Commentary: the Send Off (Ww1 Poetry

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October 3rd, 2014 Commentary: The Send Off This poem, written by Wilfred Owens, describes a group of men going off to war, hence the title, “The Send Off.” Throughout the poem there is a gloomy and rundown attitude, coupled with matching descriptions, which is a drastic change to the earlier patriotic jingoistic poems about the war. In this poem, a more realistic, dismal attitude towards going off to war is taken. With elevated language and the haphazard rhyme scheme within the short stanzas, the poem nearly possesses a standard format, however the deviations match the message of a sort of reluctance to going off to war, and the war as a concept. The first short stanza opens with a hard “d” sound of “down” almost immediately setting a dark atmosphere, and sets the scene for going off to war. With the description of “darkening lanes” not only is there alliteration with the first word “down”, but it also creates a gloomy effect from the very start of the poem. This is juxtaposed with the description “sang their way to the siding-shed.” Usually, when someone or something is described as singing, it has a positive connotation, however, here, coupled with the dismal attitude of the poem it could perhaps be interpreted as more of the last bits of patriotism appearing as moral diminishes. The last line of this first stanza creates a memorable image, calling the soldiers faces “grimly gay.” Not only is there alliteration of the “g” sound, calling attention to the phrase, but also the dichotomy of the two words, grim being more menacing and gay being extreme happiness, reveals the conflicting emotions the soldiers must be feeling. At this point in the war they know what they are getting into: the destruction and less that ideal conditions, however they are still expected to keep up the patriotic enthused attitude of going off to war and serving their country. The next

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