Referring to several of the poems studied, show how Wilfred Owen uses language and imagery to communicate his attitudes of war.

        Owen highlights the horrific conditions in which the soldiers fought to show the futility of war. In the poem ‘The Sentry’ he describes the rain as “guttering down in waterfalls of slime”, the use of the made up word of “guttering” to add huge emphasis to the extent of downpour through mimicking ‘gutter’. Also the use of the colloquial language, “waterfalls” and “slime” adds extra power to almost unbearable conditions these men had to fight in. Also in the poem ‘Exposure’ it focuses on the horrific conditions, it does this by using phrases like, “the merciless iced east winds that knive us”, this phrase is very good as it evokes the idea that the soldiers are not only fighting their enemy but the elements as well. It does this by describing the winds as kniving the men as if they were actually fighting them.

        Another point that Owen highlights is how the soldiers are treated poorly and that they lose their humanity and dignity. This is illustrated by the first line of the poem ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ which describes the young soldiers as;

“What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?”

This makes the soldiers seem like mere animals and it conveys the idea that war has reduced them to low intelligence creatures, such as cattle, so they seem to have lost all humanity. Also the sentence describes how the young soldiers won’t get the stereotypical hero’s funeral but they will just stay where they fall. In this poem is also emphasises this point in the lines;

“Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,-

The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;”

It adds emphasis by expressing the idea that they won’t get splendid choirs to sing at their funerals but instead they will get the “shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells”, the use of such explicit and strong words helps to put extra power behind the its meaning; which is to convey a sense that dead soldiers only comfort is the awful sounds of killing contraptions. Another poem that tries to evoke the idea that soldiers lose their humanity is ‘The Sentry’. In this poem there is a line that evokes the idea that the soldiers are treated poorly and also lose their dignity during the war. This line is;

“There we herded from the blast of whizz-bangs”

The use of the word “herded” is vital in understanding the meaning as it is the word that helps express Owens’ viewpoint that the soldiers lose their dignity. This is due to the word connecting to ‘herd’ and so implying that the soldiers are like livestock or animals. He also tries to convey the idea that the, generally young, soldiers were prematurely aged by the fighting. He does this in the poem ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ by writing

“Bent double like old beggars under sacks”

This shows how the once proud lively young men have been reduced to being aged, crippled and filthy.

Another matter that Owen tries to deal with through his poetry is that he wants to combat the Government propaganda. He does this very effectively and bluntly in the last lines of the poem ‘Dulce et Decorum est’,    

“My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

  To children ardent for some desperate glory,

  The old lie; Dulce et Decorum est

  Pro patria mori.”

This is simply expressing that if anyone had been in the war they would not tell young men the same story as the Government propaganda which tells of the glories of dying for their country as they would realise the reality and true horror of war.