Analysis of anthem for doomed youth.

Just going by the title of the poem, 'Anthem For Doomed youth', the thing that captures you most is the sense of irony and sarcasm in the title. When you hear the word anthem, it makes you think of your country's national anthem, which gives thoughts of hope and glory and perhaps doing the right thing for your country. Owen however twists this conception and shows that instead of this, the youth of Britain who are going out to battle on the front lines, are being led to their death. Like the title of his other poem, 'Dulce et Decorum Est', Owen is saying what a noble thing it is to die for your country.

The poem has a rhyme scheme of A B in the first stanza, this differs form the second stanza which doesn't have a fixed rhyming scheme. Alliteration, personification and onomatopoeia are the other devices used by Owen throughout the poem.Through out the poem Owen describes what soldiers get instead of a funeral and how they are remembered by their loved ones.

Owen starts the poem as he means to go on with the opening line reading, "What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?" Apart from opening with a rhetorical question, Owen is showing us some very clear imagery, comparing the young soldiers going to war, like lambs that are being led to slaughter. He continues with even more powerful imagery with, "Monstrous anger of the guns". Also in this stanza, Owen, to give them more effect and display their importance, uses personification with the guns when he writes, "Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle", alliteration is another tool which has been used to do this. Owen uses personification again when he says " The shrill" what he means by this is the huge exploisions of shells and "Wailing shells" meaning high whistling. It seems that Owen is really trying to put the emphasis on the weapons which are taking the lives of these young soldiers by using personification when he describes them. owen finishes the 1st stanza with "And bugles calling for them from sad shires" owen is explaining what the men get after they die on the battle field which in this case they get nothing but the fact that their death is acompanied by war.

Like most of Owens anti-war poetry the final stanza which like the first also begins with a rhetorical question "What candles may be held to speed them all?" no candles will be held for them but instead tears will be in the eyes of their friends "Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes" "Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes".

Owen the goes on to describe that " The pallor of girls' brows shall not be their pall" what he means by this is the the girls who will remember them will have white faces from grief not the funeral cloth which covers their bodies. "Their flowers the tenderness of silent minds" instead of flowers which they would of had at their funerals they will be remembered by all their loved ones. "And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds" When a loved one passes away people would close their blinds as a mark of respect so "each slow dusk" when people closed their blinds the deceased soldiers will be remember.