Anthem For Doomed Youth – by Wilfred Owen

An Analysis …

By Rose Garofano

Overview

Through “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, a well known petrarchan sonnet written by Wilfred Owen, the reader sees the horrors of war and how unfortunate it is to die in war. Owen fought in World War I and wrote this poem while in a hospital recovering from shell shock. “Anthem for Doomed Youth” solemnly discusses death in war and shows how those who die in war do not receive the normal ceremonies that are used to honor the dead. Owen was able to express how he felt about those who passed away while fighting in war, and he successfully communicates a moving message to his readers in “Anthem for Doomed Youth”.

petrarchan sonnet - Related to the structure of the poem, we can say that this poem is a variation of the Elizabethan sonnet. Owen has divided the fourteen lines of this sonnet into two stanzas, the break coming at the end of the line 8. As is the case with the Elizabethan sonnets, this poem has ten syllables of iambic pentameters, because there are five feet, and each foot contains a short syllable followed by a long one.

By using a sonnet for the structure of his poem, Wilfred Owen introduces a touch of irony, because the conventional function of the sonnet is love, and this poem is sort of anti-love, I mean, the young soldiers have to spend their time in the trenches. So, their lives are wasted and, overall, the lives of their loved ones at home are also ruined.

Anthem For Doomed Youth

First, Owen relates to his audience how horrible going to war is. The title of Owen’s poem is “Anthem for Doomed Youth”. This meaningful title conveys a strong, gloomy feeling; usually an anthem is a joyous song of celebration but when coupled with “Doomed Youth”, anthem takes on a whole new meaning that implies much sorrow. Also, “Doomed Youth” provides a woeful impression because it foretells of young people having no hope.

The first line of the poem describes the “Doomed Youth” dying “as cattle”. This description shows how awful war is. The description depicts multitudes of people being slaughtered and the nature of war to be full of mass deaths. The simile is showing how the soldiers are no more important than cattle which are lead to the slaughter without feeling. Owen gives the sonnet a powerful, negative connotation from the very beginning.

Two perspectives …The poem can be read in two parts - that in the first octet Owen makes a catalogue of the sound of war, the weapons of destructions such as “guns” (line 2), “rifles” (line 3) and “shells” (line 7), which are linked to religious imagery such as “orisons” (line 4), “bells” (line 5), “prayers” (line 5).

In contrast, in the second stanza the poem talks about the other side of a war: the families of those who die in the war.

The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFFE /GG

Furthermore, Owen compares the events of war to traditional burial rituals and describes how those who die in war do not receive proper funerals. In the first stanza, Owen references the “monstrous anger of guns” to “passing-bells” and “rifles’ rapid rattle” to “hasty orisons”. Usually at funerals or ceremonies for the dead there are bells ringing and prayers being said, but Owen shows that in war there are only the sounds of guns being fired. In war, instead of honoring those who have fallen, more are being killed by the same weapons.

In the last stanza, Owen says “…but in their eyes shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes. The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall”. Here Owen illustrates the families’ reactions to finding that their loved ones have died. The dead soldiers do not get to be honored by their family and friends, but all the family can do is grieve at the sorrowful news. Owen communicates how depressing war is by making an effective comparison that the readers can relate to.

Techniques …The poet depicts a tone that shows strong anger at the futility of war, because he is an anti-war poet.

Wilfred Owen uses various literary devices through this poem. Firstly, the title itself has a significant use of assonance: “doomed youth”. The sound is intended to be long and melancholic. Secondly, repetition is used in the poem to make it seem monotonous. Finally, by using personification, Owen makes the enemies’ guns seem evil and monstrous. This can cause the reader to feel some of the emotions felt in the trenches.

Throughout the poem, Wilfred Owen uses a lot of comparisons, one of these is the simile between a typical funeral in a church and what would happen to a soldier killed in battle. For example, he compares the church bells with the noise of a gun-fire; the prayers with the rapid rifle fire; the choirs with the wailing of shells; the candles head by altar boys with the lights of the sky reflected in the dead eyes of the soldiers.

In conclusionAfter reading “Anthem for Doomed Youth” the reader’s entire perspective on war can be changed. Owen paints the horror of war in sensational manner that gets his message across strikingly well. Through his poem, Owen stirs up the heart and greatly influences the reader’s thoughts on war and those who fight in it.

Bib

liogra

phy

http://mural.uv.es/horpla/owen.html

http://www.1914-18.co.uk/owen/anthem.htm

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soneto#El_soneto_en_lengua_inglesa

http://www.warpoetry.co.uk.owena.htm