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Brief essay on war poetry
Characteristics of Wilfred Owen's poetry
Dulce et decorum est wilfred owen poem metaphor
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Recommended: Brief essay on war poetry
The Great War and the Great War Poet Throughout history, tragedy and suffering have inspired great works of art and literature; and Poetry is no exception. The Great War spawned an entire new age of poets and poems, all sharing views, opinions or experiences related to World War I. The poets who touched on the topic of World War 1 became known as “War Poets”. One of the most famous of these poets is Wilfred Owen and his famous and highly scrutinized Poem “Dulce et Decorum Est”. Many critics agree that Wilfred Owen’s famous poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” showed an accurate account of wartime conditions and hardships while criticizing the glorification of war, all through his own experiences and hardships. “Dulce et decorum Est” was written …show more content…
Much of what he wrote about was experienced firsthand or felt very strongly about. Wilfred Owen was born March eighteenth, 1893 to two parents, both of whom had Welsh blood. (Hibberd 442) Owen, who was very proud of his Celtic heritage once, wrote “Celtic blood makes poets sing and prophets see” (Hibberd 443). Owen knew from a young age that he was artistic, and desired to be a poet, but he lacked the money to support an artist’s lifestyle (Hibberd 447). On October twenty first, 1915 Owen lack of money lead to his enlistment into the, army as a Cadet in the “artist’s rifles” (Hibberd 447). As the war dragged on Owen was shocked at the wretched conditions of war and used this to inspire his poetry. While enlisted, Owen performed admirably earning the respect of his fellow soldiers, and eventually the title of second lieutenant (Bell 2158). However Owen soon showed mental strain and signs of being unfit for duty. (Bell 2158) He was sent to the Craiglockhart military hospital, were he met Siegfried Sassoon. The two men quickly became friends and Sassoon (who was actively anti war) convinced Owen to write about the hardships and horror of the battlefield. (Bell 2159) Owen took his friend’s advice and used his experiences to write and even put himself into countless poems including “Dulce et Decorum Est”. There are several instances throughout the poem were Owen uses his own experience to place himself into the poem. “In the Second line, the speaker (Wilfred Owen) defines his relationship to the situation: “We cursed through sludge” (LaBlanc 110). By identifying himself as one of the soldiers, he establishes the authority necessary to comment on the hardships he describes (LaBlanc 110). In addition, he reminds the reader that the war is not some far-away spectacle… is as real and close as the speaker himself (LaBlanc 110). After spending years fighting and writing about his experiences Wilfred Owen died in
Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen and Seaman, 1941 by Molly Holden both present different interpretations or views on war. These different views will have a variety of impact on the reader. The two poems also have several recognizable similarities, which connects them both together. There are many factors to be considered when comparing the similarities and differences between these poems, such as perspective, imagery, time period, etc. These, and many more, will be looked at and analysed in this essay.
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.
Through a detailed examination of the poems Dulce et Decorem Est,Disabled and Anthem for Doomed Youth with reference to other poems by Wilfred Owen, it can be seen that, although he uses different political forms, styles, and devices, and he addresses his readers from different authorial stances, evoking feelings from great anger and bitterness to terrible sadness; the end result is always the same: he shows the pity of war. Dulce et Decorem Est was written by Wilfred Owen whilst he was having treatment at Craiglockhart, it is one of his most famous poems. Stanza one sets the scene.
I am going to compare and contrast the two poems ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen and ‘War Photographer’ by Carol Ann Duffy. They both give a view of war. Owen gives first hand experiences he witnessed whilst fighting in World War One and where he unfortunately died one week before the war came to an end. Carol Ann Duffy may be writing about the feelings of her personal friends who were war photographers, showing some of the horrors they witnessed.
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.
Depicting the ungracious trench life during 1915 till 1918, Wilfred Owen is one of the most prominent poets from his genre. By using many well-known techniques in poetry, Wilfred Owen successfully characterizes his closed form poems through personification, Alliteration, and allegory. Illustrating a gas attack upon a trench, Dulce et Decorum Est is a embittered first hand portrayal of his first hand experience during the war. The poem is primarily written in three sections: an account of the soldiers withdrawing from the battlefield; a surprise gas attack; and lastly a stanza confronting those exalting the war.
