tells him that joining war is simply a waste of your life. The poem describes the cruelty and harshness of war, and what it’s like to be in it. Owen’s main aim was to open up the truth about war and the horrific and gruesome reality of being a soldier, contradicting the propaganda illustrating soldiers as heroic, honorable, and proud.
The first stanza sets the scene and show what the soldiers would be feeling at the time. The men's condition at the time was so wretched th... ... middle of paper ... ...are a repeat of the title, and also and added line to clarify the actual meaning of the poem. Owen mocks the idea of war being an honorable and nationalistic way to support ones country as he describes a situation in which death is detailed in gruesome detail. This poem is harsh, yet effective in displaying the acts of war and the affect the it has on all of the people involved, especially the foot soldiers who served in the front line, the trenches. Owen serves as a great example of the losses that war brings.
In conclusion Wilfred Owen has successfully reached his points across about futility. In both poems Owen reflects the reality of war with a very strong tone and his ideas and themes can be clearly seen in these poems. Both poems show how everything happens in a sudden. Wilfred Owen describes the pain and horrors of the soldiers, unforgettable and if we were in that same situation, we could not encourage the next generation to fight. Wilfred Owen conveyed that these poems show the horrors of war and how pointless and worthless it is.
According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography it says, “Although the poem describes the senseless horrors of war, its title ironically evokes a Latin quotation from Horace: "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori," or "Sweet and decorous it is to die for one 's country. "” When he suffered a concussion from a fall and later was diagnosed with shell shock and trench fever, he went back home to England for further care. His own impression of the war reveals to be bitter since he struggled a lot and was injured severely. In that time he was recovering, Owen met “Siegfried Sassoon, an army captain and an established poet who wrote passionately of his
However, it is of key significance that the millions who died and suffered in this futility will be forever remembered. Their inconceivable experiences and horrifying statistics must be taken into... ... middle of paper ... ... shells “wailing” their “shrill, demented” mourning. The last sounds these soldiers are forced to listen to are their killers’ ridiculing at their naïve decision to fight. Weapons in Owen’s poems are personified to mock the war and reinforce its futility. The poetic techniques used in Wilfred Owen’s war poetry sweep the reader from the surface of knowing to the essence of truly appreciating his ideas.
The fact that his poems were written from his own involvement in the war contributes greatly to the overall effectiveness in promoting his anti-war message. There are many major ideas that Owen explores in ‘Disabled’, and I will be focusing on who is to blame for the protagonist’s losses; the myth of war in contrast to the reality of war; and the importance of female affection. -- One of the predominant ideas Owen explores in ‘Disabled’ is who is to blame for the protagonist’s losses. Owen contrasts the immaturity, naivety and foolishness of the young men who signed up for war with the knowledge and experience of the older recruitment officers. Owen first blames the protagonist as the instigator of his own losses, however, he then shifts the blame to the recruitment officers, and society as a whole, suggesting perhaps th... ... middle of paper ... ...had stopped him from joining the war, he would not have suffered his tragic losses.
The Old Lie! Dolce et Decorum Est is an anti-war poem written by Wilfred Owen. It is due to his frustration and anger against the people who use the old lie, it is sweet and right to die for your country, which is a translation of the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est”. Through this poem, Owen who himself took part in World War 1, has no difficulty to convince us that the horrors that took and balance the idea of those who encourage war. The poems theme is taken on and created throughout the use of many poetic devices and appeals such as imaginative appeal, sensual appeal as well as intellectual appeal.
During the war, he saw the worst of the battlefield and often wrote poetry to document his perspective on the war. In 1917, he was affected by an explosion and after he healed, he returned to service and died in battle in 1918. His biographical context is important to understand Owen’s point of view for this poem. 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.
In the final stanza, Owen is angry with the generals and politicians for encouraging young men to fight for their country. Moreover, the poet explains what happened to the man that died from the gas attack and consequently uses this incident to convince readers that it is not "sweet and fitting" to fight for one's country. The ga... ... middle of paper ... ...it was unlike the majority of poems I have read about the First World War. I found Wilfred Owen to be a shockingly realistic and expressive writer. Nevertheless, he wrote an honest poem, which makes it even more appalling since they incidents did occur.
This poem represents Owen’s outrage at the waste and loss of life experienced during the war but also explores the loss of innocence experienced by these young soldiers. A close analysis of Owen’s language techniques in these two poems will illustrate how Owen effectively shocks his responders, in order to reveal the barbarity and dehumanisation of war. To begin, in the graphic poem ’Dulce Et Decorum Est’ Wilfred Owen immediately unveils the grim reality of war through the effective use of powerful imagery. Owen vividly forces readers to recognise the loss of innocence and the waste of human life, effectively immersing them in the tragic world of the poem. For example, the use of the simile when