In Owen's poems, his message and general perspective to the reader is that war isn't right, and needs to be stopped. Owen proves that war is terrible through the vast variety of ways he describes the wars. Owen's use of figurative language and tonality enhances his point of view on the atrocities of war. Owen's message to the reader is also meaningful, considering his poems were recounts of his experiences, and that he also died at war. Key techniques to directly involve us in Owen's recounts include the narration throughout the poem, the imagery, the structure of his poems and the representation of war through many different metaphors and similes.
Owen's ultimate views of the horrors of war are clearly illustrated in the colorful imagery of his poems. Some of the techniques Owen uses to achieve this are figurative language, similes, metaphors, alliteration, tonality and the idea of juxtaposition. These are presented in the bluntest and ‘to the point' ways. Some examples of this include quotes from his poems such as ‘dying like cattle', ‘the rifles rapid rattle', ‘guttering chocking and drowning', the juxtaposition example of the soldiers and beggars and the metaphorical sounds of war and a funeral. Examples such as these show us that Owen's view on war was one of hatred and disgrace. With quotes such as these, the tonalities reflected in his poems are sad, depressing and miserable.
Another one of the ways Owen reflects his message to the reader is through the ingenious structure and punctuation marks in his poems. Owen's stanzas in each of his poems are carefully written to complement the mood or emotion of the stanza. This adds extra meaning to the ideas Owen is presenting to us in each stanza. Owen carefully uses punctuation marks to bring out important words or imagery in his poems. He also uses rhetorical questions to leave the reader thinking about Owen's thoughts on war. Own uses hyphens to add extra information to a sentence. This allows Owen to tell us as much as he can about the mayhem at war. An example of this is the sentence ‘Move him into the sun-
Gently its touch awoke him once'
The overall realistic representation of war Owen portrays to us through his poems leads us to assume that Owen is an anti-war poet. Owen's message is strongest in the sense that these poems were recounts of his experiences at war. Poems such as Owens can provide an outlet to war sufferers of widows. One of Owen's most realistic representations of war is in the poem ‘Spring Offensive'. The graphic moods and tonality of the soldiers marching up the hill opens us up to the world of war. From this we see the message Owen puts forward to us. As an anti-war poet, Owen is direct in the use of his words and techniques of his poems.
Owen has a strong religious backing to the notion of war and fighting. This is represented in the deep metaphorical meanings in the ‘futility' poem. Hints of Owen's religious views are also found in the narration of his poems. Owen speaks directly to us in the second person to literally tell us of the significance of his poems. This is what allows Owen to really put out his anti-war notions to prove that it is not sweet to die for your country.
In conclusion, Owen's message to the reader is that war is wrong and should be put to an end. Owen achieves this point of view in his poems through the use of figurative language, narration, tonality and mood, structure, language and word choices. These are what captivate us into reading his poems and learning Owen's message on war.
