Select two poems by Wilfred Owen in which he describes the conditions of the trenches and the experience of war. By close reference to the poems, say what you have learnt and comment on the language used to convey his message.

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Select two poems by Wilfred Owen in which he describes the conditions of the trenches and the experience of war. By close reference to the poems, say what you have learnt and comment on the language used to convey his message.

Through his war poetry Wilfred Owen communicates to the reader the realities of war. In his poems, he creates emotions and feeling, which describe the horror of the war and the conditions of the trenches. The language that Owen uses shows the truth and power of his feeling. Two of his poems that demonstrate Owen’s ability to express this are ‘The Sentry’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum est’.

‘The Sentry’ is a poem in which Owen describes how a sentry was injured. The poem describes in detail how it happened. ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ is a description of a gas attack and in particular, the effect on one soldier who failed to protect himself against the gas in time. In both of the poems Owen describes the effect that the events have had on him and by doing this expresses his feelings towards war.

His poem ‘The Sentry’ is an example of a poem in which Owen describes, in detail, the terrible conditions of the trenches. Owen shows such conditions when he talks about “Rain, guttering down in waterfalls of slime”. By comparing the rain to a waterfall, Owen shows the power and force of the rain. Use of the word ‘slime’ indicates that the rain was not pure and refreshing, as might be expected, but in fact dirty and muddy.

Owen further describes conditions of the trenches in the poem when he talks about how the trenches were unable to cope with the weather conditions. He says that the rain “kept slush waist high” and “choked up the steps too thick with clay to climb”. This indicates that drainage in the trenches was poor and gives the reader an insight into how the soldiers had to live.

In ‘The Sentry’, Owen also describes the air in the trenches: “what murk of air remained stank old, and sour” here he is saying that the ventilation was poor. He is describing the air in the trenches as dark, gloomy and foul smelling. Owen further develops this, saying that in the trench remained “the smell of men who’d lived there years”. Here Owen talks about how the trench had been home to other men for long periods of time. He emphasises the point about ventilation by pointing out that the smell of these men is still there. Owen then goes on to describe how the soldiers “left their curse in the den, if not their corpses…” this tells the reader that the men in the trench were living alongside dead bodies. This instills a feeling of disgust and pity in the reader.

Owen conveys through his poems ‘The Sentry’ and ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ the horror of the war and by doing so emphasises the reality and brutality of the war.

In ‘The Sentry’ Owen shows about the horror of war through his vivid description of the situation. He talks about how the rain “choked up the steps too thick with clay to climb”,  this is suggesting the horror of the war in that its says that the clay is choking the steps. It creates a feeling of horror in that there is a sense of helplessness and horror that the slush is overpowering the man-made trench and there is very little that the soldiers can do about this.

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So too, when Owen talks about the soldiers who “left their curse in the den, if not their corpses” is a feeling of horror created. Use of the word ‘curse’ creates a feeling of horror and fear and the word ‘corpse’ just highlights the reality and terror of the situation. Owen talks, moreover, about the way that the men “herded from the blast”. This conveys the fear and horror of the war as it suggests that the men were so afraid that they cowered together, like animals for support.

Furthermore, Owen effectively describes the sentry’s eyes as “eyeballs, huge-bulged ...

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