cape literature

1. Introduction of the poet,
Interpretation and Analysis of the
poem
“Anthem for Doomed Youth”.

2. Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen was born on 18 March 1893 in Oswestry, Shropshire.
He began writing poetry as a teenager
At around 18 years of age Owen became an unpaid lay assistant to a Church of England vicar in
Oxfordshire. He assisted with the care of the poor and sick in the parish. It was during this time
that he lost faith in the church to support people in need. This is a theme running through
Anthem for Doomed Youth as he shows his disillusionment at religion and the associated
ceremonies.
In 1913 he went to France for two years to work as a language tutor.

3. IIn 1915 he returned to England to enlist in the army and was commissioned into the
Manchester Regiment. After spending the remainder of the year training in England,
he left for the Western Front in early January 1917.
Owen had first-hand experience of the horrors of war and life in the trenches. After
surviving heavy fighting, he was diagnosed with shellshock - the term used then to
describe what is now referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder. He was evacuated to
England and arrived at Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh in June 1917.
Here he met the poet Siegfried Sassoon, whose work Owen admired very much. The
two became friends, and with Sassoon’s influence and encouragement Owen developed
into a confident talented poet.

4. Anthem for Doomed Youth was written in 1917 while Owen was at Craiglockhart.
A handwritten draft of the poem survives on which Owen has written, “With
Sassoon’s amendments”. The title of the poem was Sassoon’s suggestion.
Owen returned to France in August 1918 and in October was awarded the Military
Cross for bravery.
He was killed on 4 November 1918 while attempting to lead his men across the
Sambre canal at Ors. The news of his death reached his parents on 11 November,
Armistice Day, when the world was celebrating the end of the war.

5. Interpretation

6. The poem “Anthem for Doomed Youth” was written by British poet Wilfred
Owen in 1917, while he was in the hospital recovering from the injuries and
trauma that he sustained during World War I. The poem tells us about the loss of
young lives during the war and it describes the sensory terrors of battle. It points
out the issue with the official ritual and ceremony that encircles war (indicated
by the word “Anthem” in the title) bickering that prayers, bells and choirs are
improper tributes to the brutal reality of War. Anthem for Dying Youth was
Owen’s second famous poem, following Dulce Et Decorum Est which means “It is
sweet and fitting to die for one’s country”.

7. Analysis

8. Tone:
● Satirical- This tone can be seen in the first stanza. The soldiers fight and die without
receiving the proper religious commemoration for their sacrifice, their deaths marked
by gunfire instead of bells, and the burial rites of the Church are described
as”mockeries.”
● Sincerity - This can be seen in the second stanza of the poem. The ‘sad shires’ is
short of the means to bury their honored dead, without the traditional items for
funerary rights. However, this lack shows us genuine grief, which is powerful and
original.
● Irony- A sonnet is usually used for romance and love so since the poet wrote about
death and destruction using this writing style it seen as ironic.

9. Mood
● Melancholy- The assonance of “doomed youth” creates a long and
depressing mood.

10. ● The word ‘anthem’ has two meanings. It can refer to a rousing song used by
a certain group or team - think of football or national anthems for
example. It can also refer to music set to a religious reading which
is sung by a choir during some Christian services.
This double meaning could be used ironically here as the poem rejects
the rousing propaganda that glorified war, and also questions the
usefulness of religious ceremonies and practices when soldiers die.
● The word ‘doomed’ suggests that these men are already dead and
implies little hope before we even read the poem.
● Finally, the word ‘youth’ seems used to remind us how young and
innocent these soldiers were, making their futile deaths all the
more poignant.

11. The poem opens with a disturbing simile comparing “these who die” to
cattle. This dehumanises the men, making them seem like animals being
slaughtered. Again it makes a mockery of the jingoistic poetry used to
glamorise the war.
The sounds of the weapons in the octet are made more threatening because
of Owen’s use of personification. The “monstrous anger” of the guns
emphasises the hostile surroundings in the trenches.
Owen uses a range of sound effects in the octet to recreate the harsh noises
of war. Onomatopoeic words such as “stuttering” and “wailing” and the
alliterative “rifles’ rapid rattle” create an aural picture which puts the
reader right in the dramatic battle scenes.

12. Themes
● The horror of modern warfare- The poet laments the young soldiers “who
die as cattle” in trench warfare and do not receive fitting memorials for
their service to their country
● Heroism on the home front- The care, patience, and courage of those
waiting on the home front is sharply contrasted with the brutality of war.
● Death- The poet speaks about the mass killimg of the soldiers.
● Religion
● War

13. Style

14. This poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, also called an Italian
sonnet. Its first eight lines(octect) have an ababcdcd
rhyme scheme and its final six lines(sestect) have an
effegg rhyme scheme.

15. What WW1 was like.

17. End of presentation