Owen uses quite a lot of imagery scenes to create atmosphere. The quotation below shows how the glass panels of the gas mask are steamed up due to hot breath and the green lights of the flares. “Dim through the misty panes and thick green lights.” The reader can personalise the situation and give an intimate perspective of the situation.
The quotation below shows how Owen describes the soldiers on war to be. He describes them as scruffy and unhealthy people because during the First World War there weren’t many people taking care of soldiers who were hurt so they had to just deal with the pain. “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge.”
The poem “Futility” is also conflicted on the First World War but in a different way to the first poem. This poem concentrates more on what happens after when the war is over.
The title “Futility” means uselessness and pointless. The poem is useless and pointless because was it for this pointless war that humans were created and why would God bother creating life if it is going to be wasted. It refers to God a lot as to help someone in need. The quotation below shows how God is gentle, kind and old and will know what to do in the right time. “The kind old sun will know.” Owen refers God as the sun because as the sun is unreachable so is god. The sun is a ray of light which has an impact on people, so has God.
For this poem Owen uses more metaphors that similes in this poem because as the poem is short it is better described as metaphors than similes. The quotation below shows how Owen symbolises how the Sun will help a dead soldier come back to life. “Move him into the sun.” the sun is used to wake him up, but this time it wont happen.
The metaphor below shows how Own uses the earth created life on a dead lump of mud. “Woke once the clays of a cold star.” The “cold star” how cold the young dead men’s bodies are and will forever be lying there in the mud and freezing cold enriching earth but breaking their families hearts forever.
The way Owen creates atmosphere is different to way he creates atmosphere in the first poem. In creates the atmosphere after a soldier has died to show what happens aftermath of a war. The quotation below shows how a soldier who has recently died and how his body still seem like he is alive. “Full nerved, still warm, too hard to stir.” This quotation makes the reader feel sad and unhappy to see how easily lives are taken away at war. Since the soldier has died, there is a little more the sun can do than to bring surface warmth to his skin. The idea that the sunbeams can “toil” to make a “full nerved” man come back to life is foolish and wasted.
The quotation below shows how Owen creates atmosphere by referring this quotation to when the earth was made. It symbolises how Own uses past life in connection with this poem. “Was it for this the clay grew tall?” this quotation has connotations with the bible which said that man was made from the earth. This had reference to Adam.
In conclusion “Dulce et Decorum est” has more of an impact on readers than “Futility.”
“Dulce et Decorum est” has a lot more to read about. It uses a lot of metaphors and similes to show this. It describes every step that the soldiers take through their experiences in the war. By using the metaphors and similes the reader can relate to the poem and place themselves in the situation to force them to realise what they actually go through during a war. Owen’s terrific use of dictation brings the poem to life. He uses imagery, which is a very important factor in poetry and is common throughout his writings in the poem. His tone towards the poem has an impact by depression, lack of hope and sadness. He reveals his message without writing pages of verse but he achieves his message very quickly in the poem and makes the audience feel that they are actually experiencing what the narrator is actually feeling.
After reading “Dulce et Decorum est” depresses the reader to make them want to read “Futility.” The use of metaphors throughout the poem makes it harder to understand what the poem is talking about. The first verse gives an atmosphere of kindness, care and peacefulness. “The kind old sun will know.” He refers to the dead body, as “Full nerved and still warm” telling the reader it was a recent death. He portrays a picture of a person by talking about his limbs.
