What Is Wilfred Owen's Attitude To War

Wilfred Owen is a war poet that went to war at the age of nineteen. He always fantasized of writing poems throughout his adolescence, however not until he endured World War I that his poems ever rose to success. Summarizing all of Owen’s provided poems, the reader moves toward to a conclusion that is somewhat appalling. Seemingly, Owen went through dreadful and unconceivable circumstances in battle. Unfortunately, Owen describes war as Hell on Earth and explains that he had no idea of what war was actually like, until experiencing it. Likewise, Owen states the following in one of his famous war poems: “by his dead smile I knew we stood in Hell”. Moreover, this quote embodies his own perspective on what war was like for himself.

Owen mentions

“the pity of war” repeatedly throughout his poems. Thus, he emphasizes on this topic, since he feels that people should identify how much sorrow soldiers endure on a daily basis. Similarly, Owen desires to also tell the “untold truth” that defines the pity of war. In his explanation, he wants to inform the reader that war is nothing like anyone could ever envision. Explicitly, Owen refers to vivid memories of his period in battle, stating: “Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue… Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind”. Expressing the quote, Owen describes what he had experienced in war, such as the gun shells striking the floor; which remained subconsciously a normal occurrence to him at the time. Although he disliked war, Owen requests people to have pity on the soldiers and what they face during war. He also wishes war to be thought of as a sacrifice and wants the reader to recognize it is not something that everybody can handle.