Write a critical appreciation of “The Send-Off” by Wilfred Owen.
Write a critical appreciation of "The Send-Off" by Wilfred Owen. By referring to your own wider reading, examine how typical in both style and treatment of subject matter this poem is of literature from or about the First World War.
"The Send Off" by Wilfred Owen is a piece of literature written about war and this can be seen quite clearly from the language and undertones within the poem.
There are no linguistic experiments in 'The Send-Off; the rhymes are full, not half, and the groups of two and three lines form four perfect verses. It is quieter-toned than some others - being set in England, not the war zone - but makes its point with utter clarity.
The poem lets on that there has been some celebration, possibly a parade. "Shall they return to beatings of great bells In wild train-loads?" Owen suggests that now the celebrations and euphoria are over, a sense of let down is inevitable for any person - but especially a soldier whose face is "grimly gay". The oxymoron used there provides a vivid image of a person who cannot help but be taken over with all the high spirits but still has the underlying sense of foreboding - the external attempt at cheerfulness hiding their true feelings. Even though the Soldiers singing, it is probably only to maintain a sense of enthusiasm and prevent themselves from thinking about the future and their prospects.
From the beginning, the atmosphere seems sinister. The lanes are darkening and claustrophobic; the shed reminded me of execution sheds and slaughterhouses; the crowds have gone elsewhere and only 'dull' porters and the uninspiring figure of a tramp watch them. Traditionally flowers have a double significance - coloured for celebration, white for mourning. So the women who stuck flowers on their breasts thought they were expressing support but were actually garlanding them for the slaughter. Their departure is secret, 'like wrongs hushed-up', because the true nature of what is happening to them is being concealed.
Using "darkening" brings to mind the end of the day and also the traditional symbolism with the end of life. The darkness being associated with death shows a pessimistic view, which is uniform throughout the stanzas.
An element of death is introduced during the second verse. Owen sees them in terms of "wreaths" and "sprays" - the flowers that were thrown in celebration at the parade are now flowers that adorn a coffin. The whiteness of breast suggests innocence as white is associated with purity, cleanliness, thus contrasting with the mud they will soon encounter, and also ...
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Using "darkening" brings to mind the end of the day and also the traditional symbolism with the end of life. The darkness being associated with death shows a pessimistic view, which is uniform throughout the stanzas.
An element of death is introduced during the second verse. Owen sees them in terms of "wreaths" and "sprays" - the flowers that were thrown in celebration at the parade are now flowers that adorn a coffin. The whiteness of breast suggests innocence as white is associated with purity, cleanliness, thus contrasting with the mud they will soon encounter, and also the lack of blood because for all they know, they could soon be dead. The innocence associated with white represents the innocents who were slaughtered in a fight not of their own.
The third verse shows the reactions of those men at station. "Dull" as if they've seen it all before. Perhaps they know the outcome. Almost as if there is no sense of celebration here. It is an intensely private and very poignant part of the poem. Even the lowest of social strata - the tramp - recognises the significance of their leaving and is saddened. Darkness is now upon the train in more ways than one! The lamp "winks" to the guard - unspoken signals - almost as if it is ashamed to send the men off to their deaths. Poem has openly sombre tone now. During and after the First World War, many people could not bear to watch a train moving away because this reminded them of a last meeting. Today, we think of trains being packed with victims for the concentration camps, other wrongs that were hushed up.
Opening with alliteration "so secretly" implies that they are not watched but are whisked away in the night. It would be too awful to watch them go, too painful. They go like "wrongs hushed-up". An acknowledgement that everyone knows what will happen and how pointless and tragic it all is, but no one dare say so. The soldiers are referred to as "they" almost as if they are from another race! "They were not ours" this is a way of distancing ourselves from the tragedy and our responsibility for the tragedy. Anonymous figures, like shadows, being sent to a front we, as readers don't even know where. It makes it more comfortable for us, we don't want to get too involved - or so Owen believes. If this poem was written for the audience of the day then he is judging and rebuking the people who are responsible for so much misery and pain.
The penultimate verse has a bitter element "mock". Do they now wear the flowers as heroes or corpses? It gives a sense that their deaths will come about so soon after their departure, regardless of whether their hearts are still beating. Owen sees it as a pointless waste of life. Did the women realise what their flowers would actually serve as?
The final stanza - addresses us with a question, one I took as a rhetorical question. It seemed to be that Owen already knew the answer. The "great bells" reminded me of "Anthem for Doomed Youth". Here, will the bells welcome them home alive or dead? The "beating of great bells" insinuated wild celebrations and not the muted "tolling" of the funeral bell. Will the trainloads really be "wild", in such contrast to those silently departing? It is unlikely - Owen knew what it was like to return home and there was no cause for celebration. Many felt a deep sense of guilt that they had survived, whilst friends and comrades had perished. Others were numbed by the experience, or just plain angry at what had happened. He leaves us with the sad, sombre and rather bitter view that very few will return and those that do will not receive the heroes welcome because it will be too distressing to acknowledge the few who return and the consequent losses. Those who do return will not want such celebrations, as there is no celebration in surviving an unnecessary slaughter when so many good men had fallen. They will creep back, broken men. Men aged beyond their years. They will almost be an embarrassment to those at home, reminding the home dwellers of their part in the slaughter. The encouragement, the parades, the old lie "Dulce et decorum est ..." become lies when return happens without success. They will return to the centre of village life. Perhaps the villages may have changed whilst they were away. Maybe the villages aren't as the soldiers used to know them. What is certain is that the soldiers themselves have changed, and will never be the same.
Owen seems to have distrusted public emotion and felt that the highly organised displays that have just ended can only obstruct true communication between people, and clear thought. Of the men who have been sent off, only a few will survive and each of them must find his own way back; the healing process needs silence and privacy. In a letter home, Owen had described how the Germans 'choked up the wells with farmyard refuse', and the image found its way into two poems, 'Strange Meeting', where blood is washed away by 'sweet wells', and this one. Village wells were a traditional meeting-place where travellers can find refreshment, and half-known roads, it is suggested, are better than the broad highway of public opinion
I liked the poem although I found it challenging to understand and analyse. The language is very detailed and evocative and I found that very helpful when reading through it. Owens choice of words were obviously picked specifically and with an intention behind them all.
Amy Gallacher
