How does “Anthem for Doomed Youth” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” present Wilfred Owen’s thoughts and feelings towards the war?
Wilfred Owen was born in Oswestry on 18th March 1893. After school, he became a teaching assistant and in 1913 went to France for two years to work as a language tutor. In 1915 he returned to England to enlist in the army and was commissioned into the Manchester Regiment. After spending the remainder of the year training in England, he left for the western front early in January 1917.
He was diagnosed with shellshock after experiencing heavy fighting and was evacuated to England to recover at Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh in June. Anthem for Doomed Youth and Dulce et Decorum est were written in 1917, during Owen’s time at Craiglockhart. Here, he was able to write some of his best work. He also met the poet Siegfried Sassoon here, who was already a well-established poet. Sassoon agreed to look over Owen's poems, gave him encouragement and introduced him to literary figures such as Robert Graves. Owen conveys his feelings towards the war through the many poems he wrote, especially while being treated at Craiglockhart. His poems give the reader a sense of what it was like to be a militant during conflict. His poetry is characterised by powerful descriptions of the conditions faced by soldiers in the trenches. His poems are sometimes violent and realistic, challenging earlier poetry which communicated a pro-war message. His first-hand experience of war is one reason why there was such a shift in the attitude towards war.
He returned to France in August 1918 and in October was awarded the Military Cross for bravery. On 4th November 1918 he was killed while attempting to lead his men across the Sambre canal at Ors. The news of his death reached his parents on 11 November, Armistice Day. He felt he needed to show the ‘Pity of War’ and