A Comparison Of Poems By Wifred Owen
Essay, Research Paper
A comparison of poems
by Wilfred Owen: ‘Dulce et Decorum
Est’ and ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’When I was searching for two poems to compare, I saw these
in different ways to warn future generations of the horror of war.? Wilfred Owen fought in the First World War.? He enlisted as most young men were doing, so
that they could protect Britain.?
However, in the trenches he realized how horrific the war was and
started to make notes about the conditions at first.? Then later in a military hospital he edited and collected these
notes into the poetry of Wifred Owen.? ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ is Latin for: It is sweet and fitting
is repeated at the end and by the principles of ‘Chaldeni.’? I know that by repeating a line at the
beginning and the end it is most remembered.?
as ‘the old lie’ mocking the established belief of nationalism and duty to your
country.? Also, it is mocking the
established authoritative language of Latin that was reserved for the courts
has found out that dying out there in a far off land was a waste of a life and
is completely pointless. How can it be sweet and fitting to die for your country if
no one knows about your death? Similarly the
line from ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’:??????????? ‘What passing bells for those who
die as cattle?’raises the
just bred for their slaughter? ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ is a sonnet.? Sonnets traditionally were happy and about
uses the rigid structure of a sonnet (two quatrains and a sextet) to contrast
with the theme of death and loss.? In
the title are the words, ‘Doomed Youth’ which immediately informs the reader
that this sonnet isn’t a fairy tale or a happy tale of love but is a
distressing poem about the boys who went to war ‘doomed’ never to return. There is a strong marching beat to the poem and as it is
entitled ‘anthem’, I believe that Owen wanted this poem to sound like a funeral
march.? And the march is set to a
backdrop of sounds from battle.? These
sounds include: bells, choirs, bugles, ‘wailing shells and angry guns’
mentioned.? Owen wants the reader to
similes such as ‘like old beggars under sacks’ and ‘Bitter as the cud’.? Owen’s choice of language has a supernatural
‘devil’, and ‘writhing face’.? These
words remind me of a bad nightmare, but this must be what Owen wants the reader
to see.? It might sound like a nightmare
but you will be able to wake up from a nightmare whereas he is talking about
to wake up.? In fact, the only way out
which it then answers through the rest of that stanza.? Why Owen does this is to approach a poem
from a different prospective.? By asking
a question, he gets the reader thinking before answering himself.? It causes tension and sadness because the
answer to the questions we probably could answer but do not because it is
upsetting to remember the dead – especially when the question implies why
should it have been them and not you? Whereas ‘Dulce’ has the quality of a speech.? It starts strongly with imagery and
similes.? It is a direct address as it
mentions ‘you’ in it.? Owen uses
repetition of the word ‘gas’ driving home the idea of panic, the ‘fumbling’
before you could be safe.? The power of
"?guttering, choking,
drowning."He uses pauses in several places so that the reader will
stop and his message sinks in then continues.?
He also ends strongly which is very important so the audience has
something to immediately reflect on.?
Why Owen wants this poem to be like a speech is because, having
experienced war, he has a very strong deep down message to tell; the horror of
war is so much worse than people imagine.?
scripts cannot. Both poems make the reader feel helplessness. ?There was no way of helping the gas victim in
‘Dulce’ and the ‘doomed youth’ didn’t know their fate making them helpless
is the life fading from those who died that day, slowly like the funeral march
but ironic as most of the men who died on the battle fields never had a
funeral.? There is irony in ‘Dulce’ also
- the whole poem is ironic.? Owen is
your eyes ‘writhing’ in your face.? Owen uses the idea of irony in war in both of these poems as
he saw misery, destruction, and pain and wanted people to be more aware of the
cruelty of war and hopefully to stop it from happening again.? Both poems have an alternate line rhyming
scheme.? ‘Anthem.’ uses the form of a
sonnet to portray a distressing message that flows slowly as you would imagine
a funeral march.? ‘Dulce.’ also has a
distressing message but is portrayed in contradiction to its title.? The idea of nationalism, and much it’s worth
is explored.?
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