Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)

Wilfred Owen grew up poor and, while he passed an entrance

examination to the University of London, he did not do well
enough to get a scholarship. He then worked as a lay assistant
in a church and later as a tutor in France just before the
outbreak of World War I (1914-1918). In 1915, he joined the
British Army and saw duty in Europe where he suffered from
shell shock (post-traumatic stress disorder). He returned to duty
in 1918 and was killed in action one week before the end of the
war. Owen saw very few of his poems published, and it was
only after his death that his work was published in book form.
He is generally considered the poet of World War I, bringing
home to readers the real horrors of the first modern war.

Pre-reading Activity
What plans do you have for the years after you finish Grade 12? Imagine if going to war (and
possibly not coming back) was a real possibility. How do you think you would feel?

Questions
1. Identify two elements of a sonnet that apply in this poem. (2)
2. Quote two words or phrases from the poem that show the poem is about war. (2)
3. How does the simile, “die as cattle” impact your understanding of the battlefield. (2)
4. Explain how the consonance in “stuttering rifle’s rapid rattle” links with the
subject matter of the poem. (2)
5. Discuss the effectiveness of the title of the poem. (2)
6. A) Who or what are being compared to cattle in line 1? (1)
B) Why has the poet used this metaphor? Think of two reasons. (2)
7. Refer to lines 4-5. Choose ONE. The prayers and bells are ‘mockeries’
because______.
A) the soldiers don’t want to die.
B) the bombs and gunfire do not sound like prayers and bells.
C) the boys were sent to their deaths on purpose.
D) to the soldiers they are messengers of death. (1)
8. Refer to line 8. What are the two figures of speech used here? (2)
 9. This poem gives us some insight into rituals of death and funerals in more
peaceful situations. Name two objects that are used in these rituals. (2)
10. Refer to line 12. Who are the young girls? (1)
11. A) Choose a word that you think describes of the tone of the poem most
accurately: sad, angry, ironic, mocking (1)
B) Explain your answer briefly, quoting from the poem if necessary. (2)
12. This poem was written during the First World War. Do you think any of its ideas
are relevant in today’s world? Explain your answer. (3)
13. Why does the poet start his two stanzas with a rhetorical question? (2)
14. Identify the figure of speech in line 3 and comment on its effectiveness. (2)
15. Explain the meaning of the last line. (2)
16. Comment on the irony of this title. (2)
17. This is an angry poem. Who is Owen angry with? Quote from the poem to
substantiate your answer. (2)

NB!!!
Essay
In an essay of approximately 250-300 words, critically discuss how the use of diction and the
sonnet structure reinforce the speaker’s message (10)

AND
In an essay of 250-300 words, explain how Owen’s diction (word choice) emphasises the
contrast between a death in the war, and a death at home. (10)
Anthem for doomed youth (1917)

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 now 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 the 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 good-byes.
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.
 rousing or lifting song Anthem for doomed youth (1917) Petrarchan sonnet
identified with a particular However the
group of people or a cause; rhyme scheme is
musical setting of a religious closer to the
text sung by a choir at a Shakespearean
church service sonnet style
Metre: The metre mostly
follows basic iambic Refers to the
pentameter, but the poet soldiers of WWI
deviates from this metre The poems title already hints at his bitterness: he calls it an This poem was
specifically to bring a sense ‘anthem’, a praise song for youth who are doomed. Many at written one year
of discomfort to the reader. before WWI ended.
The effect of this suits the the time praised soldiers, but did not like to call them Therefore it is
theme of the poem. ‘doomed’. The connotations of the word ‘doomed’ suggests considered a war
This is one of Owen’s most poem.
famous poems with its bitter that their fate is sealed, they cannot get away from it, and The poem
anger at the situation and also that they have been sentenced by someone else(arm expresses the
the compassion for those futility and horrors
who are dying. chair patriots) – this is not their choice. of war.
bells rung immediately after 1 What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Simile: The
a death as a signal for soldiers are being
prayer/ funeral bells compared to cattle
that is about to be
The bitterness of the title is extended with the simile in line slaughtered.
It is also a
one. They do not have control over their fate and are being rhetorical
herded to their deaths. question.**

These boys deserve a loving funeral, as they would get at

home, and he emphasises the contrast between death at
home with the terrible slaughter at war.
2 Only the monstrous anger of the guns. ‘Monstrous anger’
terrible demonstrates the
hate and anger the
soldiers had
Personification towards the war.
3 Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle Alliteration of the
Repeating sound ‘R’ adds to the
rhythm of the guns
firing.
Onomatopoeia: the
onomatopoeic
words in this line
imitate the sounds
of guns.

