Wilfred Owen's "Anthem for Doomed Youth" offers an anti-war perspective of war's horror and impacts on young soldiers.

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Commentary of Anthem For Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen

        Wilfred Owen's "Anthem for Doomed Youth" offers an anti-war perspective of war's horror and impacts on young soldiers. The poet uses an opposing and sympathetic tone to describe the terrifying and unfortunate deaths that war causes. By using the structure of a sonnet to create objection towards war, images of improper funerals, figurative devices of inhumane conditions and various sound devices of weapons to convey the theme of senseless destruction and unappreciated sacrifice.

        The title "Anthem for Doomed Youth" introduces the sympathetic and grieving tone by suggesting that the poem is a song to these young men who died in battle. The choice of diction, "anthem" is usually a happy celebratory song,  however along with "doomed youth" meaning young adult with an inescapable fate, this song seems to be sung for the tragedy that awaits these young people. Assonance is also used in "doomed youth" to sound dreadful and melancholic, thus setting a gloomy and depressing mood for the whole poem.

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        The theme of inhumane destruction and the disapproval of war is reflected in the structure and form of the "Anthem of Doomed Youth". The poem is similar to the Shakespearian and Petrarchan sonnet, except for the rhyming scheme of "EFFE" instead of the original "EFEF". By doing so, he introduces irony to the poem as Shakespearian sonnets are often about love, but Owen's poem expresses his disapproving hatred for war.

        The poet creates several images throughout his poem to highlight the theme. By drawing a metaphor between young soldiers and cattle, in line 1 "die as cattle", Owen once ...

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