The poem is written in the form of three stanzas. While the first two stanzas have eight lines each, the third and last stanza contains twelve lines. Despite the change in length of the stanza at the end, every other line continues to rhyme, giving the poem a rhyming scheme of ababcdcd. Overall, the poem can be classified as a narrative iambic pentameter. The poem begins by setting up the context; tired and hungry soldiers marching on towards a resting point somewhere in the distance. Many of the men march half-asleep, while others are missing boots, bleeding, or limping, but all tired. All of a sudden, the poem changes from past tense to present tense. The soldiers are no longer generalized as a group. A first person point of view is introduced as there are gas shells falling and everyone is alerted. Despite this the weary soldiers are still fumbling around, as if woken from a deep slumber. While most of the men strap on their helmets or what seems to be gas masks, one does not get it in time and he slowly dies. The man’s death greatly affects the speaker, and now this haunts him. This dead man is now flung into a wagon, and the whites of his eyes are seen. There is blood dripping from his mouth, tasting bitter. The narrator of the poem now warns children that if they were here, they would not believe the lie that it is great to fight for your country.
Wilfred Owen employs sensory language throughout the poem. Words such as “knock-kneed,” “blood-shod,” “drunk with fatigue,” and “haunting” all help the reader imagine the setting. The imagery is so great that the reader feels as if they are there, marching along side of the soldiers. Additionally, the images help define the mood of the poem, which is one of gloom. Also helpful in truly understanding the poem is the poet’s use of figurative language. Similes comparing the solders to old beggars show how exhausted they must be, so much that they are bent over. “Coughing like hags” helps add to the reader’s sense of sound, as one is able to imagine what it must sound, and feel like to be a soldier. “Flound’ring like a man in fire or lime,” adds to this effect as well, giving the reader a thorough description of the scene, as does the phrase “as under a green sea.” In this way, the mustard-gas filled air is compared to a green sea. The rhyming scheme of the poem gives it a type of rhythm, much like the beat of the marching soldiers. All of these poetic devices which the poet uses help create the effect the poem has, one of fear of going to war.
