IGCSE English Language Coursework
What ideas are being explored in Wilfred Owen’s ‘Disabled’? How does the poet skilfully use language and structure to get across his ideas?
In this essay, I will be critically analysing and evaluating the ideas that are explored in ‘Disabled’ by Wilfred Owen. This poem is about a very young soldier who joins WWI and the drastic effects the war brings to the life of him. I will be commenting on the underlying subtext, literary devices, and craft of the writer as well as making connections between Owen’s personal experiences and this poem. Owen bases his poems on personal experiences, as he fought in the trenches, at a young age during the First World War. He had witnessed the brutality of war as well as had strong opinions about how the society functioned during that time period. He held a tense grudge against society and his poems were very clearly identified as being anti-war. The fact that his poems were written from his own involvement in the war contributes greatly to the overall effectiveness in promoting his anti-war message. There are many major ideas that Owen explores in ‘Disabled’, and I will be focusing on who is to blame for the protagonist’s losses; the myth of war in contrast to the reality of war; and the importance of female affection.
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One of the predominant ideas Owen explores in ‘Disabled’ is who is to blame for the protagonist’s losses. Owen contrasts the immaturity, naivety and foolishness of the young men who signed up for war with the knowledge and experience of the older recruitment officers. Owen first blames the protagonist as the instigator of his own losses, however, he then shifts the blame to the recruitment officers, and society as a whole, suggesting perhaps th...
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...had stopped him from joining the war, he would not have suffered his tragic losses. Owen seems to suggest that they would have had the knowledge and experience to act with integrity, but they fair the young recruits. Underlying this idea, Owen also condemns the society as a whole, as he attempts to use this example to criticise how the society at that time only cared about the numbers of those fighting, rather than the humanistic perspective of each individual young man, and the everlasting impact on their lives. Moreover, Owen deliberately spares the use of personal names here. The protagonist is only referred to “he”, rather than given a name. This parallels with the previously suggest idea regarding the fact that the recruitment officers did not take individuals into account, and that they were only concerned about the numbers of soldiers on the battlefields.
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The narrator describes his agony about the war. The soldier is suffering from discomfort, depression, and disappointment. He describes his mental and physical disability. Moreover, he talks about his girlfriend, Meg. The poem Disabled expresses the value of nature, referencing the war.
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.
World War One had an inevitable effect on the lives of many young and naive individuals, including Wilfred Owen, who, like many others, joined the military effort with the belief that he would find honour, wealth and adventure. The optimism which Owen initially had toward the conflict is emphasised in the excerpt, in which he is described as “a young poet…with a romantic view of war common among the young” (narrator), a view which rapidly changed upon reaching the front. Owen presents responders with an overwhelming exploration of human cruelty on other individuals through acts of war and the clash of individual’s opposed feelings influenced by the experiences of human cruelty. This is presented through the horrific nature of war which the
Poets from many civilizations and across vast amounts of time were always considered agents of change. Their remarkable poems gave them the power to play an influential role on human culture and society. One such poet is Wilfred Owen, who was a soldier for Great Britain during WW1. His writing described the horrors of war that he had seen and it was these antiwar poems which gave voice to the suffering soldiers in the trenches of WW1 and altered the British Empire’s view on warfare as a whole. Today, ladies, gentleman and students of the Brisbane Writers Festival, I am here to present an informative analysis on this man’s revolutionary poems “Dulce Et Decorum Est” and “Disabled.” They are two of his many poems remembered in English history as some of his greatest works. The poems
His father had said “Because usually they get boys to fight war. Most of you are not old enough to vote yet” (Walter Dean Myers 44). Instead of those kids worrying about their next test, hanging out with their friends, or dreaming about what they want to do next in life, they found themselves in the middle of war and risking their lives every single day. This highlights how the soldiers are angles at heart because of their innocence and naivety; however, they still find themselves amongst violence and horror that should not be seen at this young of an
In ‘Anthem of Doomed Youth’ Owen shows another version of the suffering- the mourning of the dead soldiers. When Owen asks “What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?”, his rhetorical question compares the soldiers to cattle as they die and suffer undignified. Owen uses this extended metaphor to confront us with the truth, that there are too many fatalities in war. As such, the soldier’s deaths are compared to livestock, to emphasise their poor treatment and question our perspective about soldiers dying with honour. With an overwhelming death toll of over 9 million during WWI, Owen depicts how the soldier’s die with the repetition of “Only the...” to emphasise the sounds of war that kills soldiers in the alliteration ‘rifles’ rapid rattle.’ Owen also illustrates the conditions that the soldiers died in and how they were not given a proper funeral in the cumulation ‘no prayers nor bells,/ nor any voice of mourning.’ Owen painfully reminds us that we have become complacent with the deaths of soldiers, seeing them as a necessary sacrifice during human conflict. Thus, Owen shows us what we have overlooked about war, that is, that it brings endless death and long-lasting grief to the surviving soldiers and the people around
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, Wilfred, Lewis C. Day, and Edmund Blunden. The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen. New York: New Directions Pub., 1965. Print.
Parrott, Lauren. Life, Undefeated: Poem Analysis of “Disabled” by Wilfred Owen. Penn. State University, 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
... Instead of idealizing war in a romantic way, war poets such as Wilfred Owen aimed to expose gruesome truths about these wars and how they impacted lives. It points a finger and criticizes the governments and authorities that wage these wars but don’t fight in them themselves but rather watch as lives are lost. It exposes propaganda for what it is, a tool for brainwashing. It puts into question the notion of dying for ones country to be noble, honourable and admirable.
How Wilfred Owen Uses Language and Imagery in His Poetry to Communicate his Attitudes of War
This supports the idea that the truth about the horrors of the war should be revealed to the civilians. Owen’s poetry targets people who are not experienced with the war. Perhaps the truth is depicted by an image of soldiers who look wearied and lose their humanity. Although, people send others out to fight thinking it is glorious, after knowing the truth, people would be convinced to not participate in the war. Johnson uses another source to support his argument.
An Analysis of Wilfred Owen’s Strange Meeting. Analysis of a working manuscript for Wilfred Owen's "Strange Meeting" provides the student with insight into the creative process. Owen's original wording coupled with his subsequent revisions illuminate how he may have intended the poem to be understood by the reader. Owen's revisions show a determination to accomplish three apparent objectives. First, Owen paid close attention to the connotative meanings inherent in his diction.
Wilfred Owen was an officer in World War I, who was sent to a hospital because he suffered from "shellshock". There, he met poet Siegfried Sassoon, who played a part in influencing him to write poetry about war and the suffering of soldiers. He later returned to the war, where he was killed. ' '
Owen creates sympathy for the soldier in ‘Disabled’ by using a wide range of poetic devices. Owen explores the themes of regret and loneliness to portray sympathy for the soldier. Moreover he criticizes the soldier for joining the war at a young age and for the wrong reasons.