Describe the differences in register and Language in "Attack" by Siegfried Sassoon, "Anthem for Doomed Youth" by Wilfred Owen and "Slough" by John Betjemen.

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Describe the differences in register and Language in "Attack" by Siegfried Sassoon, "Anthem for Doomed Youth" by Wilfred Owen and "Slough" by John Betjemen.

These three poems are all about war. They focus on different aspects and are written in very different ways. They express different views and use different language. I am going to explain these differences and also the similarities.

"Attack" by Siegfried Sassoon, is written in the third person, and it describes the situation in a reporting style. He starts describing very far away, "the ridge emerges" and then moves in closer to the looks on the soldiers faces, "masked with fear". He paints a picture using lots of different colours. He reports with a very pessimistic and negative attitude. He uses metaphors and personification "The menacing scarred slope". He doesn't focus on particular people, and the soldiers aren't seen as warriors just worried faces. Then on the last line he states his opinion of horror and fear.
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"Anthem for Doomed Youth" the sonnet by Wilfred Owen is a very sombre poem. It is written as an extended metaphor, war is like a funeral. There are very few references to actual war. Owen uses alliteration "Stuttering rifles rapid rattle" and religious language "Orisons...Choirs...Bells". He does not talk about blood and gore. He uses a very solemn style and states his opinion more subtly than Siegfried Sassoon. It ends with a rhyming couplet. He uses personification as well, "Only the monstrous anger of the guns."

"Slough" by John Betjemen implies war in a different context. ...

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