The results of war are shown both similarly and differently in the two poems. The contexts also differ due to the poet’s experiences of war. Wilfred Owen died fighting in World War One whereas Alfred Tennyson learned about the battle second hand therefore they have different perspectives. In ‘Futility’, Owen uses metaphors that could represent the feelings of the soldiers but Alfred Tennyson tells the story of the battle. In ‘Futility’, Owen utilizes personifications such as ‘The kind old sun will know’ and ‘Woke once the clays of a cold star’ to create a sense of desperation on the part of the soldiers.
In contrast Tennyson’s Charge depicts a disastrous battle during the Crimean War and therefore shows the disbelief and horror of conflict. Tennyson uses the poem to show the admiration and bravery of the solders in their determination to obey orders even though the orders were foolish. Futility could be considered as an elegy for the unnamed solider and opens with a tender and sad tone shifting to pointlessness in the second stanza. The use of the pronoun ‘him’ in the opening line suggests this could be any soldier from World War I demonstrating the number of men who would remain unnamed and unclaimed during this conflict. On the contrary Charge is patriotic with Tennyson celebrating the courage and obedience of the soldiers – this can be seen in his use of ‘glory, honour/noble’.
By using a sonnet, a touch of irony is used. The conventional function for a sonnet is love, but this sonnet has a theme of a love that has turned bad. The young male population have so much patriotic love and are so eager to serve, but this love turns sour. They spend time rotting in the wastes of the trenches, only to be mown down by a machine gun nest. Not only are their lives wasted, gone without the holy ritual of funeral, but the lives of their loved ones at home are also ruined.
HOW DOES WILFRED OWEN CONVEY THE HORRORS OF WAR IN POETRY ? Many of Owen's poems direct anger towards the generals and those at home who have encouraged war.Owen's war poetry is a passionate expression of outrage at the horrors of war and of pity for the young soldiers sacrificed in it. It is dramatic and memorable, whether describing physical horror, such as in 'Dulce et Decorum Est' or mental torment such as in' Disabled'. His poetry evokes more from us than simple disgust and sympathy. Owen sympathizes with the vain young men who have no idea of the horrors of war, who are 'seduced' by others (Jessie Pope) and the recruiting posters.
Generals Die in Bed Charles Yale Harrison’s war novel, Generals Die in Bed, uses a very discrete kind of writing that assists the reader in understanding the sad, miserable and degrading reality of what life in the trenches was actually like. To the general public, troops in the trenches were perceived as heroic and glorious, however Harrison manages to sway the readers opinion by using deliberate writing techniques to help them see the truth. His short, powerful, but brief sentences about emotion, the repetition of certain events, the limited backstory on the characters and the songs he has the characters sing are all methods with which he is able to get the reader to see what life in the trenches was really like. The trenches were always filled with emotion, most of which was fear and sadness. Harrison showed that the emotions within the trenches could change in an instant.
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. A Charge, which is what is what Tennyson portays, is patriotic with celebrating the courage and obedience of the soldiers. This can be seen in his use of glory, honour and noble in the poem. This positive representation of conflict could be linked to Tennyson’s role of Poet Laureate under Queen Victoria’s reign.
Name: Audrey In ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ and ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ In his poems ’Dulce Et Decorum Est’ and ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’, First World War veteran, Wilfred Owen, unveils the true cost of patriotism in war and questions if it is indeed a worthwhile venture for young men, ardent for glory and recognition, to sacrifice their lives in the name of service to their country. He focuses in all these poems on the grim stupidity of war and condemns in no uncertain terms, the argument that war is any indication of patriotism. In this essay, we will focus on a description of the plight of the soldiers as Owen’s open attack on war. Derived from the ancient Latin phrase, the first poem is a complete antithesis of its title and last line; Dulce Et Decorum Est/Pro patria mori, meaning that it is noble and becoming to die for your country. The poem however, rejects this maxim by vividly describing the condition of physically poor and decrepit old soldiers ready to die.
‘The send -off’, shows Owen’s cynical attitude towards war. He opens with the line “Down the close, darkening lanes they sang their way”. The deliberate alliteration of the “d’s”, of ‘down’ and ‘darkening’ display Owen’s cynicism towards the war. I think Owen is cynical because he himself knows the illusion of war. The soldiers are, “grimly gay”, which is oxymoronic as this quotation seems to be implying that they are forcing themselves to be happy.
Owen is addressing the reader, who possibly doesn’t have the first hand experience of the war, and criticising the enthusiasm with which the war is described, particularly to vulnerable children (BBC, 2013). Owen uses the language and a variety of literary devices to vividly depict the true reality of war and suffering of the soldiers. This is evident from the first two lines where Owen uses simile to describe soldiers who are ‘like old beggars’ and ‘coughing like hags’ (lines 1,2). They are ‘blood-shod’, ‘drunk with fatigue’ (lines 6,7). Owen depicts soldiers not as undefeatable heroes, but desperate, weak, and pitiful human beings.
A technique used to enhance the mood is imagery. Such as, describing the soldiers as “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”. By using this simile it gives us a good description of the soldiers and suggests how unclean, malnourished and the health the soldiers are. Another good image used is “Drunk with fatigue” this implies the idea of the soldiers being unaware of things happening around them but by saying they are drunk with fatigue gives the idea they are struggling to move, even stand because they’re so tired from fighting. By using words like “sludge” and “trudge” contrasts with the way an average person perceives the idea of a soldier, they are usually seen as marching and singing songs to keep up spirits however this is not the case here.