Main ideas in War Poetry The main idea in war poetry, written during World War One – 1914-18, is the harsh reality of war. Poets such as Wilfred Owen use the language techniques of simile, rhyme, repetition and personification to help convey the main idea. Owen uses techniques to paint a grim picture of what war was like and how it affected people. Through this, we see that war is often glorified, thus Owen was able to counter the glorification of war. After reading war poems we are able to get a true idea of how horrific war was and learn of its negative consequences.
“A good poem may lead to sadness, joyful or simply wandering, but it always leads us to think more deeply about life” Discuss this statement with reference to at least two Sassoon’s poems. A good poem may lead to sadness, joyful or simply wandering, but it always leads us to think more deeply about life. A War poem is a poem that is written on the subject of war. It is applied especially to those in military service. The nature of war poem is to show how horrible and disgusting war is.
Not So Sweet Nor Becoming Wilfred Owen was a man of two professions: writing and fighting. As a soldier in World War 1, Owen was horrified by his experiences and the tragedies he witnessed. These memories motivated him to write poems that relayed the truths of war. “Dulce Et Decorum Est” is perhaps the most famous of these pieces. When looking for a poem to analyze, this one jumped out at me; immediately upon reading its title, I thought of another piece of art that references the same phrase.
War Poetry Introduction A poet is generally a man who feels something and tries to express his ideas and emotions about this thing in a way far better than that of the ordinary man. And the more effect of the subject, the better the poem. So when t comes to war we find that the poets express themselves in the most eloquent way. War, just hearing this word makes one think of many clashing ideas about it. Every single person on this earth has a clear idea about war and some of us already have a personal experience with the tragedies and suffering of war In this simple thesis we will talk about war poetry and its major poet, Wilfred Owen.
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. In this essay I will analyze this poem and reveal the realities of war through a variety of writing techniques. I will also give my personal opinion on the poem and how it is written. The poem is split into two parts, one part contains eight lines and the second part contains six lines. In the first eight lines (octet) a question is asked in the first line and answered in the remaining seven lines.
What mattered was the truth of war and what he felt he must share and let people know. The pararhyme here links key words and ideas, without detracting from the meaning and solemnity of the poem, as a full rhyme sometimes does. However, the failure of two similar words to rhyme and the obvious omission of a full rhyme creates a sense of discomfort and incompleteness. It is a discordant note that matches well to the disturbing mood of the poem. Therefore, Theme 1: Brutality and horrors of war (and their effect on the individual) Poem 1: topic sentence, quotes, techniques, analysis/ significance/ effect, link to question Poem 2: topic sentence, quotes, techniques, analysis/ significance/ effect, link to question Paragraph 2 To Owen, war is not sweet, nor is it honourable and these ideas are explored throughout the poem, Dulce et Decorum est.
Owen commented on his poetry that ‘my subject is war, and the pity of it… all a poet can do is warn.’ Owen and Sassoon were both trying to warn young men against war and inform the public on how brutal and disgusting war actually is In both poems, after describing the obscene conditions of war and the impact that these conditions had on the soldiers, the poets dedicated a stanza to condemning the reader on any encouragement they may have had towards young men going to war. They did this through the use of personal pronouns. In ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ Owen condemns the use of the saying “Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori” (It is sweet and fitting to die for your country) by using personal pronouns to involve the reader in the reality of war “If you could hear at every jolt/ the blood come gargling from the froth corrupted lungs… my friend you would not tell with such high zest… the old lie: Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori.” In ‘Suicide in the trenches’ personal pronouns are also used to disapprove of the encouragement of war “You smug faced crowds… who cheer when soldier lads march by/ sneak home and pray you’ll never know/ the hell where youth and laughter go.” Personal pronouns are used in order to involve the
Wilfred Owen was an active soldier during WWI, who used his horrific experiences during the war to write his poems. His poems stemmed from his views on war, as he believed that although war was sometimes necessary, it was futile and evil. Two of his poems, ‘Exposure’ and ‘Disabled’ both reveal the price paid by soldiers during WWI. ‘Exposure’ examines the more psychological effects on the soldiers and is written from the view of the soldiers on the front line, ‘Disabled’ shows the aftermath and repercussion of fighting in WWI and the physical damage it caused. The first word in ‘Exposure’ is ‘our’ and is written in first person plural, showing the reader that Owen wanted to convey the plight of the universal soldier and how they all suffered the same fate, no matter their side.
The Iliad is the first great book, and the first great book about the suffering and loss of war. Homer, for reasons of his own, suppressed the truth about the Trojan war- in reality, the Greeks lost. Homer once said, “Men learn with difficulty… But they are deceived only too readily”. In The Iliad, two characters have the narrative urge, and something approaching a synoptic view of the scenes surging around them. Achilles sings stories of heroes' deeds in battle, and Helen embroiders scenes of fighting on an elaborate textile.
Anthem for doomed youth In Wilfrid Owen’s poem “anthem for doomed youth” a strong anti-war message is conveyed through the strong views, harsh imagery and sarcastic irony. Looking at the title alone of the poem: anthem for doomed youth the bluntest aspect for me was the spiteful use of sarcasm and irony in the title. The use of the word ‘anthem’ evokes a sense of national pride and strength however the feeling is distorted by Owen when he implies that the youth of Britain are being lead blindly into certain death, tricked into fighting the inhumane war by their own countries. In the very first line of the poem Owen questions the morality of the generals and politicians sending the young men to their inevitable deaths, asking the generals and politicians how much these brave young men are worth. Are they people, sons of mothers waiting back home anxiously for their return, or just another statistic in the folder on the desk of their cushy offices well away from the hell on earth that was the first world war in the quote: “What passing bells for those who die as cattle?” Owen asks: who cares when these valiant young men who march forward unto their deaths, what passing bells?