Owen says “Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs” which means the soldiers are so tired that even when the flares go off behind them they don't have the energy to turn around to see them. He also says “Drunk with fatigue” which is saying that the soldiers are so tired that it is as though they are drunk. Owen says these to ethicise the tiredness of the soldiers.
The pace changes in the second stanza. The soldiers are woken by a gas attack. This changes the mood that Owen has set in the opening stanza. The soldiers are now woken by the fact that their lives are in extreme danger and they now have to be fully aware of all their surroundings, which will be difficult because of their tiredness. “Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, as under a green sea, I saw him drowning” The green light is the view through the soldier’s gas masks. This is a simile saying that the man is drowning in a green sea. But really he is drowning in a sea of toxic blood. Owen tells us how this memory has stayed with him as he says “The sickening sight of a man lunging at him”. “In all my dreams before my helpless sight” this shows how he feared the gas attacks and the war in general.
In this Poem Owens main question to the reader is before going into the army think carefully of what you are doing as you might get and see something completely different to what you may have imagined.
Disabled, another reality poem of Wilfred Owen. Describes somebody that he knew in the army. Who has had his leg blown off in World War II. “He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark” this is the first line of Disabled, which already suggests that the poem is a reality poem. He wants for dark because then things will be quiet.
He is obviously regretted joining the war and Owen portrays this well. Owen uses emotive language in this poem too for example “saddening”, “pleasure” and “god” these give mixed opinions, as does the poem, which changes between past and present.
He talks about the evenings. He says the town’s atmosphere is fun and happy everybody dancing and having fun, which is something, that he will never again experience because he joined the army for war. He says the girls look upon like he has some kind of disease this is a contrast between the recruiting poems, which say that girls will like you more. He was once a lovely face now he looks old.
Because of war, which is made out to be like a game, a massive part of him is now missing.
He wonders why he joined the army. He tries to impress people with his stories as the recruiting poems told him but they touch hi like some queer disease.
He had thoughts of all the swords and other weaponry that he would receive in the army. He had great thoughts of wearing the smart uniform and making those proud salutes but none came true because of his injury. He thought that playing football was great, the buzz he got from the cheering. People thought of him as hero. He thought that people would cheer for him in the army where he wanted to become a hero. Only a few people cheered when he came back only one man inquired this man was the priest. This makes him feel in a way betrayed. His final thoughts of the poem are one of total depression. He thinks that life is pointless.
Many people say that they live stressful lives and are under extreme pressure. Wilfred Owen can prove any of these people wrong as these men had to have the weight of a nation on their shoulders this is before they have to dodge land mines and gas attacks.
In direct contrast to Owens poems are the reality poems, which glorify the war. For example Fall In written by Harold Begbie used patriotism do deliver its message which in this case was a news paper article written to convince to reader to sign his life away to war. An example of this patriotism can be found in the final stanza where it says “Britain’s Call”.
In the reality poem Disabled Wilfred Owen talks about women hating him where as in Fall in it says “girls line up in the street shouting their love”, this will make any young man sign up but the reality of this far from it. So this proves that recruiting poets were paid to lie.
Another recruiting poem is who’s for the game written by Jessie Pope. She portrays the image of war being as a game as a game could never hurt you. She also says that if you don’t sign up for this game then you will miss out on a lot, these are on the end of each stanza, “rather sit tight”, “seat in the stand and “be out of the fun”
But will the people be so naïve as to believe that war could be a game and girls will line the streets? But in the reality poems the Pros way out the Cons.
