Anthem for Doomed Youth

Owen was born in 1893. He was an English war poet. However, after school, he became a teaching assistant. In 1913 went to France for two years to work as a language tutor. He visited a hospital for the wounded. Thus, in 1915, he became increasingly interested in World War I and enlisted in the Artists' Rifles group. After training in England, Owen was commissioned as a second lieutenant.

At that time, Owen wrote many of his most important poems, including "Anthem for Doomed Youth," "Disabled" and "Dulce et Decorum Est". His poetry is characterized by his anger at the cruelty and waste of war. His experiences with religion heavily influenced his poetry. Many of his poems share resentment towards the generals and those at home who have encouraged war. In addition, a recurring theme in Owen’s poetry is the notion of unseen scars. Though the soldier may return alive or uninjured, their lives will never be the same. In ‘Disabled’ the pain of the man’s life is not his injury, but how others react to him. His ability to pin point certain images and moments makes the moments recognizable, even to those who have never experienced war. However, Owen died 1918 and was buried in the Westminster Abbey's Poet's Corner.

"Anthem for Doomed Youth" is one of Owen’s most famous poems. The use of the word youth in the title adds to the theme of the pity of war. The first 8 lines, the octet, lament the horror of the loss of these young men “who die as cattle”. The sestet moves away from the sounds of war to the stillness of the home front, where the men are being mourned by their loved ones. However, this poem addresses two major themes: senseless devastation and the loss of identity.The butchery of war horrified the speaker. His comrades in arms represented the best hope for a better future, but all around him that hope was vanishing in the fire and smoke of the battlefield. The war also devastated the loved ones at home, robbing them of sons, daughters, brothers, and fathers and leaving only emptiness behind. In war, young men with distinct personalities and unique talents become nameless pawns to do the bidding of the political decision-makers. When they fall on the battlefield, no one stops to mourn them or pay them homage. The bombs keep falling and the guns keep firing.

Anthem for Doomed Youth

The title symbolize powerful , hope

It's a national song for those who been killed in the war

What passing-bells2 for these who die as cattle?

Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle

Can patter out3 their hasty orisons.4

No mockeries5 now for them; no prayers nor bells;

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, –

The shrill, demented6choirs of wailing shells;

And bugles7 calling for them from sad shires.8

What candles9 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 pallor10 of girls' brows shall be their pall;

Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,

And each slow dusk11 a drawing-down of blinds.12

War = Pink

Religion=blue

1 Anthem - perhaps best known in the expression "The National Anthem;" also, an important religious song (often expressing joy); here, perhaps, a solemn song of celebration

2 passing-bells - a bell tolled after someone's death to announce the death to the world

3 patter out - rapidly speak

4 orisons - prayers, here funeral prayers

5 mockeries - ceremonies which are insults. Here Owen seems to be suggesting that the Christian religion, with its loving God, can have nothing to do with the deaths of so many thousands of men

6 demented - raving mad

7 bugles - a bugle is played at military funerals (sounding the last post)

8 shires - English counties and countryside from which so many of the soldiers came

9 candles - church candles, or the candles lit in the room where a body lies in a coffin

10 pallor - paleness

11 dusk has a symbolic significance here

12 drawing-down of blinds - normally a preparation for night, but also, here, the tradition of drawing the blinds in a room where a dead person lies, as a sign to the world and as a mark of respect. The coming of night is like the drawing down of blinds.

• 2. 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”.

• 3. 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.

• 4. Anthem For Doomed Youth First, Owen relates to his audience how horrible going to war is. The title of Owens'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.

• 5. 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 simileis 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.

• 6. Two perspectives (Keys Words) …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

• 7. 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.
• 8. 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.
• 9. 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.

• 10. 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.

• 11. In conclusion After 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.

Rupert Brooke

was born in 1887, Britain. In his childhood Brooke immersed himself in English poetry and twice won the school poetry prize. He is remembered as a "war poet" who inspired patriotism in the early months of the Great War. War poets have always glorified war, and Brooke did his best to continue the tradition, and sacrifice himself in this effort. In addition, he glorifies England in his poems and considers it as his own mother, and its air which always purifies his soul and body. His first collection of verse, POEMS, came out in 1911. He wrote several poems including, "Peace", "Safety," "The Dead" and "The Soldier."

His poem" The Soldiers" was anthologized and it was also read in churches. In 1915, he was beaten by an insect that caused him blood-poisoning while he was on board ship. He then died -before joining the war- and buried in the Greek island, Skyros.

The Soldier by Rupert Brooke

* The structure is Italian sonnet with the Shakespearean rhythm scheme.

*Alliteration :- That – There

*Personification :- Bore ( he Personifies the bore to England as his mum)

This poem is considered to be an English nationalist poem, written in 1914. It glorifies the heroism of the English soldiers who fought in WWI. This poem is pointing out that war is not always started for the reasons that your government tells you; there is a larger picture to consider.

