The Whisperings of the War
A poem is composed of a general theme that sets the mood. The mood of the poem varies form happy to sad, anger to pleasant, or many others. The theme is a general overview of what the poem is stating, but the poem itself has a much deeper meaning and stands for valuable interpretation. Among the words and phrases of a poem, there are certain characteristics and underlying ideas that need to be noticed in order for the poem to be understood. The use of war is a general theme used very often. The following authors and there poems use the theme of war: Rupert Brooke's, "The Soldier"; Wilfred Owen's, "Anthem for Doomed Youth"; and William Butler Yeats', "An Irish Foresees His Death". Even though the three poems use the theme of war, they seem to be whispering other underlying ideas which are patriotism, realism, and destiny.
Robert Brooke's poem, "The Soldier" is a great representation for the patriotism of an English soldier. At the time that the poem war written, World War I was in full force, so that may have affected Brooke's to write this poem. The poem is written from the aspect of an English soldier. Throughout the poem, implications of patriotism are subjected through the words chosen. "If I should die, think only this of me/ That there's some corner of a foreign field/ That is for ever England. There shall be/ In that rich earth a richer dust concealed" (320). Brooke's portrays this soldier to be willing to die for his country, just so he will be able to add to England's victory. The soldier feels that his life will be held in honor and that his bones are much more valuable than some piece of land. Also, the soldier thinks that when he dies, he will be leaving a little piece of England there on the battlefield, making it a better place. Brooke's describes patriotism very well and the mindset of a soldier willing to protect his homeland.
In stories told, it seems that the thought going through most soldiers head's is death and when they are going to die. In Wilfred Owen's poem, "Anthem for Doomed Youth", the theme of realism is described throughout the poem. Like Brookes, Owen wrote this poem during the era of World War I. The poem is written from the perspective of a soldier that tells of the realism of war and the troubles it causes.
Wilfred Owen expresses his feelings about war in “Anthem for a Doomed Youth”, which revolves around the events that took place in World War I. Throughout the sonnet, the speaker talks bitterly about modern warfare, noting the harsh sounds of war and questioning the treatment of the soldiers that perish. In the octave, the speaker wonders what can be done to honor the soldiers that died, but realizes negatively that the soldiers only receive death instead of ceremonies. In the sestet, the speaker expands upon this idea of a proper ceremony for the deceased soldiers, saying that the families must be the ones to properly honor their dead. Owen’s use of the Petrarchan sonnet with a Shakespearean rhyme scheme, helps him express his frustration about war and its subsequent treatment of the dead.
Through the reminiscent use of literary devices Owen creates a deeply poignant poem to express a very powerful message. Through this description of the physical, mental and emotional effects of war, Owen seeks to shed light on these horrors and in doing so highlights the tragedy of innocent men who are misled into sacrificing their lives for their country. This is still relevant to today because, he has set the tone for an entire generation of men and women thinking about war. It is a valuable message to our modern society as there are still deliberate attempts of those in the position of power to perpetuate myths of patriotism and nationalism that conceals the reality that soldiers face. This is the reality of some men where governments and militaries use propaganda in various crisis situations; whether it’s the war in Iraq, the war in Libya or the war in Afghanistan. It is to this end that Owen wishes to illuminate a message that enhances voice and rejects the machinery that so easily advances deception at the cost of
As he never actually reached the front line, Brooke’s form of idealistic imagery was fueled by the extensively patriotic propaganda of the time. Death as a theme in ‘The Soldier’ is therefore depicted simply as more of an accepted cost for the country, with Brooke envisioning dying itself, rather grandly as leaving ‘Some corner of a foreign field…forever England.’
In conclusion, depending on the position from which one views war, the standpoint may vary ranging from being supportive of the soldiers because those who die are dying for the country or they are completely unsupportive of war activities because it is a brutal and gruesome experience involving countless unnecessary injuries and deaths. Affected by a number of factors, the authors of the two poems have chosen opposing standpoints on the issue of war where Tennyson glorified it with the main message that it is an honour to die for one's country whereas the other, Owen suppresses the idea of war by illustrating all the horrid experiences of a soldier.
To draw into the poet’s world, the poet must draw relations between them, including the reader, making them feel what the poet feels, thinking what the poet thinks. Wilfred Owen does this very creatively and very effectively, in both of his poems, Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori and Anthem of Doomed Youth, who is seen as an idol to many people today, as a great war poet, who expresses his ideas that makes the reader feel involved in the moment, feeling everything that he does. His poems describe the horror of war, and the consequences of it, which is not beneficial for either side. He feels sorrow and anger towards the war and its victims, making the reader also feel the same.
In conclusion, Wilfred Owens anti-war poem successfully demonstrates the horrors of war. The poems theme is an anti-war, trying to show the horrid experience men went through during World War 1. In order for this theme to have been created Owen uses of many poetic devices and appeals such as imaginative appeal, sensual appeal as well as intellectual appeal.
