Wilfred Owen

Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was a British poet and soldier, and one of the leading poets of the First World War. His shocking, realistic war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was heavily influenced by his friend Siegfried Sassoon and sat in stark contrast to both the public perception of war at the time, and to the confidently patriotic verse written earlier by war poets such as Rupert Brooke.

Some of his best-known works—most of which were published posthumously—include "Dulce et Decorum Est", "Insensibility", "Anthem for Doomed Youth", "Futility" and "Strange Meeting". His preface intended for a book of poems to be published in 1919 contains numerous well-known phrases, especially "War, and the pity of War", and "the Poetry is in the pity".

He was killed in action at the Battle of the Sambre a week before the war ended. In a moment of ghastly irony, the telegram from the War Office announcing his death was delivered to his mother's home as her town's church bells were ringing in celebration of the Armistice.

This is one of his famous masterpieces.

Anthem For Doomed Youth

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries for them; no prayers nor bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

The title is ironic because it has "youth" and "doomed" next to each other. Youth represents naivety, freedom and a long life ahead and doomed pretty much means the opposite. Therefore it is a contradiction. "The montrous anger of the guns" is personification (giving the guns human charateristics) and makes it sound like the guns are controlling the men when it should be the other way around. "..rifles rapid rattle" is alliteration which is for the purpose of sound imagery. "..a drawing down of blinds" gives a dull, unhappy end to the poem which emphasizes and reminds the reader of the horrors and tradgedies of the outcomes of war.