Summarise and explain the key elements of Futility by Wilfred Owen
Summarise and explain the key elements of Futility by Wilfred Owen The front line on a bright winter morning. A soldier has recently died though we don't know precisely how or when. Owen appears to have known him and something of his background and he ponders nature's power to create life, setting it against the futility of extinction. Only five of his poems were published in Wilfred Owen's lifetime. FUTILITY was one of them. It appeared, together with HOSPITAL BARGE, in "The Nation" on 15th June 1918, shortly after being written - at Ripon probably - although Scarborough is a possibility. At about this time Owen categorised his poems, FUTILITY coming under the heading "Grief". It takes the form of a short elegiac lyric the length of a sonnet though not structured as one, being divided into seven-line stanzas. Owen uses the sun as a metaphorical framework on which to hang his thoughts. The sun wakes us (lines 2 & 4), stimulates us to activity (3), holds the key of knowledge (7), gives life to the soil (8), gave life from the beginning, yet (13) in the end the "fatuous" sunbeams are powerless. "Move him into the sun". "Move" is an inexact word yet we feel the movement has to be gentle, just as the command has been quietly spoken. (What a contrast with the body "flung" into the wagon in DULCE ET DECORUM EST.) Of course, we may have been influenced by "gently" in line 2
How has Duffy used classical myths in order to comment on the nature of relationships between men and women in The Worlds Wife(TM)?
How has Duffy used classical myths in order to comment on the nature of relationships between men and women in 'The Worlds Wife'? Carol-Ann Duffy wrote a collection of poems called 'The Worlds Wife' in which she mocks men and shows various Greek mythology and fairytales from a woman's perspective. She uses various literary techniques such as enjambment and cynical reference to portray and comment on the use of classical myths, in order to illustrate the nature of relationships between men and women. This essay will focus on four of these Greek myths, Medusa, Eurydice, Mrs Tiresias and Mrs Midas. The style of writing in which Duffy undertakes shows her to be very indiscreet in what she says and very orthodox, as she writes completely, almost the opposite of what many people think when it comes to characters in her poems. In the world's wife, Duffy has focussed a great deal on mythical characters, but manipulates them to the extent that she interprets them to be the opposite of what they are truly known to be in Greek mythology. Duffy, also a radical feminist, focuses on the woman's perspective, whereas Greek mythology is greatly depicted from a male's perspective, whereas Duffy looks at what the women had to put up with. Firstly, Mrs Midas, in Greek legend was the wife of Midas who wished that everything he touched be turned to gold, this wish was nonetheless granted.
Describe an important theme and why it was important in 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' by Wilfred Owen.
Describe an important theme and why it was important. In 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' by Wilfred Owen an important theme that interested me was the lie. That it is not glorious and it is not "sweet and honourable to die for your country." Through the use of vivid figurative language and effective poetic techniques such as rhyme, rhythm and alliteration Owen conveys a memorable experience creating horrific graphic imagery which develops his anti war theme. Through the use of personal pronouns, Owens expresses his own experience, detailing how the soldiers were mislead into believing fighting for your country was rewarding. This is important as Owen vividly expressed the opposite idea. In the first line, "Bent doubled like old beggars under sacks", gives you a snap shot of what is not expected of a soldier, while comparing them to "old beggars", uncomfortable and undesirable. Then Owen goes onto describe the flares as haunting to the soldiers. This suggests that they are sick of war and despise the constant reminders of it. The rhyming pattern of AB, AB, CD, CD reflects the organisation and the vigorous marching of the soldiers. This image of strong and repetitive steps is contradicted by the use of alliteration on the deep 'M' sound. "Men marched asleep." The message of strength is contradicted by the lack of rhythm. This indicates confusion, tiredness and portrays the soldiers as
Commentary on 'The Wasps Nest'