4 Can patter out their hasty orisons. prayers

Quick in a hurry
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells,
Horrible imitations
Notice the repetition of the Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs – The comparisons
negative words “no” and he uses emphasise
“nor” emphasises the the contrast
absence of any ceremony or between the
comfort. processes: the
‘shrill demented
choirs’ of how they
are being filled in
this death.
 However if there
were any rituals
they would be
mockeries, for why
should people
Juxtapositioning mourn them when
they were sent off
to die on purpose?
High pitched piercing sound The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; Insane or mad
“Demented”
Raving mad- this
highlights the
Personification sense that the
shells and bombs
are completely out
of control.
Perhaps there is
no controlling the
madness of war.

bombs
Trumpet like brass And bugles calling for them from the sad shires. Countries, name
instruments used in the for regions in
military England

What candles may be held to speed them all? Rhetorical

question**
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes

Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes. Faint signs of

feelings or qualities
The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall; Cloth spread over
a coffin
Unhealthy pale appearance
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
Normally a preparation for And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds. Window coverings
night, but also, here, the like curtains
tradition of drawing the
blinds in a room where a Ironic because
dead person lies, as a sign the poet himself
to the world and as a mark of did not have a
respect. The coming of night ritual since he died
is like the drawing down of a week before the
blinds. These soldiers have war ended.
to draw down the blinds on
the soldiers that passed
away during the day.
However there is no room or
place for them to have a
formal ritual.
**Rhetorical question:”Anthem for doomed youth” is a poem in which the speaker asks two questions: The first
asks what religious rituals mark the deaths of soldiers killed in battle; and the second asks what ceremony would
ease the pain of their loved ones.
Anthem for a doomed youth
By Wilfred Owen
Notes
Line 1:
When a person died, their body would be taken to a church for the funeral. These rights were
not given to the those who died in the war. These men died for their country, yet what funeral
right were they given? What image is Owen creating here? The savagery and brutality of war is
reflected on in this image of death. Using the word ‘cattle’ is a graphic way of showing how the
men had no control over their lives. Like cattle, they were there to be slaughtered.
Owen asks a rhetorical question in Line 1

Line 2:
Owen asks a rhetorical question before providing the answer. He allows the reader to reflect on
the reality of how young men die at war and what sounds after their death is not bells, but
instead of an honourable death, with a funeral and people mourning them, they will just die on
the battlefield. No one will come and no one will try and find them.
Line 3:
The imagery Owen uses here appeals to our hearing and sight. Owen recreates the sounds of
the battlefield, showing the anger of war with constant “stuttering” of guns killing innocent lives.
Owen uses both alliteration and onomatopoeia to further empathise the firing of the guns. The
alliteration mimics the sound of the gunfire. The gun is also personified by using the word
“patter”.

Line 4:
Their ‘funeral prayers’ need to be completed quickly as there are so many to be said. This
empathises the vast number of men killed in battle.

Line 5 & 6:
There is no dignity or pleasantries in dying at war. No one mourns for our men who have been
sent to be slaughtered. There are simply too many for them to be accounted for individuality
and for them to all receive the burial they deserve for making the ultimate sacrifice. The glorious
dead will have nothing. No voices mourning them. There will however be choirs. But will these
be choirs in the traditional sense? Despite Owen’s orthodox Christian upbringing, how his faith
actually developed during the last years is far from clear, and it is hard not to think that he was
not remembering in this poem those members of the clergy, and they were many, who were
preaching not the gospel of peace but of war.
Line 7&8:
The only choirs that will be present at these men’s funerals will be the horrific sounds of shells
and warfare. Owen is emphasising the tragedy and pity of war. Many men came from the
English counties and countryside. Bugles were sounded, calling them and encouraging them to
go to war, to their deaths. There is solemn tone here heightening the sense of sadness.

The juxtaposition of "choirs" and "wailing shells" is a startling metaphor, God’s world and the
Devil’s both as one; after which line 8 leads into the sestet with the contrasted, muted sound of
the Last Post.

Juxtaposition: an instance of placing close together or side by side especially for comparison or
contrast

Line 9:
Owen is again emphasising the pity of war. Will anyone light a candle for each of the men who
gave their life?

Line 10&11:
Why does Owen use the word “boys”? The last sights these men would ever see would be the
horrors and pity of war. The image here is of the tearful eyes of the soldiers, glittering like
candles as they go towards their doom.
 Line 12 & 13:

Paleness Coffin cloth

The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,

Flowers suggest beauty They patiently wait for

and sadness. their men to return.

Line 14:
Aptly, dusk is falling in the last line and speaks of finality. The dusk is slow, for that is how time
passes for those who mourn, and with the drawing down of blinds and the attendant sadness.
We may think of a house in Shrewsbury where at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the
eleventh month a telegram was delivered that informed Wilfred Owen’s parents of his death just
a week earlier.

Additional:
In ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ we see the main image is the funeral service that was not given
to soldiers for their bravery and help to the country, instead Owen compares a burial to what
happened out on the battlefield. The first verse was lively with gunfire; the imagery appeals to
hearing and sight.
The second verse we see that there are no aural images. It is a much more silent and quiet
verse, trying to show the sadness of war. Owen was trying to show the sadness of war.
Anthem for Doomed Youth is mainly about young, brave soldiers not getting a proper funeral
service. There are images of death, sounds of gunfire and bells. Owen felt sorrow for those
killed out on the battlefield for their country, not getting the treatment/funeral they deserve for
their ultimate sacrifice.