Analysis of 'Strange Meeting' by Wilfred Owen.

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Analysis of ‘Strange Meeting’ by Wilfred Owen

        ‘Strange Meeting’ by Wilfred Owen is a poem about a soldier in the First World War who makes contact with the spirit of a dead soldier’s soul. After reading this poem, you know that the poet is against the war, and that war is somewhat worse than hell. The poem begins with the relief of a soldier as he escapes the war. Later on in the poem, the soldier meets the spirit of a dead soldier, and that is when he realises where he is. The spirit tells the soldier that if you go into war you are simply wasting your life. It also mentions the cruelty and harshness of war, and what it’s like to be there.

        Although the poem is almost completely a monologue, there is some dialogue and narration too. Narration is to be found at the beginning, as the soldier leaves the battlefield and approaches the spirits of the dead soldiers, until he communicates with one of them.

There’s a small amount of dialogue used between the soul and the living soldier but the rest of the poem is a monologue, as soon as the spirit begins his speech, from ‘save the undone years,’.

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The subject matter of the poem is to be found in this long speech, and the poet presents his views about the war very clearly in this.

There is a consistent use of 10 syllables per line, and there is not a rhyme scheme for half the poem (and therefore half is a free verse poem). There is an interesting style for the half that does rhyme.

Words that don’t rhyme, but have a distinct similarity in sound are used, such as ‘wheels’ and ‘wells’, and ‘left’ and ‘laughed’, for example. There are some actual rhymes as ...

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This essay focuses on the what rather than the how and why and as a result it is a very superficial analysis. When completing an analytical essay, it is important to make a point, support it with evidence from the text and then explain the effects that have been created by the poet. 3 Stars