NEW IB ENGLISH LITERATURE COURSE BD SOMANI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL MUMBAI. EMAIL andrew.callahan@bdsint.org
(Please note this site uses Google cookies in compliance with EU Law. By using this site you accept that cookies are used here.)
Thursday, 6 October 2016
Spring Offensive by Wilfred Owen- GRADE 12 SL - COMMENTS
the poem Send Off is written by Wilfred Owen. Through the poem, Wilfred Owen is trying to convey to the people about the misconceptions of war. People often view war as a noble act and an act of valour and courage. However, the poet is trying to send the message that war only causes death and destruction. It senselessly takes away the lives of young soldiers. Even if war doesn't kill a soldier, it traumatizes the soldier for the rest of his life and he slowly dies from within. The title of the poem is significant as it emulates the idea of the soldiers being sent off to fight in the war, most of which won't be returning back. The phrase "grimly gay" is important as it is an oxymoron. The poet deliberately uses this phrase. Grimly suggests something that is depressing whereas gay suggests a happy and joyous emotion. The public was depressed that the soldiers were being sent off to fight in the war, but at the same time, they were happy that the soldiers were fighting to defend their country and their countrymen. Wilfred Owen is therefore, trying to tell the readers that there is no patriotism in war, and it is this wrong notion that encourages soldiers to fight in the battlefield leading them to their deaths.
"Disabled" is one of Wilfried Owen's most deep and disturbing poems. It was written while he was recovering at Craiglockhart Hospital in Edinburgh. Owen, through his poem is trying to convey to the reader the horrible aftermath of war, where the people who have survived have life long disabilities. He talks about how the town used to be lively before the war. In the first stanza the young soldier is depicted in a dark, isolated state as he sits in his wheelchair. In the next stanza the soldier starts remembering the good ol' days before the war. Owen uses only two similes in this poem. The first refers to the voices of the playing boys which remind him of pleasant, rather than enforced, leisure. Even so, their voices ‘rang saddening like a hymn. The title of the poem also makes a sense of despair in the reader when they read the poem. Wilfried Owen, in his poem tries to convey to his audience the horrors of war.
One of the most famous poems written by war veteran Wilfred Owen, Spring Offensive encapsulates the calmness and silence of the moments leading to the storm. The title of the poem itself is the first source of irony: “spring” is often known as a time of rebirth and joy, whereas “offensive” implies destruction and war.
Diction places a significant role in the meaning derived from the poem. The poem begins with the use of a military term “halted”. The use of the world “halt” instead of the word “stop”, and the use of the term “at ease” reinforce the idea that despite the clam atmosphere, the soldiers are still faced with the realities of war. The use of the term “they fed” the soldiers are dehumanized, and are made to seem like a herd of animals.
Nature is a prominent and dynamic motif in this poem. The first few stanzas of the poem, which focus on the moments leading up to the offensive, discuss the beauty of nature. The first stanza mentions the “shade” provided by the “last hill”. This suggests the nature is offering protection to the soldiers from the incoming attacks. The simile in the second stanza likens the healing and restorative effect of summer on the soldiers’ bodies to the healing impact of an injected drug. The beauty of nature is further discussed through personification in the third stanza: the brambles that “clung” to the soldiers with “sorrowing hands” suggest that even nature was sorry for the imminent attacks. As the attacks begin from the fourth stanza onward, the beauty of nature is soon juxtaposed by its horrors. There is shift from a “blank sky” to one that “burned with fury” due to the forthcoming attacks. The opening of the earth’s surface forming “cups”, which were filled by soldiers’ blood provides a stark contrast to the beautiful imagery of the land in the previous stanzas.
The stark contradiction in the tone of the poem and role of nature before and after the start of the attacks creates a palpable tension in the poem. The contradiction can also serve as an indicator how transformative war can be for not only those who partake in it “crawling slowly back” into society, but also for humanity itself. Like many of Owen’s poems, Spring Offensive captures the “superhuman inhumanity” of war.
Like most of his poems, ‘The send off’, written by Wilfred Owen, is based on war. The poem begins on a false note due to the title as a ‘send off’ generally refers to the celebratory way of seeing off loved ones. However, Owen’s poems take a very realistic approach, instead of writing about the hope of return, like most poets, he makes himself and the world face the harsh truth – that these soldiers will not come back and even if they do return they will be completely unrecognizable.
He uses imagery to depict the trauma of war. ‘Down’ and ‘close’ in the first verse, portray depression and oppression respectively. Owen uses dramatic effect to make his negative emotions seem more powerful. He uses the word ‘white’ and ‘dead’ in the same verse to contradict peace with death; to tell the reader how the fight for peace itself is ironical. The word, ‘Darkening’ , points towards the future, how their chances of survival get thinner and thinner, by the day. However, the slight glimmer of hope came from their feeling of togetherness – ‘they sang their way to the siding-shed’. Owen creates a juxtaposition in order to emphasize on the fact that there is no hope, yet people fool themselves.
