How far does Wilfred Owen's poetry convey the realities of war? Discuss three or four poems you have studied.
Coursework Essay How far does Wilfred Owen's poetry convey the realities of war? Discuss three or four poems you have studied. Wilfred Owen Wilfred Owen was born in 1893 and he joined the army in 1915. He was invalided because of shell shock and was sent to a hospital in Edinburgh. It was in this hospital that Owen met Siegfried Sassoon. Sassoon helped Owen with his poems. Although Owen only published five poems in his lifetime he is very much remembered for his bleak sense of realism, his anger and his realistic portrayal of the war. For my essay I have chosen to write about three of Wilfred Owen's poems. They are 'Dulce et Decorum est', 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' and 'Exposure'. 'Dulce et Decorum est' is about some young soldiers who are at war. They are marching but are so tired it is difficult for them to carry on. But they must as their lives depend on it. Suddenly there is a gas attack and through their tiredness a soldier shouts in panic because he cannot get his gas mask on and dies before their eyes. They place the dead body onto their wagon. Still the soldiers carry on. In the first line of the poem: 'Bent double, like old beggars under sacks', the soldiers are compared to beggars. This is to create the image of the soldiers gaunt and starving and in need of help. The pace of the first stanza is slow and Wilfred Owen uses a caesura, which is a pause to
To what extent does form influence attitude? Compare Tennyson's The Charge of the Light Brigade with Sassoon's Prelude: the Troops and examine how the poets' attitude to war is conveyed through their choice of poetic for...
Remember to put the cursor on the asterisk to get the Examiner's advice. To what extent does form influence attitude? Compare Tennyson's 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' with Sassoon's 'Prelude: the Troops' and examine how the poets' attitude to war is conveyed through their choice of poetic form. The way a poet decides to use form when they are getting across their message is very important. These two poems are written very differently. Tennyson's poem has very strong rhythms and very strong rhymes that create a fluent effect. Sassoon's poem has longer lines but does not rhyme and comes across as being more serious. *[Ea1] The poets are writing in two different eras and this may account for the different ways in which they write and their different attitudes towards war. Tennyson is far more upbeat*[Ea2] in tone than Sassoon. Tennyson's 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' tells the story of six hundred cavalry troops who run into a trap and are almost all killed by the enemy's cannons. It has a very strong, driving rhythm: *[Ea3] Half a league, half a league That captures the way the horses are charging. There is also a strong use of rhyme used throughout like, 'reply,' 'why' and 'die'. This makes the poem more fluent and it reads like a song. There is also a lot of repetition used in the poem, such as: Cannon to right of them Cannon to left of them Cannon in
love song of j. alfred prufrock
"The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on." -Carl Sandburg In the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, T.S. Eliot has created a persona who can see the possibilities of life but is unable to give such ideas a spirit. The poem revolves around how he feels inadequate, how his hesitancy results in inaction which he then tries to rationalize. On one level the poem is a very personal one, about a sad and tormented man with his 'love song' for all to hear; wanting someone to see and understand his plight. On another level it is a criticism of modern society where meaningless social rituals prevail, and where individuals are repressed and alienated, and no longer in contact with a meaningful existence. Prufrock wasn't as much a persona of the poet but an "observation." The poem begins with an invitation by Prufrock to join him in his travels through a city that is growing increasingly modern, while Prufrock himself is afraid, or unable, to change with it. His description of the way he sees his environment can elucidate much about the character himself. He describes "cheap hotels," restaurants with sawdust on the floor, and frightening streets "that follow like a tedious argument / Of insidious intent". The fog creeps up on the street as if it were a cat. The yellow lamplight obscures more than it illuminates. If he is
Compare and Contrast three of the “Best Words” poems on love relationships. Examine the natures of the relationships conveyed and the ways in which the poets present them. Which of the poems most interests you? (provide your reason).
