An Analysis of Wilfred Owens Futility

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An Analysis of Wilfred Owen’s “Futility”

        In “Futility”, Wilfred Owen describes the grievances of losing a companion as well as the worthlessness of war. He provides a sorrowful and desperate tone throughout the poem, which takes place within the battlefields of France during World War I. The speaker is unidentified but is believed to be one of the soldiers mourning over the lifeless body of their associate. Throughout most of the poem, the speaker questions the sun’s ability to provide energy as well as breathe life into the motionless soldier. Owen’s aims throughout the poem are to introduce one of the several possible sorrows of war and effectively define war as a pointless act that will lead to devastation.

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        The poem is made up of one stanza consisting of fourteen lines all of which deal with the agonies of the soldiers after they had witnessed the death of one of their associates at war. The symbolism presented within the poem emphasises the thoughts and feelings of the speaker towards the situation. The sun symbolises power and represents God throughout the poem. The statement “Woke, once, the clays of a cold star” further verifies that God is symbolised as the sun, for the speaker claims that the sun had once created the earth just as God had once done. Moreover, ...

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