Wilfred Owen's Attitude Towards World War 1 As Shown In His Poetry

What is Wilfred Owen’s attitude towards Worlds War 1 and how is this shown through his poetry?

You should comment upon and compare at least two of his poems and describe the tone he writes in the imagery he uses and the poetical techniques he includes to convey his opinions.

Wilfred Owen was born in Shropshire on 18th March 1893. He was the son of a railway worker and was educated at schools in Shrewsbury and Liverpool. Wilfred was encouraged to write poetry from an early age by his devoted mother. He couldn't afford university education, so decided to go abroad to teach English in France. Owen then volunteered for the Army in 1914 when the First World War was in action. After training he became an officer and was sent to France at the end of 1916, seeing services. The following year, Owen took part in the attacks on the German Hindenburg. When a huge shell burst near him, he was shell-shocked and sent back to England.

I have chosen this poem because this is his most famous poem, 'Dulce et Decorum est' is an example of a poem written through his own eyes, based on his own experiences and views of the war. He uses surreal and graphic imagery to give the reader the exact feeling that he wanted. He emphasises his point, showing that war is terrible and devastating. This poem conveys a strong meaning and persuasive argument. This poem uses four stanzas and an alternate rhyming line scheme.

'Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori' is a quotation from the Latin poet Horace, meaning 'It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country.' During the First World War, countries made use of mustard gas because it reacted with the water in the lungs and effectively dissolved the ones the inhaled the gas. The effect of the use of these gasse...

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...f the poem is that each soldier will not be remembered because they are one in so many that did not have no funeral or a body; they would have no grave stone and will just be forgotten.

Wilfred uses his beliefs in war in both of the poems that I have studied, as he saw death, destruction, and pain and wanted people to be more aware of the war and hopefully to stop it from happening again. 'Anthem For Doomed Youth' uses the form of a sonnet to explain a message that is slow and meaningful as you would imagine a funeral march. 'Dulce et Decorum est' also has a sad message but is explained in a different way. Both poems make the reader feel sad and does exactly what Wilfred Owen wanted, to make us feel how the soldiers did. There was no way of helping the gas victim in 'Dulce est Decorum est' and the 'doomed youth' didn't know their fate making them helpless victims.