Anthem For Doomed Youth
... But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame, all blind" And then the gas attack, put incredibly realistically into words by Owen here. The 'guttering, choking, drowning,' phrase showing the repetitive, prolonged anguish of the soldier as he 'plunges' towards his death. Infact throughout 'Dulce et Decorum Est', a surreal feel to the poem is established by Owen's continual use of metaphors when describing the atrocious scenes. "As under a green sea, I saw him drowning," wwbb bbw esbbbbs aybb bbba nbb kcbb bbuk! 'Anthem for Doomed Youth', however, uses real, physical objects, linked in with heavily descriptive words, as a different way of representing the action. These two techniques both result in a similar effect, by creating a real atmosphere in the poems, whilst delivering a believable, yet dramatic account. The vivid imagery in both makes the reader think, whilst Owen's imagination can run wild. The first movement of 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' shows clearly how Owen intends to use some of his poetic techniques, even if they aren't particularly tasteful in the context that they are used. "What passing bells for those who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns. wwbg bgw esbgbgs aybg bgba nbg kcbg bguk. Only the stuttering rifles rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons." Owen's distinct juxtaposition of the loud noises of war, with the quiet sombre feel of a funeral is one of the main effects in the poem, but the personification of the dead soldiers as cattle, (as opposed to the cripples in 'Dulce et Decorum Est') as well as the alliterative and also onomatopoeic "stuttering rifles rapid rattle," seem somewhat inappropriate. A lot of the religious aspects in all of his war poems, may well stem from his past, and his time working in his local parish church, a time when religion was very important to him. Although by this stage, his views on religion may well have changed, his views on the ruthless murdering taking place in the fields were clearly very strong still. The very title 'Anthem for Doomed Youth,' with anthems usually being associated with love and passion, is very deliberately ironic, a way Owen shows how ridiculous he really thought the war was. The fact that the 'cattle' he speaks of aren't actually getting proper burials, just horrific mass burials, if any, just shows how Owen's irony in giving them their only real burial, only highlights the huge, and, in Owen's opinion, crazy sacrifice that the soldiers gave. But why did Owen write both of these poems? Some argue that all of Owen's war poems are extremely opinionated, and even, in extreme cases, of a propagandist nature, but most people agree that although Owen's poetry was very opinionated, he was just expressing his views, and showing those at home what the war was actually like. For much of Owen's work was not published until after the war, and indeed his death, so the only rewards Owen could possibly gain were to satisfy his own need to clear his mind of the horrors he had witnessed on the battlefield. And although 'Dulce et Decorum Est' is possibly the finest piece of war poetry ever written, it is only a detailed account of war life, not forcing the reader into believing his view of the war. It merely offers the reader the chance in his final stanza, to have a long hard think about how they would feel if placed in the same situation as Owen was. wwea eaw eseaeas ayea eaba nea kcea eauk! "If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace Behind the wagon we flung him in.... My friend, you would not tell with such high zest wwag agw esagags ayag agba nag kcag aguk. To children ardent for some desperate glory The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori." In 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' Owen again asks questions of the reader, in order to make them think more about the poem, but this time, the questions are deliberately easy to answer, and perhaps rhetorical, as Owen goes on to answer them in graphic detail, just to drive home how obviously stupid the war actually was. This more subtly used technique does exactly the same job, offering the reader to step into his, or any other soldier's shoes, just for a moment, in order to encounter the tragedy that he encountered. "What passing bells who die as cattle?.... What candles may be held to speed them all?" These questions may well be questions that he has already asked himself, and although he has found the answers to them, he feels the British public (to whom he is addressing the poem) have yet to come to terms with the horror that took place in those far-off lands. While 'Dulce et Decorum Est' is a first person narrative of something similar to what happened to him during his service, 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' shows a more mature side to his writing, a more complex form, but also a different way to make the reader think, as he shows his views with retrospect. The personal feel that Owen creates with 'Dulce et Decorum Est' makes the reader empathise with the soldiers involved, and comes mainly from the fact that it is a narrative, a real-life encounter that seems to be here and now. In 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' Owen has deliberately distanced himself from the poem, giving a descriptive account, not a narrative, but more of a philosophical viewpoint. from www.essaybank.co.uk Although these two poems are both based on war, they both use entirely different ways to end up at a similar conclusion. 'Dulce et Decorum Est' allows the reader a glimpse into how the war really was, out there at the front. A real action poem, the gas attack shows a common, and thoroughly gory scenario from his experiences, but that which seems very unreal to the reader. 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' however, looks at...