Both 'Dulce et Decorum est' and 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' portray Owen's bitter angst towards the war, but do so in different ways.

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HURSH MAHESHWARI

How have soldiers been presented in any two poems of your choice?

Wilfred Owen is a war poet. His poems are deeply influenced by his life experiences. The horrors of battle quickly transformed Owen and the way he thought about life. Both 'Dulce et Decorum est' and 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' portray Owen's bitter angst towards the war, but do so in different ways. In both of these poems Owen is very successful in conveying the state of the soldiers. Both these poems talk about the war and what the condition of the soldiers is. His use of language very effectively brings across the effect of these poems.

          “Anthem for Doomed Youth" is a wartime Sonnet. It is honoring and remembering the soldiers who died. However, it is more or less criticizing those who did not think the young, lower ranking soldiers deserved a real funeral.
The conventional function for a sonnet is love, but this poem has an element of anti-love, or rather, a love that turns bad. The young male population spend time rotting in the wastes of the trenches, only to be mown down in the blink of an eye by a machine-gun. Not only are their lives wasted, gone without the holy rite of a funeral, but the lives of their loved ones at home are also ruined. The title itself gives us idea of how young the soldiers are and the word doomed when used with youth gives a very negative image to the readers. The opening line “what passing bells for these who die as cattle”. The poet compares the soldiers to the cattle who die insignificantly are not even given a proper burial which is shown by what passing bells. By using things as sacred things as ‘prayers', ‘bells' and ‘choirs' as tools to mourn the insignificant ‘cattle',  the poet says that the dead would only be mocked.
 Cattle are slaughtered just as the soldiers are inhumanely and mindlessly slaughtered. This "passing-bell" is referring to the deaths of the soldiers and it also foreshadows the suffering of the soldiers' families.   The bell might also represent a school bell which reminds us that many of the brave, dying soldiers are still children. Owen is comparing the cattle to the young soldiers. Owen tells us that not even the basic funeral rights are given to these soldiers.  They are not appreciated for what they have done for their country. In "only the rifles rapid rattle can patter out their hasty orisons." This demonstrates that rather than receiving the traditional burial, these men die to the deafening sounds of the battlefield but still no one comes to their help. 'No mockeries no prayers nor bells nor choirs,' is the opening to the second quatrain and illustrates the way in which these soldiers die and that they do not even receive basic objects that would be expected in a traditional ceremony. Instead, these soldiers who have died fighting for their country received 'The shrill demented choirs of wailing shells and bugles.' 'Shrill' is a hard and strong word that creates the image that the 
'funeral' was not a quiet and peaceful way of saying goodbye to the 
soldiers. It creates a very piercing sound and is a harsh word. The word “wailing” gives a sad effect,
 unpleasantness of the situation, contrasting to the tuneful choirs that would be heard at a traditional funeral. The word 'sad' suggests that it must be a devastating and traumatic time for their relatives and friends. 'Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes,' suggests that their eyes 
are very meaningful as they see the deceased soldiers off to their 
next lives. It has an extremely sad meaning to it and the reader may 
reflect upon the emotional experiences of the 'victim's' family. Owen tells us that not every soldier who died in the war will be remember because there are so many who give up their lives every day.  The final comparison is that of dusk to the drawing down blinds in a house in mourning. 'And each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds,' creating the image that dusk is like a blind that is being lowered. 

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. Additionally, the meaning of the poem is that each soldier will not be remembered. Over here dusk can also symbolize the end of a life.

The second poem is “Dulce Et Decorum est”. Consequently, 
this poem conveys a strong meaning and persuasive argument. This poem 
uses four stanzas and an alternate rhyming line scheme. In this poem Owen gives the reader an exact image of what he looks at war like. Owen uses words like "guttering", "choking", and "drowning" not only show the soldiers sufferings, but that they are in terrible pain that no human being should endure. Words like writhing and froth-corrupted show how the ...

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