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Wilfred Owen's 'The Strange Meeting' serves as a poignant anti-war poem that explores the physical and psychological traumas faced by soldiers, emphasizing the futility and senselessness of war. Through the encounter between two soldiers, Owen highlights their shared humanity and the devastating impact of war on their dreams and lives. The poem ultimately conveys a plea for peace and rest from both physical and mental suffering caused by warfare.

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95 views2 pages

Strange_Meeting-_Model_Answer_1_

Wilfred Owen's 'The Strange Meeting' serves as a poignant anti-war poem that explores the physical and psychological traumas faced by soldiers, emphasizing the futility and senselessness of war. Through the encounter between two soldiers, Owen highlights their shared humanity and the devastating impact of war on their dreams and lives. The poem ultimately conveys a plea for peace and rest from both physical and mental suffering caused by warfare.

Uploaded by

santhoshmart11
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© © All Rights Reserved
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i.

Discuss 'The Strange Meeting' as an anti-war poem with close reference to the
text.

Answer: "The Strange Meeting" by Wilfred Owen is an exemplary piece of anti-


war literature. It delves deep into the harsh realities of war, underscoring the
profound physical and psychological traumas endured by soldiers. Owen, through
his poignant narrative, highlights the futile nature of war and its destructive
consequences.

The poem opens with the speaker, a soldier, escaping the battlefield through a
'profound dull tunnel, symbolizing the transition from the material to the spiritual
world, indicative of the speaker's likely demise in battle. This transition also
signifies a departure from the collective, organized violence of the war front
towards the individual repercussions of the same.
In the tunnel, the speaker encounters the souls of dead soldiers, one of whom rises
and engages with him. This 'strange meeting' reveals the other side of war, one that
is often glossed over the collective loss, the unfulfilled dreams, the despair. The
soldier's 'dead smile' is an emblem of the irreversible damage of war.

The dead soldier's monologue, where he speaks of 'the undone years' and 'the
hopelessness' reflects the brutal truncation of life caused by war. The soldier
yearned for a life beyond the battlefield, a life filled with the pursuit of 'the wildest
beauty', a life that is now lost. His words underscore the pity and senseless
sacrifice of war, a sentiment that resonates throughout the poem.

The phrase 'Foreheads of men have bled where no wounds were' is a powerful
illustration of the psychological trauma inflicted by war, a wound as real and
devastating as any physical injury.

ii. What message does the poet want to convey?

Answer: Wilfred Owen's "Strange Meeting" is a potent anti-war piece that seeks to
convey the harsh realities and profound tragedies of war. The poem underscores
the futility and senselessness of war, highlighting the shared humanity amongst
soldiers on opposing sides. Owen, through the haunting dialogue between the two
soldiers, emphasizes that all men, irrespective of the sides they fight for, share the
same hopes, fears, and desires. The dead soldier's lament for his 'undone years' and
his lost dreams serve as a powerful reminder of the lives cut short by war.

Moreover, the poem draws attention to the psychological trauma inflicted by war,
asserting that it leaves scars not just on the body but also on the mind. The
concluding line, "Let us sleep now," is a plea for peace and rest, not just from
physical warfare, but also from the mental torment it brings.

iii. What is the "wildest beauty" that the "strange friend" went hunting for?

Answer.In the poem "Strange Meeting", the "strange friend" that the speaker
encounters in Hell speaks of going "hunting wild / After the wildest beauty in the
world". The phrase "wildest beauty" is significant because it suggests that the man
was searching for something that was beyond the ordinary or mundane. The use of
the word "wild" suggests that this beauty was something raw and untamed,
something that could not be easily captured or controlled.

The fact that the "strange friend" was searching for the "wildest beauty in the
world" suggests that he was searching for something that was transcendent and
meaningful. The phrase can be interpreted as a metaphor for the search for
meaning in a world that has been shattered by war. The fact that the man was
unable to find this beauty suggests that war has left him feeling hopeless and
despairing. The concept of the "wildest beauty" highlights the search for meaning
and purpose in the midst of the horrors of war and the sense of hopelessness that it
can create.

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