The War Poems of Wilfred Owen, ‘Disabled’ and ‘Mental Cases’

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English Coursework: Poetry Comparison

The War Poems of Wilfred Owen, 'Disabled' and 'Mental Cases'

The poems I have chosen to compare are the two I found the most powerful, these poems made me feel the emotions and situations that Owen was describing. Wilfred Owen was born in 1893 and died in 1918, just a week before the end of the First World War - the news of which reached his parents on the day of the armistice. His poetry is well known throughout the English speaking world, he is especially well known for the poetry he wrote towards the later years of the First World War.

Both of these poems seem to hold an underlying anti-war message, we can see this in the numerous references to the terrible waste of war. In 'Disabled'; '...before he threw away his knees.' - which is emphasised by 'He thought he'd better join - He wonders why', showing us how effortless it was to make his first mistake. The comparative references within 'Mental Cases' are less clear, however can be found; 'Carnage incomparable, and human squander Rucked too thick for these men's extrication.' - the horror was too much for the men, sending them mad, I feel an implication of waste.
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Expanding on the anti-war message - we can find hints of bitterness towards the 'System', or government. In 'Disabled' we see, 'Smiling they wrote his lie: aged nineteen years' - a very sarcastic line, referring to the recruiting officers knowingly sending a minor to war - this pins some kind of hopeless blame onto them. 'Mental Cases' finishes off with a more generalised bitterness towards those responsible for the war, probably more vague to emphasise the subject of the poem, 'Pawing us who dealt them war and madness.'

One of the ways that the poems differ is, ...

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