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Wilfred Owen Notes

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Wilfred Owen Poems – Notes

Anthem for the doomed youth;
The title ‘anthem’ is deliberately ironic for an anthem is usually an extended song of praise and it has religious connotations. However the utterance as an ‘anthem’ emphasises his point there is nothing to celebrate in his subject
The assonance and adjective of the word doomed in the title adds to the negative tone of the poem.
The ‘youth’ that is doomed completes the tragic implications of the title. Age is doomed by death but the youth it is tragic and brutally cut short.
The rhetorical question “what passing-bells for these who die as cattle?” A passing bell is an English custom that a rings on a single note when one of the community has died.
It is inhuman as men are slaughtered in war, Owen predicts the circumstances of their death and their humanity is stripped from them and they are “die like cattle”
The use of onomatopoeia “the stuttering riffles rattled” and “can patter out their hasty orisons” accentuate that war is brutal and cruel
The use of the noun “boy” stresses the youths’ vulnerability
The alliteration of the word “s”, “sad shires” softens the tone which causes the reader to feel sympathy and remorse for the people who have died and went war.

The last laugh;
“the last laugh” stark irony in the title
“Oh! Jesus Christ! I’m hit!” exclamation mark emphasizes the ridiculous nature of their struggle
The adjective “indeed” stresses the sarcastic tone that Owen is drawing attention to
“The bullets chirped- In vain, vain, vain!” verbs (chirped) reinforce laughter of the imagery title. Repetition “tut-tut! Tut-tut!” highlights the malicious pleasure weapons enjoy add to the death count
Use of direct speech “O mother,... – Dad!” and “my love” personalises the victims and makes death more tragic giving the reader an actual real insight to war
“his whole faced kissed the mud” hyperbole catches the moment in slow motion of the soldier dying
Visual imagery “the Bayonets’ long teeth grinned” stresses the barbaric cruelty of the scene
Evocative terms such as “Rabbles” and “groaned” give a sense of chaos of battle. This underlines the sound surrounded by soldiers
Different reactions to the moment of death creates some individuality of the soldiers
The sacrifice of the men is degraded and seem as foolish in vain
Personification of arsenal of war, giving them voices and manners makes the impact more horrific – they ridicule the men’s actions

Futility;
“Futility” title emphasizes uselessness and helplessness the men feel
Owen is critical of the notion that death in war is noble/heroic
Sense of pathos evoked through frustration of the soldiers who cannot rouse him
First stanza- feverish action/hope of saving him changes to despair/bitterness in the 2nd stanza
Stream of consciousness work- poet trying to make meaning of what has happened
“move him into the sun” Owens’ tone is gentle yet dramatically
He juxtaposes the tranquility and beauty of rural England with the hideous battlefields of France “gently its touch awoke him at once/At home, whispering fields half-sown”

Dulce Et Decorum Est;
Words of roman poet Horace “It is sweet and honourable to die for one’s country”
Owen writes this poem to show the stupidity of dying for one’s country really is. The saying ‘you can sleep when you’re dead’ originated from world war one in fact that the soldiers experienced fatigue and were sleep deprived that they ‘marched asleep’.
Metaphor “drunk with fatigue”
“Deaf even to the hoots”- onomatopoeia, another example of figurative language- shows the men have become numb
“Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!”-sudden action exclamation marks show panic which in itself shows desperation.
“thick green light”- references to gas mask and sea image ‘drowning’
“In all my dreams..... Drowning” –takes the reader into the hellish scene/nightmare. The reader is forced to feel empathy.
Opening stanza highly visual- sluggish pace reflecting the mood and physical movements of the man
Second stanza- sudden change of pace – “aged” soldiers become ‘boys’ again- pace accelerates and tone sharpens
Third stanza-fourth Stanza- vivid description- unrelenting details – “guttering” harsh sound and “plunges” – forced movements –“floundering”
Savage condemnation of society – that allows this situation to occur
Fourth Stanza is one complex sentence – compounding the negative connotation that assaults the reader.

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