Poem Comparison-Anthem for Doomed Youth + The Man He Killed

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Poem Comparison

The two poems i am comparing both describe the emotions of being a soldier in the war, what it means to be a soldier and the idea of death. The first poem "Anthem for Doomed Youth" by Wilfred Owen is about war and also when people are killed in war they don't get the funeral they deserve. Wilfred Owen had first hand experiences of warso this poem has a lot of descriptive images of war.

The second poem "The Man He Killed" by Thomas Hardy is about questioning war and how this particular soldier and how he deals with war and says how he cannot kill another man. It says in the poem "Had he and i but met by some old ancient inn" this is saying that if he had met him at a bar he would have bought him a drink but due to it being war he had to kill him which shows the immorality of killing in the name of war. The story behind "Anthem for Doomed Youth" is also about questioning war like Thomas Hardy's "The Man He Killed". He is questioning the idea of war and how soldiers are treated as cattle.

The language used during the poem "Anthem for Doomed Youth" is very negative and cold. The words engrave a very graphic image into your mind. The phrases are accurate because the author Wilfred Owen went to war so he had first hand experiences that not many other authors had. "What passing bells for these who die as cattle" imprints a graphic image on  the reader as it makes the reader think of men being constantly slaughtered.

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Thomas Hardy uses only one linguistic device and that is the personification of war this is important because it makes the poem seem more realistic which adds more tension. Wilfred Owen uses very direct and descriptive language in his poem. He uses alliteration "stuttering rifles' rapid rattle" this is also very direct and straight to the point. The poem is written as a monologue so it seems as though it is anybodys thoughts and feelings.

        

“Anthem for doomed youth” creates a very negative atmosphere it does this by using negative language such as monstrous and mockeries. This makes ...

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