Anthem for doomed youth - Wilfred Owen

Analysis of Wilfred Owen's "Anthem for Doomed Youth"

1. Anthem for doomed youth Wilfred Owen

2. Background on the poet Wilfred Owen was a young British man, who fought in World War 1. He joined the military believing all the propaganda that the government put out – that joining the army was the noble thing to do & it was good and honourable to die for your country. While on the battlefields though, he soon realised war was not glamorous – he saw friends die all around him – fighting another man’s battle. He became disillusioned and wrote poems discussing his experiences and emotions about the pointless nature of war. He was killed in battle shortly before the end of WW1

3. Full Text What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns.  Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle  Can patter out their hasty orisons. No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;  Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, – The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;  And bugles calling for them from sad shires. What candles may be held to speed them all?  Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes  Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.  The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;  Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,  And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

4. Title: Anthem for Doomed Youth An anthem is an important religious song (often expressing joy) or perhaps, a solemn song of celebration. “doomed” = destined to fail/die/end provides immediate contrast to the idea of an anthem – THIS anthem is sung for the doomed. “youth” = the people involved are very young The title is significant because it sets the tone for the rest of the poem – the youth in question are doomed to die and this anthem is sung in “celebration” of their shortened lives.

5. Stanza 1: Line 1 1: What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? This is a rhetorical question – he provides the answer in the next few lines. “passing-bells” = holy rituals or notifications Bells would be rung in churches whenever someone important died – so the speaker asks what kind of notice will be given to these dead soldiers. “die as cattle” = simile indicating how these soldiers are killed without mercy or consideration for their loved ones. They are murdered as “casualties of war” just like we kill cattle for food. The “passing-bells” indicate a religious image

6. Line 2: 2. Only the monstrous anger of the guns.  The speaker begins answering his question: These soldiers are not going to have church bells rung in their honour – ONLY the “monstrous anger of the guns” The words “monstrous anger” let us know these guns are not just angry – they are so filled with rage that they are like monsters. The speaker is clearly speaking about men dying during a war.

7. Lines 3 - 4 3. Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle  4. Can patter out their hasty orisons. ONLY the rifles will provide prayers for the souls of these dead soldiers. The “stuttering rifles” = machine guns “rifles rapid rattle” = alliteration: the harsh “R” sound emphasises how quickly the bullets fly out of this gun. “Orisons” = prayers The speaker is commenting on the fact that t hese are not thoughtful deaths—they're quick, loud, and messy. The battlefields are filled with guns and death.

8. Line 5 5. No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;  The speaker says there are no prayers and no bells on the front to mock the dying men. This is a strange/shocking image as you would not expect a prayer to be described as a mockery. The speaker, however, feels this way because he thinks that those rituals ignore what's really happening.  They glorify the soldier’s deaths by pretending that the fighting is purposeful and noble, when really it's no different than slaughtering cattle.

9. Lines 6 – 7 6. Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, – 7. The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;  L6:There is no genuine mourning going on, on the battlefield – only the choirs (Not real choirs though)… L7: The speaker expands on his idea of “battlefield choirs” to serve as a metaphor for the shells wailing down from airplanes. The diction: “shrill” “demented” “wailing” allows the speaker to point out the difference between what life and death are really like on the front, and the way that government presents it. T he speaker is highlighting the hypocrisy in pretending war was glorious, only to ignore the reality and impact on these young men’s lives.

10. Line 8 8. And bugles calling for them from sad shires. Our speaker now draws our attention to another sound of mourning for the soldier—the sound of bugles playing in sad towns. A "shire" is an English term for a county. The bugle is an instrument with military associations. This refers to all the towns left with half or more of their young men dead. There are quite a few musical references in this poem, but unlike the metaphorical choirs – this bugle music is real.

11. Stanza 2: Line 9 9. What candles may be held to speed them all?  Candles are traditionally lit to honour the souls of the dead. The speaker wants to know what candles all these mourners can hold in honor of these fallen soldiers.  (What ritual can speed their souls to heaven?) From what we have seen so far, it seems like there is no real way to help these soldiers…

12. Lines 10-11 10. Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes 11. Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes. The speaker again answers his own question… there are no candles on this battlefield. He disregards the importance of candles =the false mourning done by people safe at home. The boys – presumably the soldier’s sons – hold their candles at public memorials, but their true emotions are reflected in their eyes. Owen is emphasizing the emotional aspect of grief—the private mourning that goes on. Holding a public vigil is nowhere near as emotional as actual tears.

13. Line 12 12. The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall; A “pall” is the cloth typically draped over a coffin, so in this case, the girls' pale, drained faces (pallor) will be metaphorically draped over the soldiers' coffins. The girls are the wives and daughters left behind after a soldier’s death. This line brings our attention to the suffering caused by the death of the soldiers, not only to the soldiers themselves but also to their towns and families.

14. Line 13 13. Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,  "The tenderness of patient minds" will be like the flowers put on the soldiers' graves. In that way, this line could be telling us that the only positive tribute to the dead soldiers comes from the tender thoughts and concerns of those who have more patient, sensitive minds. Those who are really concerned about their safety and the danger they're in, and mourn their losses. However, it could also mean that these “tender minds” are not doing enough to bring the soldiers home – what good are flowers to a dead man?

15. Line 14 14. And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds. Our speaker ends with an image of blinds being drawn shortly before dark. The drawing of blinds certainly works on one hand as an image of death. The families that have lost young men are the ones closing the blinds, as a sort of matching image to the closing and ending of a life. It also works as an image of civilians at home, with the drawing down of blinds acting as a symbol for the way they're keeping out the realities of the war. They don't want to be troubled by it – or to see the darkness, the terrible realities of the war.

16. Summary Our speaker asks us what sort of notice or holy ritual marks the deaths of soldiers who are slaughtered in battle. He then answers his own question, pointing out that there are no special occasions or pleasant ceremonies on the warfront—only the sounds of weapons and battle, which he compares to a demented song and ceremony. Then he asks what ritual can be done to make those deaths a little easier to deal with. He concludes that only tears and the pale, drained faces of their loved ones will send these deceased boys off; the tenderness of patient minds will be like flowers on their graves. In the last image, our speaker comments on the civilians ignoring the realities of war and believing the propaganda.