It is evident that the socio-cultural context in which Wilfred Owen operated had a powerful impact upon his poetic motivation and the messages he conveyed through his work. Before exploring Wilfred Owen’s work we first must understand the society that Wilfred Owen lived in, to be able to really understand appreciate his poems and their impact on society. At the time in which he operated, Britain’s public opinion on warfare and conflicts were astonishingly positive, especially in the early stages of WW1. These false perception on war led the vast majority of male citizens to perceive war recruitment as an opportunity to set off on ‘terrific adventures’ and earn immense amounts of honour for their families and nation. Government propaganda meant that soldiers believed that they were gathering fame and fortune in the name of Great Britain. This cruel and false perception of warfare which in turn led to a steady rate of volunteers for the war and included Wilfred Owen himself. The men who did not go and fight for their nations were perceived by society as cowards as
The title ‘Anthem of Doomed Youth’, is juxtaposed to its real meaning of anthem being something to celebrate and be proud of. The assonance between the ‘Doomed’ and collective noun ‘Youth’ can come as a shock to society as topic of death and youth do not go together. In other words, the soldiers are too young and are already fated to death by enlisting in the war. This highlights how war is cruel as the soldiers are stolen of their youth, entering a battlefield designed to ‘sapt the soldier 's spirit.’ Furthermore, Owen shows that the fallen soldiers themselves will not get a proper burial of “candles,” “pall,” nor “flowers.” Instead, these are substituted with negative imagery “The pallor of girls’ brows” and personification “patient minds” to demonstrate that the thoughts of the ones waiting for the fallen soldiers back home are the closest thing they will have to a funeral. This is epitomised in the personification “bugles calling them from sad shires,” which conveys a nation in mourning back home. Collectively, these poetic devices in “Anthem for the Doomed Youth” shows that the death of the young soldiers negatively affects the people around
The poet Wilfred Owen was one of many poets who were against war. He reflected this idea of anti-war in his poems, one of his poems called “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, mirrors most aspects of war all put together in this short still deep poem. An example of that would be when the speaker stated,” What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?”(1) The speaker asks is there any sound that marks our soldier’s death other than the sounds of church bell’s which are mostly rung to represent somebody’s absence? Clearly, the speaker sets anger as the tone of the poem through this question to show that soldier’s death is unremarkable.. The speaker compares the soldiers to a “cattle” which illustrates that soldiers are treated more like animals with no feelings and also shows how they are killed indiscriminately in war. Finally the line ironically contains an iambic pentameter which is a natural rhythm for such dark, grim, dull subject. The two novels, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, and All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, both present a similar idea of how soldiers are killed out there in the front comprehensively and the dehumanization of war towards its soldiers. The first novel is set during the Civil War, and it focuses on the psychological aspects of one soldier named Henry Fleming and how his naive thoughts about war constantly change through the course of the novel. The second novel presents the life of a soldier named Paul Baumer and his friends who were faced with the terribleness of war and how severely it affected their lives. The Red badge of Courage and All Quiet on The Western Front are similar in the way of how the main characters develop through the novel to change from naïve and innocent men ...
Ultimately, we have two poems which can be compared on the grounds of their subject, but are poles apart regarding their message. The structure of these poems is not what would be typically expected from a war poem, but are structured on the basis of these typical structures in order to create some sense of familiarity. Brooke’s poem expands on this familiarity while Owen attempts to deliberately sabotage it. In regards to content, Brooke shows throughout his perception of the nobility of dying for one’s country, whilst Owen uses all of his poetic techniques to show the opposite.
...e see a young boy being taught how to use weapons. In “Exposure”, Owen depicts a group of soldiers freezing to death at war, even though they aren’t in the midst of fighting. Lastly, in “Dulce Et Decorum Est” we read about a soldiers who struggles to get his mask on during a gas attack (when the enemy releases a gas deadly upon inhale). Owen describes the soldiers slow death in detail. Not only do these images provide the reader with first hand accounts of war, but they also show Owen’s feelings towards the war. All of these images that are glued into his head will be there forever, which is why he incorporates these realities in his poems, so that everyone can realize that war is nothing more than a inhumane act of terror.
Wilfred Owen displays through the poem the realities of war, he shows the true life of a soldier, the struggles, he definitely has a negative attitude toward war. His main idea is to fight against the title of the poem which means “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country”; he believes that the message is wrong, and that there is no need to die fighting for a piece of land. The thematic structure is divided into three stages: During the first eight lines, Owen displays the difficulties of being in war, he describes the conditions of the soldiers, he also explains how even when the
Anthem For Doomed Youth is an example of innocence in wartime poetry, the "anthem" may refer to a song to commemorate the innocent youth whose lives were taken too soon by the war, by using the word anthem Owen may be trying to call to mind the glory of the national anthem however he goes on to explain about how in war there is no glory in the deaths of the innocent. He has paired the words 'doomed' with 'youth' to provide sorrow but to also show an unhappy impression as it shows the young have no hope. This poem is written in sonnet from, which may be considered ironic given the fact that sonnets are usually to do with love.
In Anthem for Doomed Youth, Owen splits his sonnet into two stanzas, an octet and a sestet. The octet describes the imagery of the battle field and the trenches on the front line. Whereas the sestet seems to describe the home front, however the main theme throughout the poem is how so many soldiers were needlessly sacrificed. The fact that the poem is called an Anthem is extremely cynical and contradictory, as anthems are normally passionate, whereas this is about death, and this shows how much Owen hated war and everything it stood for. Also Doomed Youth gives the impression that the young and lively soldiers with a whole life in front of them are being led to war, where there lives are effectively doomed.
Chaos and drudgery are common themes throughout the poem, displayed in its form; it is nearly iambic pentameter, but not every line fits the required pattern. This is significant because the poem’s imperfect formulation is Owen making a statement about formality, the poem breaks the typical form to show that everything is not functioning satisfactorily. The poem’s stanza’s also begin short, but become longer, like the speaker’s torment and his comrades movement away from the open fire. The rhyming scheme of ABABCDCD is one constant throughout the poem, but it serves to reinforce the nature of the cadence as the soldiers tread on. The war seems to drag on longer and longer for the speaker, and represents the prolonged suffering and agony of the soldier’s death that is described as the speaker dwells on this and is torn apart emotionally and distorts his impressions of what he experiences.