The soldiers have no control over their lives and this is what Owen hates. He hates that they can’t even decide when to die. The fact that the phrases – ‘signals nodded’ and ‘a lamp winked at a guard’ are used; emphasizes on the theme of conspiracy. As a reader, I feel sad that the soldiers who are risking their lives are unaware of the conspiracy; or real truth of war – that is how disastrous it is. Owen tries to put out the message that the concept of war-heroes is false. He feels that every ounce of destruction caused by a soldier, causes their own self destruction.
Wilfred Owen was a famous poet and soldier who fought in the First World War. As a young man, he had heard a lot of patriotic sentiments expressed by those that glorified war and encouraged young men to enlist. However, it was only when he himself became a soldier that he discovered the brutality of war, and experienced the terror of watching those around him die. “Dulce et Decorum Est” is Owen’s sardonic response to the glorification of war and his use of first person narration, vivid imagery and irony adds to the poignancy of the poem.
The title alludes to an ode written by the Roman poet Horace, and means “it is sweet and right to die for your country”, which is ironical because of the horrifying deaths these soldiers face. Army generals frequently used it to entice youth to join the army. Owen names his poem thus to refute the false patriotic sentiments and rhetoric used to lure unsuspecting young soldiers.
Owen uses a tone of bitterness and indignation, along with hyperbole to convey the horrors that the exhausted men face in war. “All went lame: all blind” also indicates the intensity of his feelings. The first part of the poem describes the exhaustion of the soldiers and the imagery in this stanza contrasts with the glory of dying heroically for one’s country.
In the sixth and seventh lines of the poem, Owen uses the words “Gas! Gas!” as a complete short sentence that depicts the agony and despair of a dying soldier, a victim of a gas attack, drowning in his own blood. His own guilt is depicted in his inability to help the soldier who fell “before [his] helpless sight.” The use of first person creates a new perspective for the poem as it describes the soldier’s death through the eyes of another surviving soldier.
This allows Owen to express the emotional scars and trauma that war veterans are left with. The narrator describes the death of his friend as one he sees in “some smothering dreams”. This suggests that the narrator is haunted by what he had witnessed on the battlefield, the scars of which will remain with him for life.
the poem Send Off is written by Wilfred Owen. Through the poem, Wilfred Owen is trying to convey to the people about the misconceptions of war. People often view war as a noble act and an act of valour and courage. However, the poet is trying to send the message that war only causes death and destruction. It senselessly takes away the lives of young soldiers. Even if war doesn't kill a soldier, it traumatizes the soldier for the rest of his life and he slowly dies from within. The title of the poem is significant as it emulates the idea of the soldiers being sent off to fight in the war, most of which won't be returning back.
ReplyDeleteThe phrase "grimly gay" is important as it is an oxymoron. The poet deliberately uses this phrase. Grimly suggests something that is depressing whereas gay suggests a happy and joyous emotion. The public was depressed that the soldiers were being sent off to fight in the war, but at the same time, they were happy that the soldiers were fighting to defend their country and their countrymen.
Wilfred Owen is therefore, trying to tell the readers that there is no patriotism in war, and it is this wrong notion that encourages soldiers to fight in the battlefield leading them to their deaths.
"Disabled" is one of Wilfried Owen's most deep and disturbing poems. It was written while he was recovering at Craiglockhart Hospital in Edinburgh. Owen, through his poem is trying to convey to the reader the horrible aftermath of war, where the people who have survived have life long disabilities. He talks about how the town used to be lively before the war. In the first stanza the young soldier is depicted in a dark, isolated state as he sits in his wheelchair. In the next stanza the soldier starts remembering the good ol' days before the war. Owen uses only two similes in this poem. The first refers to the voices of the playing boys which remind him of pleasant, rather than enforced, leisure. Even so, their voices ‘rang saddening like a hymn.
ReplyDeleteThe title of the poem also makes a sense of despair in the reader when they read the poem. Wilfried Owen, in his poem tries to convey to his audience the horrors of war.
One of the most famous poems written by war veteran Wilfred Owen, Spring Offensive encapsulates the calmness and silence of the moments leading to the storm. The title of the poem itself is the first source of irony: “spring” is often known as a time of rebirth and joy, whereas “offensive” implies destruction and war.
