“Anthem For Doomed Youth” Critical Evaluation

“Anthem For Doomed Youth” Critical Evaluation

“Anthem for Doomed Youth” Critical Evaluation

“Write about a poem you have read this year which depicts the horror of war in such a way as to make it real for you. How did the poet use language and poetic techniques to bring the experience of war to life for you?”
A poem I have read this year which depicts the horror of war in such a way to make it real for me is “Anthem for Doomed Youth” by Wilfred Owen. In this wartime sonnet, Owen expresses his bitterness and anger at the massacre of thousands of young soldiers in the First World War. The poet used various techniques such as imagery, word choice and sound effects to depict graphically the horror of the battlefield and to convey his main theme of the horror of war from a soldier’s viewpoint. I am going to explain how Wilfred Owen uses these techniques to bring the experience of war to life for the reader.
The poet conveys two main messages through the poem; the horror of war and the painful death it caused for soldiers who would never receive a funeral and the seeming futility of religion in such a dire situation. The poem is split into two stanzas, each greatly contrasting the other. The first stanza tells of the horror that faced those who died on the battlefield. Owen’s word choice conveys his anger at the appalling way in which many soldiers died while fighting to protect their country and his outrage that they would never receive a proper funeral.   Stanza two has a tone of sadness. Owen describes the sorrow of the dead soldier’s families and friends, who will never have the chance to hold a funeral for their loved one.
Owen uses the poem’s clever title – “Anthem for Doomed Youth” – to create many images and ideas for the reader. “Anthem” suggests a happy song of celebration but here, Owen creates irony by placing it with “doomed”, outlining the contrast. The use of “Anthem” could also suggest that he is celebrating the lives of the brave soldiers who fought beside him. “Doomed Youth” suggests that...