Summarise and explain the key elements of Futility by Wilfred Owen

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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.

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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 which reinforces the previous impression, while ...

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The Quality of Written Communication is fair, but it is hard to gauge a proper mark considering the above comments are not in essay form. As a result of the brief note-styled discourse, the grammar is simplified and sometimes erroneous to the rules of Standard English. I can only recommend that when writing full essays candidates employ all the traditional writing tools for constructing coherent writing and avoid writing in shorthand.

The Level of Analysis is very good, and some parts are show highly advanced levels of analysis for a GCSE student. Comments on the effect of ambiguity in the syllabic rhythm of the poem are something A Level students are expected to know. And so are ideas about pararhyme and assonance. Close attention to detail is shown with regard to how these features effect the reader, with intelligent comments about the disrupted flow of rhythm. To go further, the candidate could mention how this represents the sudden end of a life; that the natural flow of life has been disrupted by an ugly, man-made intervention, hence to uncomfortable dissonance of the pararhyme and the apparent rejection of conventional sonnet structure. Also notice how he breaks the traditional structure into two stanzas of equal line length - how does the tone change? What is the significance of breaking the traditional sonnet structure in two? How does it effect the typical intensity of fourteen-line sonnets? This is all extra analysis that could be added, but where I would really like the candidate to concentrate further is more contextual appreciation. For instance, notice how Owen implores, as if praying, for the sun to wake the dead. As a born Christian, it's peculiar to see him place his faith in nature rather than God? Some contextual research will tel you why Owen rejected God in favour of nature - by painting sun as the most powerful object in the poem he is suggesting that is will be nature that will take care of the dead's bodies and souls, not God. If this were included, the answer would be a resounding top mark answer. That isn't to say what is written is not strong enough, but because a bit more contextual appreciation is required, as well as a standard essay format, the candidate cannot achieve top marks just yet.

The writings here are more noted-based than appearing as a proper essay, but nonetheless they make some very valuable points about the language, structure and context of Wilfred Owen's 'Futility' that all GCSE candidates should look to be aware of. The candidate express in bullet point form a number of ideas regarding how the structure informs the poem, and how the language choice creates a submissive serenity and tranquility. They also conduct some contextual research - the poem was indeed labelled by Owen as a poem of grief, as it mourns the loss of a soldier's life. Digging further, the candidate could talk that 'Futility' was really as intimate and as sentimental as Owen ever got, because to convey so much sadness about the immeasurable loss of life during WWI wouldn't have given him the scope for the irony and bitterness that colours in his other poems. The candidate makes many intelligent references to 'Anthem for Doomed youth' and 'Dulce et Decorum est', so there are comparative points included, showing knowledge of a variety of Owen's poetry. It is also good that the candidate outwardly recognises the most important aspect of Owen's poetry - The Pity of War.