Wilfred Owen's, "Anthem for a Doomed Youth" and "Dulce and Decorum Est" both convey a message of disgust about the horror of war through the use of painfully direct language and intense vocabulary. The reader can appreciate at the end of both of Owen's poems the irony between the truth of what happens at war and the lie that was being told to the people at home.
Wilfred Owen's, "Anthem for a Doomed Youth" and "Dulce and Decorum Est"
both convey a message of disgust about the horror of war through the use of painfully
direct language and intense vocabulary. The reader can appreciate at the end of both of
Owen's poems the irony between the truth of what happens at war and the lie that was
being told to the people at home. Although the tones of the two poems are slightly different, the common theme of brutality and devastation at war is unmistakable, and
through each poem Owen creates a lasting and disturbing impression on his reader.
In contrast to the spiritual and religious images of "Anthem", the tone of "Dulce
and Decorum Est" is significantly more violent and gruesome. Although Owen's
objective is once again to denounce and condemn the devastation and senselessness of
war in a world that believed it was a romantic occupation, he does this in a much more
powerful way through this poem. Owen does
not write about a glorified version of the life of a soldier, but rather paints a realistic view
of the sorrow, violence and devastation faced by these soldiers. Throughout this poem
the reader senses the agony and pain that these soldiers experienced and the horrible
tragedies that they encountered.
In spite of the differences with regard to tone in each of these poems, it is clear to
the reader that Owen's objective in each poem was to illustrate the terrible actuality of
war through vivid imagery. Owen himself was a soldier during World War
I and experienced first-hand the intensity and ruthlessness of war and he believed it was
his duty through poetry to denounce the war for what it really was- a festering evil of
which no good could come. In each of these poems, Owen conveys a message of disgust
about the horror of war to an ill-informed audience of smug Englishmen. Many people
believed it was sweet and fitting to die for one's country, but Owen suggests that this was
a lie. Through the vivid imagery and intense language used in each of these poems Owen
condemns the devastation of war and proves that the innocence of boyhood is lost in the
chaos and tragedy of war.
Wilfred Owen's, "Anthem for a Doomed Youth" and "Dulce and Decorum Est"
both convey a message of disgust about the horror of war through the use of painfully
direct language and intense vocabulary. The reader can appreciate at the end of both of
Owen's poems the irony between the truth of what happens at war and the lie that was
being told to the people at home. Although the tones of the two poems are slightly different, the common theme of brutality and devastation at war is unmistakable, and
through each poem Owen creates a lasting and disturbing impression on his reader.
In contrast to the spiritual and religious images of "Anthem", the tone of "Dulce
and Decorum Est" is significantly more violent and gruesome. Although Owen's
objective is once again to denounce and condemn the devastation and senselessness of
war in a world that believed it was a romantic occupation, he does this in a much more
powerful way through this poem. Owen does
not write about a glorified version of the life of a soldier, but rather paints a realistic view
of the sorrow, violence and devastation faced by these soldiers. Throughout this poem
the reader senses the agony and pain that these soldiers experienced and the horrible
tragedies that they encountered.
In spite of the differences with regard to tone in each of these poems, it is clear to
the reader that Owen's objective in each poem was to illustrate the terrible actuality of
war through vivid imagery. Owen himself was a soldier during World War
I and experienced first-hand the intensity and ruthlessness of war and he believed it was
his duty through poetry to denounce the war for what it really was- a festering evil of
which no good could come. In each of these poems, Owen conveys a message of disgust
about the horror of war to an ill-informed audience of smug Englishmen. Many people
believed it was sweet and fitting to die for one's country, but Owen suggests that this was
a lie. Through the vivid imagery and intense language used in each of these poems Owen
condemns the devastation of war and proves that the innocence of boyhood is lost in the
chaos and tragedy of war.
No comments:
Post a Comment