Commentary on 'The Wasps Nest' Rosenberg's 'The Wasps Nest' is a poem that on a literal basis tells the tale of a pair of wasps building their nest in a persons mailbox and the struggle of that person about whether to destroy the nest. Yet Rosenberg uses the idea of the nest as a microcosm of the human reality to explore the fragility of our existence in a world where we think ourselves masters of all that we survey. Rosenberg uses a sharp sense of contrast to crate a struggled tone within the poem. This is intended to examine Rosenberg's juxtaposition of strength and weakness, his strong sense of setting and powerful onomatopoeic description in the body of this essay. Rosenberg's key technique is his use of contrast between strength and weakness to expose our inherent fragilities. This contrast is tellingly revealed when he talks of "the fragile cradles of love", a metaphor which sums up the entirely of Rosenberg's poem. There is a sense of strength in the image conveyed through the word "cradle"- it brings to the reader's mind an idea of castles and physical strength that the walls and stone bring. Yet this "cradle" is "fragile" - a word more commonly used to describe a glass object than stone, but which highlights that within this bastion of strength, where people appear to be in control of their own destiny, they are instead at their weakest. This idea is reinforced as
Death of a naturalist
Death of a naturalist "Death of a Naturalist" is concerned with growing up and loss of innocence. The poet vividly describes a childhood experience that precipitates a change in the boy from the receptive and protected innocence of childhood to the fear and uncertainty of adolescence. Heaney organises his poem in two sections, corresponding to the change in the boy. By showing that this change is linked with education and learning, Heaney is concerned with the inevitability of the progression from innocence to experience, concerned with the transformation from the unquestioning child to the reflective adult. The poem opens with an evocation of a summer landscape which has the immediacy of an actual childhood experience. There is also a sense of exploration in "in the heart/Of the townland;" which is consistent with the idea of learning and exploration inevitably leading to discovery and the troubled awareness of experience. To achieve this Heaney not only recreates the atmosphere of the flax-dam with accuracy and authenticity, but the diction is carefully chosen to create the effect of childlike innocence and naivety. The child's natural speaking voice comes across in line 8; "But best of all". The vividness of his description is achieved through Heaney's use of images loaded with words that lengthen the vowels and have a certain weightiness in their consonants; "green
Discuss how Owen portrays the horrors of war in Dulce et Deocrum Est
Discuss how Owen portrays the horrors of war in "Dulce et Deocrum Est" WWI, an event that occurred from 1914 to 1918 was a horrific and shocking incident which shook the world. Wilfred Owen, a soldier of WWI, wrote the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" which portrayed the terrors, misery and misfortune of war. Firstly, Owen portrays war as terrifying, gruesome and horrific through his descriptive use of similes. This is evident when the narrator depicts the tragic suffering of a soldier in the line "And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime". During WWI gas bombs were invented and used as a very effective and efficient way of killing large numbers of the enemy. This quotation shows that the soldier is "flound'ring" because he is in so much pain and is trying to get away from the gas but he cannot because he is already too late and the gas is inescapable without a gas mask on. This simile suggests that the gas is so corrosive and poisonous that it would burn your skin. And if it was inhaled it would fill the lungs with fluid and had the same effects as when a person drowned. This simile is effective in portraying the horrors of war and startles the reader. The second technique which is used by Owen to portray the horrors of war is the effective usage of alliteration. This is apparent when he describes the eyes of a soldier to be twisting in pain in the line "And watch the
Dulce et Decorum est - Appreciation Essay
Dulce et Decorum est - Appreciation Essay By Luke Harris 10R/T Wilfred Owen was born in Shropshire in 1893. When the war started, he was in France, however, he came back home to enlist. He fought on the Western Front, but in June 1917, was diagnosed with shellshock and taken to Craiglockhart Hospital for treatment. Whilst he was there he met poets, such as Siegfried Sassoon. Craiglockhart hospital was the place where Wilfred Owen wrote his most famous poems, "Dulce et Decorum est" and "Anthem for doomed Youth" "Dulce et Decorum est" is a poem about soldiers in the front line and their experiences in the war. Wilfred Owen wrote this poem for the people back home, who thought that the soldiers were heroic and were glad to fight and die for King and Country. This, however, was not the case for many of the soldiers. This poem could have been written about many battles, but more probably about 1916, when gas attacks were first tried and tested against the English. I think that this poem is about the Battle of Marne. In the first section of the poem, Wilfred Owen describes the soldiers at the front line as "Old beggars". He is telling us that these men are so tired that they do not know what they are doing. They march on, because they are told to. Wilfred Owen describes these men as "Drunk with Fatigue". The first and second stanzas are relatively long, and then there is a
How does Seamus Heaney present his childhood in the poems "Follower" and "Mid-Term Break".