Compare and Contrast three of the "Best Words" poems on love relationships. Examine the natures of the relationships conveyed and the ways in which the poets present them. Which of the poems most interests you? (provide your reason). The three poems that I have chosen to examine are: 'Ballad', which is anonymous, 'Shall I Compare Thee...' by William Shakespeare and 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' by John Keats. The three poems have both their similarities and their contrasts, which makes them a good selection to study. The first and most obvious contrast, and reason for contrast between the three pieces is the time they were written- with the Ballad being anonymous, we cannot say when it was written, but the other two were written a couple of centuries apart. 'Shall I Compare Thee...' during either the sixteenth or seventeenth century and 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' in the nineteenth. This gap, in the times they were written, means that some of the language used in the poems is different, both from each other and from language spoken now. A further reason for the contrast in language used is the audiences they were written for. The Ballad was passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, and would have most likely been told in inns and taverns. 'Shall I Compare Thee...', being written by William Shakespeare was aimed at people who attended the theatre. This ranged
Mary Oliver's Whelks
Mary Oliver's Whelks Mary Oliver's poem, Whelks, can easily be identified as a Mary Oliver poem. Whelks describes nature in an attempt to illustrate an issue that is all too "human being." Simply, Oliver is using nature to communicate the desire to discover her true self. In lines 12-17, Oliver states that she herself is suffering from the universal dilemma of knowing that there is something more to herself than she is aware. For the duration of her life she has been "restless" because there has always been something missing, but she is not entirely sure of what exactly. However, she feels that "there is something more wonderful than gloss." This statement insinuates that Oliver knows that her true self is not what appears on the outside. She has always known that deep inside of her being, she has so much more to offer. In line 18 Oliver states the obvious, that she is "curious" as to what lies deeper inside of her. She has come to face the fact that she does not know who she truly is, but she is eager to find out. She finds her answer on her morning walks along to shore. In line 21 Oliver broaches to whelks once again. She calls them "perfect and shining," but she goes on to describe how they are eroded by the tide and the rubbing against the land. In fact, it is the whelks' imperfections that make them perfect. They have "rubbed so long against the world"
Why was there a stalemate on the Western front?
5th October 2003 Why Was There A Stalemate On The Western Front? As the prospect of war drew closer, the people of Britain were confident that if war began, it would all be over by Christmas and they were looking forward to see their troops come back with a victory. The British were very self-assured of their naval supremacy and had not only the largest, most powerful and well-trained navy in the world but also the most experienced in warfare. Everyone thought that the Triple Entente, (consisting of Britain, France and Russia), would be too great for Germany and its allies Italy and Austria-Hungary. On the other hand, the Germans were so convinced about the effectiveness of the Schlieffen Plan, they failed to anticipate Britain entering the war in defence of "the scrap of paper" as the German Kaiser dismissively called the treaty that Britain had signed to defend Belgium's neutrality. Germany's initial plan to move through Belgium for a quick and decisive victory over France was met with strong resistance from Belgium, and British troops, much to Germanys surprise, helped defend them. This gave Russia time to mobilize her troops and Germany, delayed by resistance and weakened by withdrawals decided to change their original plan, which was a big mistake. They chose to take a shorter route through the East of Paris instead of the West side. This change of plan gave the French
World War one poetry - Anthem for Doomed Youth'
WORLD WAR ONE POETRY "Bent doubled like old beggars under sacks" was the first simile in the poem, Owen said this to give the impression that they were all very tired and their posture was very slouched. They were walking like beggars 'under' sacks. This made out that the soldiers were bent down so much that the bags were on top of them and not hung on their backs. "Coughing like hags" gave me the very good image of what the soldiers' state was, Owen uses a lot of similes in this poem and uses them well to describe the whole feel of the setting. When the gas shells hit and the one man couldn't get his gas mask on in time he used a simile to describe the movement of the man who was dying. "Like a man in fire or lime" I imagined that the man was running around jerking his arms around as if he was on fire. In the first stanza Owen really tried to make out that these men weren't exited and happy to go to war they were in a terrible state and needed rest. The second stanza focused on the soldiers trying to get the 'clumsy' gas masks on just in time, but one man didn't get his on in time and the gas took over his body. Owen described him to be 'under a green sea'. He was describing the way the mist moved as if under a sea. In this stanza, Owen begins with "Gas, Gas. Quick boys". This is a narrative technique that not only shows the urgency of the scene, it takes our attention
Compare "The Drum" by John Scott and "Vitai Lampada" by Henry Newbolt.
