In stanza 1, Wilfred Owen shows the horror of war by using lots of Similes and Metaphors which helps the readers’ picture in their head more vivid, Wilfred Owen also uses similes to add sound to the pictures in the readers’ head which makes the setting seem more realistic an example of this is “… coughing like hags…”
The effect that the language has upon the reader is biased, it makes you realise that the war was bad, not good.
In stanza 2 Wilfred Owen shows the horror of war by using exclamation marks (!) this creates the impression of shouting “Gas, Gas, quick boys !” this shows who ever is saying it is warning them that a gas bomb is approaching and for them to put on their gas masks, this is where Wilfred Owen uses “…as an ecstasy fumbling, fitting the clumsy helmets…” this creates the image in your head that the soldiers are hurrying and panicking. Wilfred Owen also uses “…as under a green sea I saw him drowning…” this is to describe what the gas bombs looked like after they went off and “I saw him drowning” a soldier died from the gas but in water (e.g. The Sea) you would drown.
In stanza 3 Wilfred Owen only uses two lines “In all my dreams before my helpless sight he plunged at me, guttering, choking, drowning.” This tells us that the sights that some people were seeing were sickening. This emphasizes the horror of war as a sickening, terrible place to be.
In stanza 4 Wilfred Owen uses very strong words to describe the way a soldier is dying. He uses “…blood came gargling from the froth corrupt lungs…” this string of words was used to make the reader feel sympathy for the soldier and to let the reader know that that is what many other soldiers had to suffer and that war was not a good thing.