It is often read at the memorial services of soldiers. In WWI, soldiers were not always able to bring back the bodies of their dead comrades. In France, dead soldiers were buried in the national cemetery, if their remains were found. However, there is a huge field dedicated to the unknown soldiers. As far as you can see there are only white crosses with names on them, but the names on the crosses don't necessarily match up with the bodies that are underneath them.

"If I should die...forever England" (lines 1-3). He is saying that if he dies in battle he will forever remain in that foreign field and since his dead body is there, it is like that part of the field belongs to England, because he belongs to England. Also, when he dies he wants to be a memory for his country England .

"There shall be...dust concealed" (lines 3-4). The ground that he dies on is made better, because he has died there. It conceals the soul of a great man who died for his country.

"A dust...suns of home" (lines 5-8). England was his birth place and it shaped what kind of person he became. It influenced his thoughts and beliefs. England taught him about love, loyalty, and honor. His death will be forever blest by England. His soul will be immortal, because he fought for England. Everything about England is rich , due to two reasons :- 1- he created up from the earth of England. 2- His deeply love England make him rich.

"And think...no less" (lines 9-10). His death is justified, because he died for England. His evil deeds don't matter anymore, because he did what was right; he fought for his country.

"Gives somewhere...happy as her day" (lines 11-12). His death allows him to only remember the good things about England. It also allows for someone else to come and take his place. He is passing on all the dreams and thoughts that England taught him onto the next generation of soldier; so that he can fight with as much heart and honor as he did.

"And laughter...under an English heaven" (lines 13-14). These final lines are showing the happiness that England has given him. And because he fought for England he will forever be at peace in an English heaven with only good thoughts and laughter in his heart.

1- I. The Italian (or Petrarchan) Sonnet :-

The basic meter of all sonnets in English is iambic pentameter, The Italian sonnet is divided into two sections by two different groups of rhyming sounds. The first 8 lines is called the octave and rhymes:

a b b a a b b a

The remaining 6 lines is called the sestet and can have either two or three rhyming sounds, arranged in a variety of ways:

c d c d c d
c d d c d c
c d e c d e
c d e c e d
c d c e d c

The exact pattern of sestet rhymes (unlike the octave pattern) is flexible. In strict practice, the one thing that is to be avoided in the sestet is ending with a couplet (dd or ee), as this was never permitted in Italy, and Petrarch himself (supposedly) never used a couplet ending; in actual practice, sestets are sometimes ended with couplets (Sidney's "Sonnet LXXI given below is an example of such a terminal couplet in an Italian sonnet).

The Spenserian Sonnet:

The Spenserian sonnet, invented by Edmund Spenser as an outgrowth of the stanza pattern he used in The Faerie Queene (a b a b b c b c c), has the pattern:

a b a b b c b c c d c d e e

Here, the "abab" pattern sets up distinct four-line groups, each of which develops a specific idea; however, the overlapping a, b, c, and d rhymes form the first 12 lines into a single unit with a separated final couplet. The three quatrains then develop three distinct but closely related ideas, with a different idea (or commentary) in the couplet. Interestingly, Spenser often begins L9 of his sonnets with "But" or "Yet," indicating a volta exactly where it would occur in the Italian sonnet; however, if one looks closely, one often finds that the "turn" here really isn't one at all, that the actual turn occurs where the rhyme pattern changes, with the couplet, thus giving a 12 and 2 line pattern very different from the Italian 8 and 6 line pattern (actual volta marked by italics):

III. The English (or Shakespearian) Sonnet:

The English sonnet has the simplest and most flexible pattern of all sonnets, consisting of 3 quatrains of alternating rhyme and a couplet:

a b a b
cd c d
e f e f
g g

As in the Spenserian, each quatrain develops a specific idea, but one closely related to the ideas in the other quatrains.

Not only is the English sonnet the easiest in terms of its rhyme scheme, calling for only pairs of rhyming words rather than groups of 4, but it is the most flexible in terms of the placement of the volta. Shakespeare often places the "turn," as in the Italian.

William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin in 1865 to a chaotic, artistic family. His father, a portrait painter, moved the family to London when Yeats was two, and William spent much of his childhood moving between the cold urban landscape of the metropolis and the congenial countryside of County Sligo, Ireland, where his mother’s parents lived. An aesthete even as a boy, Yeats began writing verse early, and published his first work in 1885. In 1889, Yeats met the Irish patriot, revolutionary, and beauty Maud Gonne. He fell immediately in love with her, and remained so for the rest of his life; virtually every reference to a beloved in Yeats’s poetry can be understood as a reference to Maud Gonne. Tragically, Gonne did not return his love, and though they remained closely associated (she portrayed the lead role in several of his plays), they were never romantically involved. Many years later, Yeats proposed to her daughter—and was rejected again.