Choose two poems from your selection of First World War Poetry, which have made a deep impression on you and examine how the poet communicates to us his feelings.

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Choose two poems from your selection of First World War Poetry, which have made a deep impression on you and examine how the poet communicates to us his feelings.

I have chosen the two poems “The Send-Off” by Wilfred Owen and “Dulce et Decorum est” by Wilfred Owen, because I found these two poems very moving, and I could associate with them, from what I already know about the First World War.

        “The Send-Off” and “Dulce et decorum est” are both written by the same poet, and they both look at different aspects of the First World War.  “The Send-Off” is about the young battalions of soldiers being sent away to their death.  The title is very ominous and threatening, it makes you feel worried that you might be sent away as well.  It also gives you a feeling of coldness and a feeling of not being wanted or cared for.  The first sentence ‘Down the close darkening lanes…’ gives you a feeling of claustrophobia, a feeling of being alone.  It is also reminiscent of the trenches, it is trying to give the soldiers a pre-view before they actually reach the real thing.  The feeling of unwantedness continues on through the first stanza, ‘To the siding shed’, gives us the impression that the soldiers were just pushed to the side, like disregarded objects.  The words ‘grimly gay’ show that the men are pretending to be happy and excited on the outside, but deep down they are probably very worried and anxious about where they are going.

        Stanza two is very short, it is also very ironic.  The words ‘wreath and spray’ are normally associated with funerals.  The men have been given these wreaths, possibly suggesting that they are going to die, in reality they were given to them as good luck presents.  Wilfred Owen has given us a different view of this topic, we can see it as if they have been given their last presents, a present of peace and security.

        In stanza three, even though there is a suggestion of death, the atmosphere is very unceremonious.  The porters think nothing of these young men leaving, they just carry on with their daily routine.  ‘and a casual tramp Stood staring hard’ this shows that the tramp does not care either, he does not care that they are going off to die for their country.  ‘Sorry to miss them from the upland camp.’  The tramp is only sorry to see them go because they fed him, and that is all he cares about.

        In stanza four there is a definite feeling of conspiracy against the soldiers.  ‘lamp winked to the guard’, this suggests that the guards know where the soldiers are going and why they are going, whereas the soldiers do not really know where they are going to end up.  All they know is that the government knows where they are going, but no one else.

        Stanza five is connected with stanza four.  It says ‘So secretly, like wrongs hushed-up, they went’ this suggests that the war leaders who were going with them know what they are doing, and they know that what they are doing with these poor men is wrong.  This stanza talks about how this was not this men’s home, and that is why there is no saying of good byes.  No one here will ever know where those soldiers have been sent, this is why the whole trip is going to be a conspiracy.

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        Stanza six shows that no one will ever hear of these soldiers again.  They will never hear if these men died or survived, or whether the flowers that they were handed before they left were in fact for good luck or a symbol of death.

        Stanza seven is asking whether there will be hundreds of men returning, just like there were hundreds of men sent away.  The answer to this would have to be no.  Not enough men will be returning to have any celebrations of any form, too many men were just sent away to their death.

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