An in-depth guide and summary of the poem by Wilfred Owen, Anthem of Doomed Youth. It is full of example questions and notes on the poem and structure. It also includes an example essay question
Lament, expression of
gref and sorrow Destined for death Young Soldiers
A song that is
Anthem for Doomed Youth – Wilfred Owen
song with pride,
usually a tribute
None of the bells are rung Church bells Young soldiers Rhetorical
Simile, the young soldiers are being slaughtered,
likw cattle are slaughtered for meat
1. What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
They only hear guns (war)/death Personification
2. Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Personification
Movement More than one Happening Fast r-alliteration emphasises the sound of battle
Enjambme
3. Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
nt
Silence/Death rushed Prayers
Octave
4. Can patter out their hasty orisons.
Innapropriate rituals
5. No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
No-one will mourn them The shells of a bullet. As the shells are
because they’re alone except
falling it sounds like a choir
6. Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
The only sounds they’ll hear is the sound
crazy Personification Screaming/crying of bombs, bullets and death
7. The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; Semi-colon introduces final thought of octave
Trumpets Home/villages
s-alliteration extends sadness
8. And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
Volta
Introduces peaceful diction
Lit when someone dies Help them cross over
9. What candles may be held to speed them all?
No these boys doesn’t have light and life
completely
it dissapears
they’re eyes before
glimmering in
life/light is
The last bit of
10. Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Sestet
11. Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
Frowning and they’re heads are
The girls are pale Pall = coffinbearer
down (they’re mourning)
12. The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
They will be honoured with peace in the world
13. Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
It reminds the woman of the people they’ve lost
d-alliteration emphasises the sun setting in our life/death
14. And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
Tribute/Dedication
, Anthem for Doomed Youth – Wilfred Owen
Main Themes
1. Death
Owen describes how death can be so nuanced during war, and that it’s an everyday
thing that soldiers have become attenuated to and causes it to become just another part
of they’re day
2. Horrors of War
Owen vividly portrays the devastating impact of World War I, highlighting the brutality,
senselessness, and tragedy of conflict
3. Suffering
Owen poratrays the suffering of the young soldiers by using literary divices like
alliteration and comparisions to describe what it’s like to fight in the war
Sub Themes
1. Loss, Grief, and Remembrance
The poem explores the profound sorrow experienced by those left behind, mourning the
loss of young lives cut short by war
2. Futility of War
Owen questions the purpose and meaning of war, emphasizing its ultimate pointlessness
and the disillusionment it brings
3. Inadequacy of Religion
Owen reflects on the inadequacy of religious rituals and faith in the face of the harsh
realities of war
4. Mockery of Traditional Memorials
The poem contrasts the traditional rituals of mourning with the grim realities of war,
suggesting that such rituals are insufficient to honor the dead
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