Along with the countless amounts of ways that Wilfred Owen gets the reader to visualize what he is trying to say in the poem “Arms and the Boy”, he also uses a great deal of figurative language. The text in the poem is extremely figurative. Owen uses these consistent sounds to portray the evil the innocent boy is forced to face. In addition to alliteration, Owen expands his use of figurative language with the vibrant use of similes as well as metaphors. “Blue with all malice, like a madman 's flash” (3) is the first use of a simile that Owen uses, and it is incredibly efficient in comparing both the “bayonet-blade” (1) and a “madman 's flash” (3). Owen 's comparison helps the reader understand the brutality of that bayonet blade the boy is …show more content…
Owen goes on to expand his use of figurative language by adding metaphors here and there. “in the hearts of lads, or give him cartridges of fine zinc teeth” (6-7), is Owen 's first use of a metaphor, and he uses it to compare the bullets in the gun 's cartridges to zinc teeth. Owen 's comparison works as a suggestion that the bullets can be seen as zinc teeth, which act as savage flesh-biting things. A couple more metaphors are noted on the last stanza: “lurk no claws behind his fingers supple” (10) and “antlers through the thickness of his curls” (12). Owen 's uses these metaphors to compare the evil sounding body parts to the innocent young boy and are extremely effective at getting to the reader (Pride Web). As noted before, Owen 's use of clever alliteration begins in line 3: “malice, like a madman 's flash... famishing for flesh” (3-4). Owen goes on to add more alliteration: “to stroke these blind, blunt bullet-leads” (5). Another important type of figurative language that Wilfred Owen effectively uses is personification. The poem reads “How cold steel is, and keen with hunger of blood;” …show more content…
This use of personification helps the reader understand the point behind the personified blade: all it wants is blood -which is why it 's made so sharp and cold. Another use of a personification is clearly seen in the second stanza: “Lend him to stroke these blind, blunt bullet-leads, which long to nuzzle in the hearts of lads” (5-6). Owen personifies the “bullet-leads” (5) and describes them as blind with a longing to “nuzzle” (6) in the hearts of soldiers. This personification paints a savage image and helps the reader understand the bullets main objective, which is to bury itself in the hearts of young soldiers. This savage bullet wants only the death of the young men participating in the war. The poem 's personification of war-like weapons highlights human traits, emphasizing that they are terrifyingly human in nature. Owen uses alliteration specifically on these words due to the fact that they are a depiction of the inhumane images he wants the readers to visualize. The standout use of all the figurative language helps Wilfred Owen emphasize and cast a light on the savagery of the cold, cruel weapons of
War has cursed man for eternal history. Its devastation has prolonged tragedies for millions of people. The gruesome killings represents the pain of innocent men who fall in the drains of perdition. The instruments of violence target the zones of demolition and the souls of brave men. This essay examines the massacres of war in Owen.
How Wilfred Owen Uses Language and Imagery in His Poetry to Communicate his Attitudes of War
Owen's poems the irony between the truth of what happens at war and the lie that was
To conclude this essay, with regards to all of the analysis above, I have concluded that Owens poem shows how cruel war is in our time but Shakespeare's speech is mainly to inspire and motivate whether Owen's poem is to inform about the reality and the harshness of war it self. Owen has experienced the war personally and is so able to write about it in detail hence the similes and the metaphors. However due to the fact the Shakespeare has no experience in war itself, he would have to improvise and make up some limes.
Human conflict is a violent confrontation between groups of people due to differences in values and beliefs. During World War I, poet and soldier, Wilfred Owen, faced the harsh realities of human conflict, dying at a young age of 25, only six days before the war ended. Owen’s personal encounters during war had a profound influence on his life as reflected in the poems and letters he wrote before his passing. In using a variety of poetic devices to write about the suffering and brutality of war, vividly captured in his poems ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’, Owen effectively conveys his own perspective about human conflict. ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ depicts the horrific scenes on the battlefield and a grotesque death from drowning
Through the use of dramatic imagery in Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est,” Owen is able to recreate a dramatic war scene and put the reader right on the front lines. The use of language is very effective in garnering the readers’ attention and putting the dire images of war into the mind. He emphasizes that war is upsetting and appalling at times. There is nothing sweet about it. He only strengthens his argument by the use of strong descriptive words and vivid figurative language. The utilization of these techniques gives the poem a strong meaning and provides the reader with a vivid portrayal of the events that took place during this grisly occurrence.
