The repetition of question marks and dashes illustrate the confusion and frustration witnessing Owens fellow comrades, it is a demanding tone begging for explanation for the entrapment of victims. And as a result, it encourages the reader to consider the impact the war had on both, the soldiers who survived, and those who didn’t. Dulce et Decorum Est brings to reality that war is not what people say it is. Given by its very title, ‘It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country’. Although, it only an illusion reinforced throughout the poem, along with its irony and sarcasm that is ‘The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori’, it is not sweet and fitting to die for ones country.
The poet is saying that people should not talk about war as enthusiastically as it gives the impression that war is glorious. Furthermore, he says that the idea that ’it is sweet and right’ to die for your country is entirely untrue. Through this, we are able to form the opinion that war is not okay because it is a serious thing that carries many negative consequences. In Wilfred Owen’s poem Dolce et Decorum est, the use of similes conveys the harsh reality of war on soldiers as it changes them dramatically and kills the majority of them. In the first two lines of the poem, Owen uses the similes “Bent double like old beggars under sacks, knocked kneed, coughing like hags” to paint a grim picture in readers minds of how the soldiers were.
How is conflict presented in the poems Futility and The Charge of the Light Brigade? The title of Wilfred Owen’s ‘Futility’ captures the dominant sense of uselessness and helplessness in relation to conflict, felt by the soldiers in the face of their comrade’s recent death. The poem focuses on the effect of conflict and is focused on an injured, probably dead soldier. Owen uses this soldier to question to point of life being created it can be destroyed so easily. In contrast Tennyson’s Charge depicts a disastrous battle during the Crimean War and therefore shows the disbelief and horror of conflict.
Stephen Touma Wilfred Owens poetry is driven by a passionate exploration of humanity at its worst. Refer to 2 poems Poetry written by Owen is directed by an intense examination of the human condition and society at its most negative state. Owen doesn’t merely search or subliminally display these experiences he heatedly exposes humanity at its absolute worst. Owen illustrates these experiences through his explanation of the exhaustion of soldiers and their movement between the battlefield, and the sacrifices of war. This can be seen in his two poems ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and ‘Parable of the Old man and the Young’.
Introduction Paragraph 1 In his poem, Strange Meeting, Owen recreates the horror of war through his shocking and realistic account of the experiences faced by soldiers on the battlefields during World War One. “And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall, - By his dead smile I knew we stood in hell”. Owen has used first person and a pararhyme to reinforce the brutality and horrors of war. Owen came to the realisation, by talking to this man, that no one there was truly alive, breathing or not breathing. What mattered was the truth of war and what he felt he must share and let people know.
The techniques that Sassoon has used in the poems are: imagery, simile, metaphor and onomatopoeia. A good poem may lead to sadness, joyful or simply wandering, but it always leads us to think more deeply about life for the following reasons: Firstly, it creates emotion; secondly, it shows us the brutality of war; and finally, hardships faced by soldiers and also by showing about death. Through this it becomes evident that a good poem may lead to sadness, joyful or simply wandering. A good poem may lead to sadness, joyful or simply wandering because it creates emotion. Emotion refers to a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.
Dulce et Decorum Est Written Explanation War is often depicted as glorious and heroic however it deceives by being a connotation of hell! In the bottom right of the poster, the image shown is comparing the soldier on the left to an old man. This comparison is shown in the opening lines of the poem as Owen states: “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks” This is a dramatic opening to the poem which through the use of power visual image shows the pain that the soldier is going throughout war and the inability to move. The soldier is not fit, healthy and glorious like the propaganda posters (on the left) showed. Owen compares soldiers fighting in war to sick old men because it shows that soldiers are like outcasts from society.
Anthem For Doomed Youth is a sonnet written by Wilfred Owen about the realities of war. Wilfred Owen was a soldier during WW1 and therefore understands fully the true experiences of war. He was against war and was appalled by the effects of war on people and their families. The purpose of the poem is to inform the public of the true realities of war and how young men where dying needlessly. This was because during war times the media would tell the public that the war going great and that the men where doing just fine, but this obviously just wasn’t true.
Owen also seeks to expose the betrayal of the authorities throughout poems such as ‘Disabled’ and ‘The parable of the old man and the young.’ He expresses how they acted with a disregard for the lives of their countries young men. Religion and its betrayal during the war is also emphasized by Wilfred Owen in ‘Anthem for doomed youth.’ He shows how the belief in religion did nothing to dampen the grim realities of war and he even begins to question his own beliefs. Another way Owen feels he has been betrayed is through the way society treated those soldiers who had suffered both mental and physical injuries. They were labelled as cowards and looked down upon. This is best shown in the poem ‘Disabled.’ Owen was ultimately driven by the betrayal of the authorities, religion and society and he used his horrifying experiences of the war to exemplify this betrayal.
‘Apologia Pro Poemate Meo’ – Wilfred Owen ‘Apologia Pro Poemate Meo’ deals with the atrocities of World War I. The poem conveys the battle between good and evil, both within the soldiers themselves and war as a whole. This poem gives insight into Owen’s intent to criticise the people who persuade the soldiers to sign up. By starting the poem with ‘I’, Owen indicates this is a personal poem similar to ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ and ‘The Dead Beat’ but unlike these poems, it is not inspired by personal events. Yet like ‘The Send Off’ and ‘Spring Offensive’ , this poem encapsulates a note of prophecy and appears to have an exolted tone as through all the horrors of the war, the soldiers managed to ‘give their laughs more glee than shakes a child.’ This pure love and pure horror expressed in this poem is mutually exclusive.