Pre 1914 War Poems The two poems that I am going to compare are "The Drum" by John Scott and "Vitai Lampada" by Henry Newbolt. The poems have greatly contrasting views of war. "The Drum" has a negative perception of war whereas "Vitai Lampada" portrays a very positive image of war. A drum is a musical instrument that was used during war times to recruit men to sign up and join the army. The drum would be banged to get people to notice that the army was recruiting outside, people would then leave their houses and 'sign up' in the street. The first line of the poem tells the reader about the poet's view on war, "I hate that drum's discordant sound". Discordant - meaning disagreeing, at variance in respect to sounds. The word "hate" meaning to dislike intensely used as the second word in this poem, showing the strength of the feelings about war felt by the writer John Scott. The beginning of "Vitai Lampada" is very different to the beginning of "The Drum". "There's a breathless hush in the Close tonight - Ten to make and the match to win". There is no strong negative or positive emotive word like the word "hate" used at the start of "The Drum". The word "Close" is given a capital letter, implying that it might be the name of a stadium or pitch, not just the literal meaning of the word "close" - an enclosed space. "Vitia Lampada" starts by describing the tense atmosphere of
Character analysis of Mandras.
Character analysis of Mandras The presentation of Mandras in the novel is one which is subject to change and alteration. The implications of his change in character relate to the wider issue of war and its effects on both individuals and society. Mandras is used as an example of the negative and grave psychological scars war can inflict. When Mandras first appears in the novel, he is presented as a potential love interest for Pelagia. However, there is an uneasy sense of foreboding as to what is to come for their relationship. The fact that their love for each other develops so early on in the book, and the idealistic nature of this love leaves the reader with the impression that it is not to last. In the very chapter they meet the chapter ends with the ominous presence of war looming, which reaffirms the reader's belief that their relationship will be brief. Mandra's first act in the story is being shot by Velisarios with rather comical consequences thus establishing Mandras as a comical character. He later thanked Velisarios for shooting him as it had a positive impact on his life; meeting Pelagia. "What he thanked him for was that he first set eyes on Pelagia". This shows the instantaneous nature of his love for Pelagia. Some readers have suggested that the fact their love was based only on mutual aesthetic attraction to each other was the very reason it al fell apart
The war on the Western Front
COURSEWORK FOR HISTORY SYLLABUS B CSU 2: The First World War, 1914-1918 Coursework Assignment: The war on the Western Front . The photograph (Source B) was taken by someone who had seen the effect of artillery bombardment at first hand. Source A was written by someone who had not. Does this mean that Source B is more reliable than Source A for a study of the effect of artillery in the First World War ? Explain your answer using Sources A and B and your own knowledge. Source B, supposedly the more reliable one is a photo showing the effects of the British artillery. It is taken in September 1916 during the later months of the fighting near the Somme; it shows the remains of a German machine gun post near Guillemont after an artillery bombardment. This source shows us that an artillery bombardment can be successful, the picture shows a devastated German trench, the walls of the trench have caved in, there are dead German soldiers and the remains of the machine gun post are non-existent. Essentially the photo supports the statement that artillery usage was successful. In theory its helpful when discovering the effects of artillery and in theory it should be reliable because 'a photo can't lie'. However, this is not so, the reliability of the photo is limited by the fact that it only shows one moment in time. This photo could show the worst or the weakest of the
