Wilfred Owen's Poetry Tones

Anger and Acceptance is a major tone that is used in a selection of poetry. Renowned poets including, Wilfred Owen, Jessie Pope, Seamus Heaney and Robert Frost use these in their poetry in a way that expresses a strong message. To express this message and explore the various tones, they use effective techniques including, similes, emotive language, questions, appeal to the senses and contrasts. Owen’s angered tone in a majority of his poetry is comparable to Pope in that they are completely contrasted in their view of war. Also, Heaney and Frost both explore themes of nature and farming as an occupation, but acceptance is evident in both poems explored. Wilfred Owen expresses a tone of anger in his poetry using a selection of techniques including

Owens, Dulce Et Decorum Est presents anger in response to Pope’s poem. It emphasises Owen’s hatred for the term, Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori, and in his belief, its false glorification of war. The use of similes in this poem aids in the expression of the angered tone, describing the soldiers “bent double like old beggars” or “coughing like hags” produces the image of the poor conditions that the soldiers are in. Similarly, Owen describes the conditions of the soldiers using emotive language to help the reader support his view on the glorification of war. The description of war being “haunting”, “incurable”, or “cancer” further emphasise his complete dissatisfaction with Pope’s message. In contrast, whilst, The Call, is not a poem that is full of anger, it is comparable to Dulce Et Decorum Est in that Owen wrote it in response. Pope’s poem is calling for recruits to join