Owen Has Been Praised for His ‘Bleak Realism, His Energy and Indignation, His Compassion, and His High Technical Skills’. Discuss the Validity of This Assessment.

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Owen has been praised for his ‘bleak realism, his energy and indignation, his compassion, and his high technical skills’. Discuss the validity of this assessment. Wilfred Owen is known for his painfully true stories of soldiers in the First World War. A young soldier himself, he composed poignant and accurate details and used them to mould incredibly moving poetry. Owen would have been a channel for alternative views on the war, views that would have drastically changed from the time he had enrolled. His views, sometimes interpreted as less patriotic, combined with his realism and linguistic talents have made him one of the most enjoyable poets of his time. The language in Disabled is Owen’s main vehicle in creating a really moving piece. The first two stanzas of the poem focus on the physical aspects of this young man’s life and to some extent the views of wider society, also touched on later in the poem. This first stanza sets the scene for this poem. The tone of the poem is very solemn, highlighting in particular, this man’s physical disability. However the language is what draws the reader in and evokes strong emotions towards the subject. The first line of note is ‘Legless, Sewn short at elbow’. This is where we get a first glimpse of the injuries sustained by the young soldier. He has lost part of his arm and both legs. The sentence is disjointed, and the syntactic awkwardness of the phrase mirrors the injuries he has received, the distortion of his body, and we feel pity for the young man’s situation. The words ‘Legless’ and ‘at elbow’ are sibilant and harsh which reflects the reality of his situation, putting plainly his inadequacy. ‘Voices of boys’ that sound as they finish a football match makes the soldier feel sad, as he is reminded he will never have that liberty, again instilling a feeling of pity for him. These young boys remind him of his

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