Owen’s use of imagery continues throughout the stanza, when he depicts the sounds and smells of the trenches:
“What murk of air remained stank old, and sour
With fumes of whiz-bangs, and the smell of men
Who’d lived there years, and left their curse in the den,
If not their corpses….”
“Murk” suggests thick, dense, fog like air, “stank old, and sour” gives the impression of a disgusting stench, which would be almost intolerable, emphasised further by the use of alliteration. Usage of the word “curse” connotes evil and a lingering pain for the soldiers that is inescapable. While the word “corpses” insinuates death and its inevitability. Reading this gave me the impression that the conditions were unthinkably horrific as Owen spares us no details.
Owen also effectively portrays the impact of the shells in the trenches:
“There we herded from the blast
Of whiz-bangs, but one found our door at last, -
Buffeting eyes and breath, snuffing the candles.”
Using the word ‘herded’ shows the unity of the men trying to escape the bombs, comparing them to animals. The phrase ‘One found our door at last’ shows the anticipation that they were in, waiting for the bomb to hit. ‘Buffeting eyes and breath’ effectively describes the effects that the bomb had on the soldiers and Owen himself, taking the air away from them, taking away their breath, and ‘snuffing the candles’. The alliteration and assonance both help to emphasise this effect in these lines.
The sentry is first introduced into the poem after the shell Owen describes has hit:
“And thud! flump! thud! down the steep steps came thumping
And splashing in the flood, deluging muck –
The sentry’s body;”
The onomatopoeia used emphasises the helplessness of the sentry as he is falling down the steps, “splashing in the flood” again emphasizes the volume of water in the trenches, “deluging muck” shows the extreme amount of mud accompanying the water. By saying “The sentry’s body” Owen implies that the sentry is already dead.
“We dredged him up, for killed, until he whined
‘O sir, my eyes – I’m blind – I’m blind, I’m blind!’ ”
‘dredged’ insinuates an enormous effort my Owen and his men to lift the sentry out of the mud and water, ‘for killed’ again shows that Owen believed him dead. The use of the word ‘whined’ in describing the sentry’s speech proposes the sentry’s suffering and inability to properly use his voice. Quoting his speech indicates that the incident that he witnessed had a very strong impact on him. The repetition in the sentry’s speech also helps show his desperation and vulnerable state and evokes sympathy in the reader.
In the next few lines of the poem, Owen uses words such as “coaxing” to soften the helpless tone of the poem and to describe his actions to help the sentry:
“Coaxing, I held a flame against his lids
And said if he could see the least blurred light
He was not blind; in time he’d get all right,
‘I can’t’ he sobbed”
By using the sentry’s speech, Owen again enforces how much of an effect this particular incident had on him. In the word choice of “sobbed” again shows the state that the sentry was in. The next few lines of the poem I think are the most emotional and memorable:
“Eyeballs, huge-bulged like squids’,
Watch my dreams still; but I forgot him there
In posting next for duty,”
The vivid depiction of the sentry’s eyes I found quite disturbing, but these lines clearly portray the harshness and reality that the men had to endure. The simile “like squids” showing how the eyes protruded and “bulged” out from their sockets, is a very successful use of imagery. “Watch my dreams still” evokes the idea of Owen’s memory of the incident bringing him nightmares, “but I forgot him there” suggest that Owen felt guilty for leaving him there to carry out his other duties. I believe that this is definitely the most memorable part of the poem as we see the effect of the shell blast as well as the responsibilities with which Owen had to contend.
The last stanza begins:
“Those other wretches, how they bled and spewed,
And one who would have drowned himself for good, -”
Which describe the condition of the soldiers “wretches” is an unusual word to describe men, that were bleeding to death and “and one who would have drowned himself for good” suggests a suicidal and hopeless attitude towards the war. Over the next few lines,
“Half listening to that sentry’s moans and jumps,
And the wild chattering of his broken teeth,”
Owen shows the extent of the sentry’s injuries “broken teeth” and the onomatopoeia in “wild chattering” shows how shaken and traumatised he must have been, and how Owen himself was shaken and was listening to him.
Owen finishes his poem:
“Through the dense din, I say, we heard him shout
‘I see your lights!’ But ours had long since died out.”
He uses alliteration efficiently “dense din” which shows the level of noise that there was in the trenches. There is a definite tone of bitterness and resentment in the final line: “‘I see your lights!’ But ours had long since died out.” The two meanings, that not only had the lights they were carrying had died out, that also their hope had gone, a very pessimistic ending to the poem.
I believe that the theme throughout the poem is distinctly the horror of war. Owen conveys this message through a horrific incident, which had stayed clear in his mind and had affected him deeply. His tone is bitter and at times sarcastic and shows his anger towards the war. I think that Owen has portrayed his personal experiences of the war brilliantly in this poem and I believe he has succeeded in showing the reality of the war and the fact that there is nothing wonderful about war.