DeleteDiction places a significant role in the meaning derived from the poem. The poem begins with the use of a military term “halted”. The use of the world “halt” instead of the word “stop”, and the use of the term “at ease” reinforce the idea that despite the clam atmosphere, the soldiers are still faced with the realities of war. The use of the term “they fed” the soldiers are dehumanized, and are made to seem like a herd of animals.
Nature is a prominent and dynamic motif in this poem. The first few stanzas of the poem, which focus on the moments leading up to the offensive, discuss the beauty of nature. The first stanza mentions the “shade” provided by the “last hill”. This suggests the nature is offering protection to the soldiers from the incoming attacks. The simile in the second stanza likens the healing and restorative effect of summer on the soldiers’ bodies to the healing impact of an injected drug. The beauty of nature is further discussed through personification in the third stanza: the brambles that “clung” to the soldiers with “sorrowing hands” suggest that even nature was sorry for the imminent attacks. As the attacks begin from the fourth stanza onward, the beauty of nature is soon juxtaposed by its horrors. There is shift from a “blank sky” to one that “burned with fury” due to the forthcoming attacks. The opening of the earth’s surface forming “cups”, which were filled by soldiers’ blood provides a stark contrast to the beautiful imagery of the land in the previous stanzas.
The stark contradiction in the tone of the poem and role of nature before and after the start of the attacks creates a palpable tension in the poem. The contradiction can also serve as an indicator how transformative war can be for not only those who partake in it “crawling slowly back” into society, but also for humanity itself. Like many of Owen’s poems, Spring Offensive captures the “superhuman inhumanity” of war.
Like most of his poems, ‘The send off’, written by Wilfred Owen, is based on war. The poem begins on a false note due to the title as a ‘send off’ generally refers to the celebratory way of seeing off loved ones. However, Owen’s poems take a very realistic approach, instead of writing about the hope of return, like most poets, he makes himself and the world face the harsh truth – that these soldiers will not come back and even if they do return they will be completely unrecognizable.
ReplyDeleteHe uses imagery to depict the trauma of war. ‘Down’ and ‘close’ in the first verse, portray depression and oppression respectively. Owen uses dramatic effect to make his negative emotions seem more powerful. He uses the word ‘white’ and ‘dead’ in the same verse to contradict peace with death; to tell the reader how the fight for peace itself is ironical. The word, ‘Darkening’ , points towards the future, how their chances of survival get thinner and thinner, by the day. However, the slight glimmer of hope came from their feeling of togetherness – ‘they sang their way to the siding-shed’. Owen creates a juxtaposition in order to emphasize on the fact that there is no hope, yet people fool themselves.
The soldiers have no control over their lives and this is what Owen hates. He hates that they can’t even decide when to die. The fact that the phrases – ‘signals nodded’ and ‘a lamp winked at a guard’ are used; emphasizes on the theme of conspiracy. As a reader, I feel sad that the soldiers who are risking their lives are unaware of the conspiracy; or real truth of war – that is how disastrous it is. Owen tries to put out the message that the concept of war-heroes is false. He feels that every ounce of destruction caused by a soldier, causes their own self destruction.
Wilfred Owen was a famous poet and soldier who fought in the First World War. As a young man, he had heard a lot of patriotic sentiments expressed by those that glorified war and encouraged young men to enlist. However, it was only when he himself became a soldier that he discovered the brutality of war, and experienced the terror of watching those around him die. “Dulce et Decorum Est” is Owen’s sardonic response to the glorification of war and his use of first person narration, vivid imagery and irony adds to the poignancy of the poem.
ReplyDeleteThe title alludes to an ode written by the Roman poet Horace, and means “it is sweet and right to die for your country”, which is ironical because of the horrifying deaths these soldiers face. Army generals frequently used it to entice youth to join the army. Owen names his poem thus to refute the false patriotic sentiments and rhetoric used to lure unsuspecting young soldiers.
Owen uses a tone of bitterness and indignation, along with hyperbole to convey the horrors that the exhausted men face in war. “All went lame: all blind” also indicates the intensity of his feelings.
The first part of the poem describes the exhaustion of the soldiers and the imagery in this stanza contrasts with the glory of dying heroically for one’s country.
In the sixth and seventh lines of the poem, Owen uses the words “Gas! Gas!” as a complete short sentence that depicts the agony and despair of a dying soldier, a victim of a gas attack, drowning in his own blood. His own guilt is depicted in his inability to help the soldier who fell “before [his] helpless sight.” The use of first person creates a new perspective for the poem as it describes the soldier’s death through the eyes of another surviving soldier.
This allows Owen to express the emotional scars and trauma that war veterans are left with. The narrator describes the death of his friend as one he sees in “some smothering dreams”. This suggests that the narrator is haunted by what he had witnessed on the battlefield, the scars of which will remain with him for life.