Owen continues with the lines, “But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; / Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots / Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind” (6-8). The word “shod” (6) means “wearing footgear.” During WWI, the soles of combat boots were reinforced with hobnails to increase their traction on soft ground. When the battlefield was muddy, soldiers’ boots would literally get stuck in the mud causing boots to slide off their feet. The soldiers’ boots were also poorly fitted causing painful blisters. The word “lame” (6) means “marked by stiffness and soreness.” The lameness experienced by the soldiers bears some semblance of how animals walk when they are injured. Thus, harsh conditions of war pervade soldiers with animal instincts. …show more content…
The word “hoots” (7) means to make the natural throat noise of an owl or a similar cry, which represents the sounds of Five-Nines or chemical-filled German 5.9-inch artillery shells before impact. The word “outstripped” (8) means “to go faster or farther than.” This refers to the difference between the impact time of explosive ordnances and chemical artillery shells. Through long-term exposure to artillery attacks, soldiers were able to predict the type of incoming enemy ordnance before they exploded. Hence, a third detrimental consequence of untruthful mass war propaganda is known injuries, such as blindness and deafness caused by long-term exposure to artillery explosions. The senses of vision and hearing are required for human survival and needed by youth to earn an education and perform certain jobs. Exposure to artillery attacks is silent among war propaganda media as it would undoubtedly frighten the recruitment of healthy youthful