Just as the poem is written in a rhyme and rhythm that makes poetry easy to follow, the vivid imagery helps one to picture more easily what is going on in the poem. Owen brilliantly chooses words and phrases that illuminate the scene, making the reader feel as if he is physically in the scene along with the characters. For example, Owen describes that the Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots/ 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 (Gioia 782). A feeling of sadness and pity is felt as one hears the previous words. It is almost as if the scene of the soldiers trudging through the battlefield is being painted for the reader to actually visually ...
The similes and metaphors used by Owen illustrate very negative war scenes throughout the poem, depicting extreme suffering of young men fighting during World War I. The first simile used by Owen describes the soldiers as “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”, giving them sickly, wounded, and exhausted attributes from battle and lack of rest (1). Next, the soldiers are described as “Knock-kneed, coughing like hags”, which once again portrays these young men as sick...
...e see a young boy being taught how to use weapons. In “Exposure”, Owen depicts a group of soldiers freezing to death at war, even though they aren’t in the midst of fighting. Lastly, in “Dulce Et Decorum Est” we read about a soldiers who struggles to get his mask on during a gas attack (when the enemy releases a gas deadly upon inhale). Owen describes the soldiers slow death in detail. Not only do these images provide the reader with first hand accounts of war, but they also show Owen’s feelings towards the war. All of these images that are glued into his head will be there forever, which is why he incorporates these realities in his poems, so that everyone can realize that war is nothing more than a inhumane act of terror.
It is evident that the socio-cultural context in which Wilfred Owen operated had a powerful impact upon his poetic motivation and the messages he conveyed through his work. Before exploring Wilfred Owen’s work we first must understand the society that Wilfred Owen lived in, to be able to really understand appreciate his poems and their impact on society. At the time in which he operated, Britain’s public opinion on warfare and conflicts were astonishingly positive, especially in the early stages of WW1. These false perception on war led the vast majority of male citizens to perceive war recruitment as an opportunity to set off on ‘terrific adventures’ and earn immense amounts of honour for their families and nation. Government propaganda meant that soldiers believed that they were gathering fame and fortune in the name of Great Britain. This cruel and false perception of warfare which in turn led to a steady rate of volunteers for the war and included Wilfred Owen himself. The men who did not go and fight for their nations were perceived by society as cowards as
To draw into the poet’s world, the poet must draw relations between them, including the reader, making them feel what the poet feels, thinking what the poet thinks. Wilfred Owen does this very creatively and very effectively, in both of his poems, Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori and Anthem of Doomed Youth, who is seen as an idol to many people today, as a great war poet, who expresses his ideas that makes the reader feel involved in the moment, feeling everything that he does. His poems describe the horror of war, and the consequences of it, which is not beneficial for either side. He feels sorrow and anger towards the war and its victims, making the reader also feel the same.
Owen’s poem uses symbolism to bring home the harsh reality of war the speaker has experienced and forces the reader to think about the reality presented in romanticized poetry that treats war gently. He utilizes language that imparts the speakers experiences, as well as what he, his companions, and the dying man feels. People really die and suffer and live through nightmares during a war; Owen forcefully demonstrates this in “Dulce et Decorum Est”. He examines the horrific quality of World War I and transports the reader into the intense imagery of the emotion and experience of the speaker.
Owen begins the poem with a depressing description of a man in a wheeled chair “waiting for dark”. The use of the word ‘dark’ gives connotations of death, implying that he’s waiting for his death to come. It also conveys a sense of isolation and sadness as the soldier no longer has a family. The mention of ‘sleep’ in the last line of the stanza can be an indication that death is near, since death is sometimes described as eternal sleep. Personification is used a...
In conclusion, I think that throughout this poem Wilfred Owen has created a mood of anger and injustice. He has done this effectively by using poetic techniques such a imagery, metaphors, similes, alliterations and rhyme. To make the reader feel the same he shocks them with the true horror of the war and involves them in the poem by using words such as 'you'. Owen's true anger and bitterness comes clear at the end with the ironic statement at the end:
The poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen portrays the horrors of World War I with the horrific imagery and the startling use of words he uses. He describes his experience of a gas attack where he lost a member of his squadron and the lasting impact it had on him. He describes how terrible the conditions were for the soldiers and just how bad it was. By doing this he is trying to help stop other soldiers from experiencing what happened in a shortage of time.