Wilfred Owen War Poems

Wilfred Owen served and died in the First World War, at the battle of the Somme, one of the most horrific battles in recorded history, men were sent over the top slaughtered in their hundreds. During his time on the frontline Owen took sanctuary in writing poetry, it became a way for him to express what he was feeling in response to the chaotic horror that was occurring around him. The central concerns explored in Owen’s poetry are the realities of war, the physical and emotional impact on the soldiers and their loved one’s. Owen is quoted saying in his unpublished volume of poems: “This book is not about heroes..Nor is it about..glory, honour, might, majesty, domination or power.. My subject is war, and the pity of war”. Owen’s poetry serves as a device to expose the lies behind government propaganda fed to young men to entice them into war and explores the way in which war dehumanises and brutalises soldiers. Owen’s ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ both touch on the central concerns of realities of war, the physical and emotional impact on the soldiers and their loved one’s and through close analysis of the texts I will explain how these ideas are developed.  

‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ explores the violent environment of war itself, the physical impact on soldiers and the emotional impact on the grieving soldiers loved one’s on the home front and the lack of a proper burial the young men receive. The use of ‘doomed youth’ in the title reinforces generational loss and evokes pity and empathy. The first stanza explores the violent environment of war and how it robed the youth of the proper burial they deserve this idea developed using the rhetorical question ‘what candles may be held to speed them all?” The brief structure of the first stanza helps focus our attention on the fact the young victims were only boys. The second stanza focuses on the grieving loved one’s the soldiers have left behind, with their youth and vulnerability emphasised...