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.
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.
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.
Unfortunately one soldier doesn’t get his mask on in time and suffers a horrific death. Owen then describes the nightmares he has after witnessing such an awful sight which leads up to the moral message at the end of the poem. Wilfred Owen uses a number of literary techniques to describe the physical and mental suffering of the soldiers marching back to base. For example imagery is expressed with the use of the simile “like old beggars, under sacks” is effective because it compares the young soldiers to old beggars showing that the war has prematurely aged them and the sacks refer to the heavy bags of equipment they carry on their backs. A similar example would be the simile “coughing like hags” again a reference to being old as a hag is an elderly woman.
This simile is an important contrast of the information people were fed at the time of soldiers being strong and proud. Owen strips away the image of a glorified war to reveal the bitter and cruel nature of the war. The bitter imagery “Coughing like hags” and “but limped on” also develops the idea of these young man seeming old. Owen takes pity on these tired and weary soldiers as he describes them in the most unglamorous, inglorious manner. The statement “all went lame, all blind’, while being somewhat hyperbolic suggests that the soldiers had lost all previous objectives of war along with the line “cursed through sludge”.
At first, he is a good strong leader, a figure of authority, but as the novel goes on, and his character begins to disintegrate. After going over the top, Stephen is left laying in the shellhole with a damaged leg; Weir attends to him when darkness falls. As the guns begin to die down the rest of the injured men try to make their way back to the trenches by dragging themselves. The sound, described as “like damp winds scraping down a sky of glass”, troubles Weir and he begins to shake. Eventually, he regresses back to childhood and crawls to Stephen, asking him to “hold me” and to “call me by my name”.
In “Dulce et Decorum est” one particular man is severely suffering from an awful gas attack. The gas is entering his lungs and drowning them, the rest of his friends have to merely watch as he is “Guttering and choking”. This would be a traumatic scene to experience as well as to witness; it would probably mentally scar the soldiers. At one point the Soldier dying directly asks the narrator for help, this is a very prominent part of the poem and emphasises the pure desperation. Also, similarly to “The Send Off” Owen continuously uses sarcastic and rude comments towards the government.
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.
Compare how Conflict is presented in The Charge of the Light Brigade and one other poem. Alfred Tennyson’s charge of the light brigade shows a horrific 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 they were thoughtless. In contrast the title of Wilfred Owen’s Futility shows the overpowering sense of uselessness and helplessness in relation to conflict, felt by the soldiers in the face of their friends recent death. The poem focuses on the effect of conflict and is focused on an injured, probably dead soldier.
Let us first consider the poem from the aspect of symbolism and motifs. The first stanza brings clear images to mind of the painful physical conditions which soldiers are operating under. The tone is slow and deep and the reader can relate to the informal and slang diction and concepts within the poem, such as: “Bent double, like old beggars,” “Knock-kneed,” “Men march(ing)…(who) had lost their boots,…limped on blood-shod (bloody-feet/shoes). All went lame; all blind…drunk with fatigue.” What is so interesting is that much of that stanza speaks of things having to do with legs and feet experiencing severe injury, weakness, fatigue, and pain. Most people have the use of their legs and feet, but these descriptors help relate the importance and value of healthy, strong legs.