Commentary on "Anthem for Doomed Youth"
Commentary on "Anthem for Doomed Youth"
"Anthem for Doomed Youth" by Wilfred Owen aims to expose the horrors of war, and its effect on the lives of those involved. The author attempts to reflect the experiences of the soldiers, a community that he himself belongs to. As Owen notes in the introductory remarks, his poems are on the pity of war, and this poem sets out to examine the actualities of life on the front. He also draws comparison with the life outside the trenches, referring to religion that he describes as impotent in response to the horrors of the war. The author does this through diction and series of images that aim to create a visual and acoustic representation of the two worlds.
The title of instantaneously draws the attention of the reader, which sets out the tone of the poem. The use of the musical item, performed at large processions, "anthem" can have two meanings. First of all, it resembles a song performed at a mass gathering possibly with a religious connotation, but also an appropriate musical background for a march, with the destination, death, revealed in the title itself. The "doomed" youth describes the situation that the soldiers are, and how inevitable their deaths are. Interestingly enough Owen, at first used the word "dead" instead of "doomed", implying that not only they are ill-fated, but they are, in fact, already dead. The use of the phrase "doomed youth" is paradoxical itself as one considers the "youth" as full of hope in life, while the term "doomed" changes the presentation of the youth in general. As the title gives the fist impression of the poem in general, here the author uses assonance with the phrase "doomed youth" with the repeated vowel sound that sets an ominous tone for the poem.
The poem starts out with a question, asking what signals can be used to mark the demise of the soldiers, whose deaths are described as mass slaughter of animals. The use of this image unifies the soldiers before the merciless guns of the enemy, and strips them of their individuality. This primarily exemplifies the dehumanization that the soldiers experience on the front, and how all the aspects of their personality are destroyed in an instant. This is a major theme in the wartime literature, as it also refers to the so-called "lost generation" that emerges after the war, ...
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The poem starts out with a question, asking what signals can be used to mark the demise of the soldiers, whose deaths are described as mass slaughter of animals. The use of this image unifies the soldiers before the merciless guns of the enemy, and strips them of their individuality. This primarily exemplifies the dehumanization that the soldiers experience on the front, and how all the aspects of their personality are destroyed in an instant. This is a major theme in the wartime literature, as it also refers to the so-called "lost generation" that emerges after the war, one without a future nor an identity. This image also aims to show that no glory is to be obtained at the front, contrary to the popular opinion amongst the youth at the time, and shows that soldiers die mechanically, having lost their identity in the confusion of war.
The next two lines of the octave respond to the initial question with aggressive images of the battlefield. Weapons, here, for example are personified with the expression "monstrous anger of the guns", which replace the preconceived sounds of the bells and peaceful processions, with loud and roaring noises of the instruments of mass slaughter. This personification is of specific significance, as it suggests that the anger of the soldiers is transferred into their weapons, blending the living and the simple objects in one on the battlefield. The image of the battlefield is further developed in the mind of the reader with the sounds described with "stuttering rifles rapid rattle". Not only does the use of alliteration and the repetition of the "r" sound imitate the frequency of the bullets being fired, but the use of onomatopoeia creates an acoustic representation of the battlefield as the line reads with pauses with a pace imitating a staccato. Here the author reveals the answer to his initial question, suggesting that the sound of the harsh and repetitive sounds of the bullets will accompany them to their death.
The first mention of the impotence of religion in matters of the front and soldiers life is exemplified with the representation of the rapid rattle of the bullets that "patter out their [soldier's] hasty orisons". Therefore, this suggests that the bullets, in their usual manner will utter their rushed prayers, not allowing them to confess their sins before death, and this above all is vivid reference to life away from the front. Therefore, the original question is answered in a manner that whatever the signal of death might be, it will be in the hands of the merciless bullets.
With the full stop at the end of the first lines, the author presents another comparison, where the emphasis is initially put on the things that the soldiers do not have, or are distant from, using the triple negation of "no", "no" and "nor". The stress is put on the things that exist away from the front, perhaps in a peaceful ceremony, although interestingly enough, Owen displays almost a critical view of the general picture, calling the ceremonies a "mockery". This might have been done to show that religion or Gods, have nothing to do with, or are inefficient in doing something to prevent the deaths of thousands of men. This is a serious attack, but this can also be interpreted as though indicating that these ceremonies are only mockeries for the soldiers, as such things have lost any meaning in their lives on the front.
The focus is also the sounds, both on and away from the front .The poem continues to note that no prayers or voices will be there to accompany their departure from the world. At this point, the first reference outside the battlefield can be seen with the mentioning of the "sad shires" that will abstain from sounding any last posts, or "bugles", while the calls for retreat are lost in the chaos of the war. The author contrasts this with the sounds of the battlefield, that are described with the piercing and wailing sounds of the movement of the shells, which are "demented" or mad, but at the same time appear to be a choir, hitting in an organized and harmonic manner. The structured symphony of the shells is contrasted with the funeral marches at home, and here a parallel is drawn, showing the difference between deaths on the front, with musical explosions of the shells, and at home, with the mournful song of the band.
The sestet expresses the futility of the soldier's lives as it opens with yet another question, asking, "what candles may be held to speed them all"?. The response is within the sestet itself, as the voice notes that it shall not be the candles, but the holy last glimmer in their eyes will mark their passage from the living.
The life of the soldiers after death is also described in the final two lines of the poem, as they suggest that the soldiers will forever live in the memories and thoughts of the people. This is underlined in the use of the "flowers" as a metaphor, that both imitates the flowers that are traditionally given in funerals, and the memories of the dead, that will be the tenderness of the people s minds. The final line of the poem an alliteration using the sound "d", accompanies the drawing dusk over the battlefield where soldiers lie, and the drawing down of blinds in the houses where they are mourned, and this appears to be a vivid comparison between the two worlds.
The poem employs the traditional structure of an Italian sonnet with an octave and a sestet, while a rhyming scheme close to a traditional English sonnet is used. The octave is dominated by the sounds of the battle, with a shift of focus on images and sights in the sestet, which are engulfed in silence and grief. This structure allows efficient transition from aggressive tone of the octave to a milder approach in the last six lines. The couplet, introduced at the end of the sonnet, is used to sum up the life and deaths of the soldiers.
The poem presents two worlds with characteristic images and sounds, and further develops these using the octave and the sestet. The images and sounds described aid to form a visual and acoustic image of the battlefield, during and after combat, as well as the mourning processions back home, described as though in fantasy. The author attempts to show the impact of the war on the lives of those who take part in it, and allows the reader to see the battle scenes through their eyes.
