Wilfred Owen wrote both the poems 'Dulce et Decorum Est' and 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' during the First World War. World War I is considered as total war. According to online Oxford Dictionaries, total war is a war that is unrestricted in terms of the weapons used, the territory or combatants involved, or the objectives pursued, especially one in which the laws of war are disregarded. World War I began on July 28, 1914 and lasted until November 11, 1918; the four-year struggle shook the world and seemed to mark the end of a whole phase of Europeans civilization (Mahmud, 2007).
War is defined differently from different perspectives, some may viewed it positively and some may not. Cochrane, 2008 in his book defined war as being a period of organized violence between at least two parties, who may come from transnational, state or sub-state sources. On the other hand, “war” can also be defined as a patriotic act where one seeks the determination to lead their country as well as a sweet act that willing to sacrifice for their country. It can be viewed cruel, inhumane, and at the same time, noble. Ironically, war can make an individual a hero or a criminal.
Owen who experienced the war himself writes the truth about war through his poems without dramatizing it. A powerful argument against the complacency of those who believe war to be a glorious patriotic duty is mounted by Owen. He is also succeeded in portraying the reality of the war—the boredom, the helplessness of the people in the war through his writings. Instead of direct description of the anger and frustration of the people due to the devastation of war, Owen euphemistically delivers his messages by painting vivid imaginaries through his tonal, point of view, sentence struct...
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... all. All that pacing is enhanced by the fact that this line, unlike many of the ones that have come before, is written in perfect iambic pentameter. That meter gives the line a sober cadence; it really lands. But a big part of its impact comes from the image itself.
In a nutshell, Wifred Owen had succeeded in bringing the readers through an exciting journey back to time when World War I began. Being cosily staying in a peaceful world today, most of us may have difficulties in comprehending the cruelty and hardship that one been through in a war. Owen’s poems are like a ticket that sends us back in time that allowed us to watch the war with our naked eyes. Owen had done a good job by describing a lot of vivid images through his writings that can help the readers to connect them with the theme of anger and frustration of the people due to the devastation of the war.
Hardships from hostile experiences can lead to the degradation of one's mental and physical state, breaking down their humanity. Wilfred Owen's struggles with the Great War has led to his detailed insights on the state of war, conveying his first-hand experiences as a front-line soldier. 'Dulce et Decorum Est' and 'Insensibility' displays these ideas and exposes the harsh and inhumane reality of war. From the imagery and metaphors, Owen's ideas about the deterioration of human nature resonates with the reader of the repercussions of 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.
Owen's poems the irony between the truth of what happens at war and the lie that was
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
The two poems about World War 1, ‘The Soldier’ by Rupert Brooke, and ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ by Wilfred Owen, each present their views in different ways. World War one started in 1914 and ended after four years. There are two main responses from soldiers. The two approaches have been written each in these poems. Both have similarities and differences. They are conveyed in different ways that affect the reader more at some points and less than others.
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.
Wilfred Owen wrote about the distilled pity of war from his first-hand experience. Owen concisely features the carnage and destruction of war in both the poems, ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and ‘Strange Meeting’ Owen uses these poems document the psychological and physical debilitation of war. In ‘Dulce et Decorum est’, Owen uses a various amount of literary techniques to visually depict the cruel and grotesque death from the mustard gas whereas ‘Strange Meeting’, portrays the speaker in conversation with a dead soldier that he is presumably responsible for killing, symbolically which emphasises the effect of the wartime trauma. Wilfred Owen’s poetry effectively highlights the carnage and destruction of war to educate the audience on the disillusionment of war.
Ultimately, we have two poems which can be compared on the grounds of their subject, but are poles apart regarding their message. The structure of these poems is not what would be typically expected from a war poem, but are structured on the basis of these typical structures in order to create some sense of familiarity. Brooke’s poem expands on this familiarity while Owen attempts to deliberately sabotage it. In regards to content, Brooke shows throughout his perception of the nobility of dying for one’s country, whilst Owen uses all of his poetic techniques to show the opposite.
...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.
... 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.
The poetic techniques used in Wilfred Owen’s war poetry sweep the reader from the surface of knowing to the essence of truly appreciating his ideas. Through sonnets, Para rhymes, ironic titles, voices and strong imagery, not only is the reader able to comprehend to the futility and the horrors of the Great War, but also they can almost physically and mentally empathise with those who fought. Through the three poems examined, it is evident that Owen goes to great effort to describe the conditions and thoughts of the First World War, thus his works are considered an invaluable asset to the modern literature.
War is a mean to achieve a political goal.it is merely the continuation of policy in a violent form. “War is not merely an act of policy, but a true political instrument....” Moreover, the intensity of war will vary with the nature of political motives. This relationship makes war a rational act rather than a primitive and instinctive action, where war uses coercion to achieve political goals instead of use it only for destruction, and it cannot be separated from each other even after the war has started, when each side is allowed to execute its requisite responsibilities while remaining flexible enough to adapt to emerging
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.
The poem ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ written by Wilfred Owen, depicts the many horrors of World War 1, and the appalling imagery that comes with the brutality of war. His use of words and the way he describes the true nature of war, is both shocking and eye-opening. Wilfred Owen gives the reader insight into the emotional, and harrowing times a soldier would go through, as they experience the bloodshed and destruction that occurs around them. He opens a gateway into the world of war, therefore giving people their own perspective of the terrible events that happened during that time. The following essay will demonstrate how effective Owen is in producing a clear picture of the events of war, and how his writing delves into the emotional turmoil that
Owen’s poem ‘Futility” depicts the waste of human life through the focus of one soldier. Owen was personally involved in the first world war, therefore he knows the reality of it. Owen personally believed that was war not only futile, but evil. Owen believed that those running the war, the ‘armchair generals’ were evil and corrupt. Owen's use of visual