Matthew Barrett How does Seamus Heaney present his childhood in the poems "Follower" and "Mid-Term Break" Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet who wrote the two poems in a similar fashion. Heaney clearly wrote about different aspects and experiences of his childhood. The two poems I have studied are "Follower" and "Mid-Term Break". Both of the poems have ironic, interesting titles. The title "Follower" is used to describe Heaney's unusual relationship with his father. Heaney, as a young boy, grew up around his father, who was always working on their farm. Heaney may have applied the word "Follower" to describe how he used to regard his father as a hero or as someone he could emulate. In the poem he wrote, "I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake" which can be interpreted as to "Follow" in his footsteps. The title "Mid-Term Break" is very ironic. The reader is at once tricked into believing that the poem will be about Heaney's happy memories from his school holidays. This is not so as the poem is actually about how Heaney is going home to the funeral of his brother: A quite sad and dramatic event in his childhood. "Follower" and "Mid-Term Break" are both about Heaney and his relationship with his family. The poem "Follower" describes his relationship with his father. "Mid-Term Break" is all about the dramatic death of his younger brother during the holiday period. Seamus Heaney
Compare 'Digging' and 'Follower' by Seamus Heany
. Compare the ways in which 'Follower' and 'Digging' explore the theme of changes due to passing time Both 'Follower' and 'Digging' explore the theme of changes due to passing time. 'Follower' begins in the past tense, which demonstrates Heaney looking back into his past; whereas 'Digging' begins in the present tense, which suggests he is looking at his current situation whilst reflecting on memories and childhood experiences. The title 'Digging' explores the theme of changes due to passing time, as Heaney knows that he has no spade to follow men like his father and grandfather-he is a writer, not a farmer so will dig with his pen. Throughout the poem, Heaney draws close emphasis to childhood experiences, detailing sensory images, which suggest that these memories are important to him as he remembers them so clearly. Therefore, this suggests that the idea of 'digging' represents Heaney digging though his past and him digging into the English language to say and express what he wants to say, as words are now his tool. Heaney uses change in tense in 'Follower' to indicate his change in views and ideas. When he remembers about his father and grandfather at work he goes into the past tense but the last two stanzas return to the present. This suggests that his life on the farm as a child is in his past and he has a new life. He doesn't want to 'handle the spade' like his
Poetry Comparison - "The Charge Of The Light Brigade" and "Futility".
Poetry Comparison - "The Charge Of The Light Brigade" and "Futility" Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Wilfred Owen both write about events during war, but their poems are presented very differently. By using different form, structure and language, "The Charge Of The Light Brigade" comes across as a very public poem. This compares to Owen's private poem "Futility". In these poems, the soldiers are presented as brave during battle. Tennyson's "The Charge Of The Light Brigade" is comprised of six verses or stanzas, varying in length from six to twelve lines. Each line has two stressed syllables, called dimeter, and each stressed syllable is followed by two unstressed syllables. This rhythm gives the effect of hoof beats, helping the reader to imagine horses galloping, charging into battle. The use of the "falling" rhythm, in which the stress beat comes first, and then "falls off", shapes the underlying message of the devastating fall of the Light Brigade. The poem is largely effective because of the way it conveys the movement and noise of the charge, through the strong and repetitive falling meter. "Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward," This gives the impression of the whole brigade obeying a command to charge rather than concentrating on the individual efforts of a soldier. The rhyme scheme in "The Charge Of The Light Brigade" varies with each stanza, as does the