‘Poetry can challenge the reader to think about the world in new ways.’ It provokes the readers to consider events, issues and people with revised understanding and perspectives. The poems Dulce Et Decorum Est (Wilfred Owen, 1917) and Suicide in the Trenches (Siegfried Sassoon, 1917), were composed during World War One and represented the poets’ point of views in regards to the glorification of war and encouraged readers to challenge their perspectives and reflect upon the real consequences behind the fabrications of the glory and pride of fighting for one’s nation.
Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” makes the reader acutely aware of the impact of war. The speaker’s experiences with war are vivid and terrible. Through the themes of the poem, his language choices, and contrasting the pleasant title preceding the disturbing content of the poem, he brings attention to his views on war while during the midst of one himself. Owen uses symbolism in form and language to illustrate the horrors the speaker and his comrades go through; and the way he describes the soldiers, as though they are distorted and damaged, parallels how the speaker’s mind is violated and haunted by war.
poets of the First World War. He was born the son of a railway worker
How Wilfred Owen Uses Language and Imagery in His Poetry to Communicate his Attitudes of War
Wilfred Owens Dulce et Decorum Est poem is all about the suffering of the soldiers in the First World War, and he uses the last few lines to protest against the jingoistic attitude that sends these men off to die. In this short essay I will be looking at the context in which this poem was written and how I arrived at my interpretation. Wilfred Owen was a serving infantry officer in the First World War who saw active service. He quickly became disillusioned and used poetry to articulate his protests about the war .This
Born 18th March 1893, Owen was raised in Merseyside. His education began at the Berkhamstead institute and continued at the Technical school in Shrewsbury after his family was forced to move there. Owen began experimenting with poetry at the young age of 17. After failing to achieve a place at university, Owen moved to France to teach the Berlitz school of English following a year as a lay assistant. It was during the latter part of 1914 and early 1915 when Owen became increasingly aware of the magnitude of World War One and moved back to England to enlist in the ‘Artists rifles’. 1917 saw Owen’s first post in France, where he witnessed his first taste of the brutality of war. He experienced the horrors of being trapped in a dug out whilst under bombardment; and in May he was caught in a shell explosion and eventually diagnosed as having ‘shell shock’. In June 1918 Owen arrived at Craig Lockhart War Hospital, it was here he met Siegfried Sassoon another patient and poet. The period at Craig Lockhart was in many ways Owens most creative time, where he wrote many of the poems that he is known for to this day.
Wilfred Owen is arguably one of the most well-known and unique war poets of his time. Born and raised in Britain, Owen lived a relatively normal childhood. Owen severed in the British army when he turned nineteen. During the war Owen experienced gruesome inhumane acts and it completely changed his outlook and views on life. The war was the reason why Owen actually became a poet, because he protested many situations that went on during the war. Owen had different views on war, which is why he started to create poems to express his feelings and speak out to what he believed in. Since Owen was not a typical war soldier all his poems relate to how he is against war and how some actions in war are simply inhumane. Due to the fact he protests against war and inhumane acts, Owen received a saintly reputation as if he was a kind man and he could do no harm to civilization; however Owen is also viewed as a criminal though because he was homosexual. During the time of World War I, homosexuality was considered a crime and people were prosecuted. Between all Owens views and beliefs he could not win because he was always criticized and reprimanded. Owen had always been in these situations, which is a main reason he began to write. When Owen had different outlooks he would resort to writing because that was his way of speaking out and being an advocate. Unfortunately Owen died age the young age of twenty-five during battle. Owens death is extremely ironic because he died in a place that he was so against and affected by. Wilfred Owen is a distinctive war poet that is viewed in various ways due to the different lifestyle he had in his short lifetime.
Within World War I poetry the incorporation of imagery allows the reader to picture the horrors and harsh reality of the war. Imagery within literature enables readers to visualize the setting and plot and enable readers to connect the overall message to those mental pictures. Within Wilfred Owen’s Dulce Et Decorum Est, the story of a soldier on the battlefield is illustrated through powerful word choice and phrases producing vivid imagery. The soldier’s, or narrator’s, army is being severely attacked by the opposing force. During his description of this brutal attack, he wrote:
Wilfred Owen describes some of the horrors of war in his poem “Dulce et Decorum Est”. His time as a WWI soldier served as the inspiration for all of his pieces. In perhaps his most vivid work, Owen recalls a memory that torments him in the form of a dream. The death of his comrade haunts him because of the helplessness and violence of it, and uses it as a warning to the world. “Dulce et Decorum Est” is filled with vivid imagery that Owen uses to describe the dreadful death of his fellow soldier.