Woodfarm High School
English Department
Intermediate 2 English
Revision Notes
Critical Essay: Poetry
葡萄糖偏高是什么原因“Anthem for Doomed Youth” by Wilfred Owen
Context: WW1 1914-18 Wilfred Owen was a soldier in the First World War. He was against war and was appalled by the horror of war.
Form: A sonnet – a 14 line formal poem. “Anthem for Doomed Youth” has two ctions, eac
h beginning with a question that the remainder of the ction answers. It has a strict pattern of rhythm and rhyme. There is an octet (8 lines) and a stet (6 lines). The octet is dominated by the sound of battle. The stet is characterid by muted grief. Linking the two ctions is the sound of the bugle.
Throughout the poem, Owen draws the comparison of traditional/religious/funeral rituals and ceremonies with the actuality of death for a soldier on the battlefield. The table below gives a brief outline of the comparisons.
Traditional Funeral / Religious Ceremonies | Death on the Battlefield |
“Anthem” | “Doomed Youth” |
Church bells announcing death 葱头炒鸡蛋 | Gunfire |
| 微信人物头像 Prayers for the decead | Rifle fire |
Choirs singing hymns | “demented choirs of wailing shells” |
Candles held by alter boys | Light reflected in dead soldiers’ eyes |
Velvet cloth to cover coffin | The pale, mourning faces of young girls |
Flowers | Kind, mourning thoughts of loved ones |
Drawing down of blinds out of respect and mourning. | Each slow dusk falling on the battlefield | 海塔
| |
Owen draws the comparisons to highlight two main themes:
1.The horror of war and the terrible conditions facing the soldiers, even after they have died.
2.The futility, meaninglessness and inadequacy of religion in respon to such horror as en during the war.
For a detailed analysis of each of the lines, e below.
全力冲刺Title: “Anthem” – musical item – heard at formal/large occasions – usually at a time of gathering of
a community - usually has religious connotations.
“Doomed” – ill-fated– curd – definitely going to die.
“Youth” – young people as a group, word has connotations of life and vigour. 世界海洋日
Technique: - assonance – “doomed youth” – repeated vowel sound – gives the title an ominous tone.
优秀士兵
Commentary: The title of the poem gives the reader the impression that they are about to hear a formal musical item. The fact that the “youth” are “doomed” is clearly wrong. The musical item does not materiali, as we are led by the poet into the battlefield to hear the sounds of war, rather than the music of a memorial rvice.
Line-by-line Analysis
L1. “What passing bells for the who die as cattle?”
The poem opens with a question – asking what sign/signal will be sounded to mark the death, the “passing” of the soldiers. The manner of their deaths is being compared to the mass slaughter of animals.
“passing-bells” – bells tolled to announce a death, to call the people to mourn .
“as cattle” – the deaths are impersonal, mass, in a group. Connotations of slaughter.
Commentary – the poet’s opinion is clear from the outt. He is appalled by the inhumane deaths the young men experience. He feels as if they are nameless and faceless – losing their identities in the chaos of war. They die together – brutally and mechanically. They line up and are helpless in the face of their enemy.
L2. “Only the monstrous anger of the guns”
>写景作文200字
