The poems in this anthology were chosen for a number of reasons, including their relevance to World War I, to the audience and also the relevance to the anthology.

All of the poems selected were written in World War I, and have substantial subject matter related to that era. This is highly relevant to the target audience as many young people have relatives who have, or have not, returned from war. Another reason for selecting the poems I did was because I felt that the target audience, secondary school students, would be able to understand and interpret them easily.

The first poem, “The one Legged Man”, was written in 1916 by Siegfried Sassoon. Like most of Sassoon's' poems, this piece began as a journal entry about a man returning from war, thankful to be alive, despite missing a limb. Sassoon is an anti-war poet, and the vast majority of his poems speak of the horrors of war, and this poem is no exception, detailing everlasting effects on the men involved. “The one legged man” also contains poetic devices such as rhyme and alliteration.

Similarly, “How to die” was also written by Siegfried Sassoon in 1918. This poem is almost parallel to Sassoon's other poem, “The one legged man”, in terms of the poetic techniques used and the message he was trying to deliver. Again, Sassoon has demonstrated his strong beliefs against war in this poem.

The third poem, “In the trenches”, was written in 1916 by Isaac Rosenberg. Isaac Rosenberg is considered to be one of the greatest British war poets of all time. After reading “In the trenches”, it's not difficult to see why. Rosenberg's use of personification, symbolism and rhyme really give this poem another dimension.

Unfortunately, “In the trenches” was on of Rosenberg's last poems as he was shot and killed in France on April 1st, 1918.

The fourth poem was again written by Siegfried Sassoon in 1918 and it titled “Base Details”. This is one of the few poems where Sassoon writes about his superior officers (they are also mentioned in “The General”), making this poem somewhat unique. This poem involves Sassoon telling the audience about the life of military leaders and how it contrasts to life on the battlefield. Strangely, Sassoon has not included any poetic devices other then rhyme in this poem.

The final poem is titled “Anthem for the doomed youth”, and was written in 1917 by Wilfred Owen. Wilfred Owen, coincidently, was very good friends with Siegfried Sassoon. This is due to a stint the men shared together at the Craiglockhart hospital in August, 1917. Owen was strongly influenced and encouraged by Sassoon to continue poetry. Sadly, the following year Owen passed away at the age of 25 from the wounds he received in an earlier fight. This poem was one of Owen's last and is about the absolute hopelessness that men in war face.

The One-Legged Man August 1916 Siegfried Sassoon, 1886-1967

Propped on a stick he viewed the August weald; A
Squat orchard trees and oasts with painted cowls; B
A homely, tangled hedge, a corn-stalked field, A
And sound of barking dogs and farmyard fowls. B

And he'd come home again to find it more A
Desirable than ever it was before. A
How right it seemed that he should reach the span B
Of comfortable years allowed to man! B

Splendid to eat and sleep and choose a wife, A
Safe with his wound, a citizen of life. A
He hobbled blithely through the garden gate, B
And thought: "Thank God they had to amputate!" B

Analysis

What was surprising about this poem is that despite the poem being title “One-Legged man”, the reader doesn't actually learn this until the very last line. By doing this Sassoon has set the scene and created a visual imagery of the environment this man is returning to. Each line adds another facet to this visual image of this man's homecoming. The last paragraph sets the scene for his future life as a consequence of his life experiences. The image is finally completed with the final line identifying the man's injury.

This poem also manipulates many poetic devices including irony, alliteration and rhyme. The poem is very ironic in that despite losing his leg, the man still seams to be jovial and thankful. This is possibly due to the fact that he is still alive and managed to only lose one leg. The poem also has a rhyme scheme. This is represented by “A's” and “B's” on the poem.

The use of alliteration in “The one Legged Man” can be seen on lines 4 and 11. Sassoon has used alliteration effectively in this poem to create not only additionally detailed mental imagery, such as “Farmyard fowls”, but the use of alliteration in this poem also makes the image created more memorable. This is useful in this poem as the alliteration used, “Farmyard Fowls” and “Garden Gate”, both describe the peaceful environment this man is returning too.

How to die 1918 Siegfried Sassoon, 1886-1967

Dark clouds are smouldering into red A
while down the craters morning burns. B
The dying soldier shifts his head A
To watch the glory that returns; B
He lifts his fingers toward the skies A
Where holy brightness breaks in flame; B
Radiance reflected in his eyes, A
And on his lips a whispered name. B

You'd think, to hear some people talk, A
That lads go West with sobs and curses, B
And sullen faces white as chalk, A
Hankering for wreaths and tombs and hearses. B
But they've been taught the way to do it A
Like Christian soldiers; not with haste B
And shuddering groans; but passing through it A
With due regard for decent taste. B

Analysis

The title of this poem is very powerful. It tells the reader that this is a very sad poem and that by going to war death is almost certain. Sassoon has done this to give the reader an idea of war, and, as the reader reads the poem their insight into the brutality and the sorrow of war increases.

The first paragraph of this poem tells of the slow death of a soldier as the sun rises. Sassoon has skilfully manipulated language and his choice of words in order to create a visual image that is slowly sculptured as the first four lines are read.

“Dark clouds are smouldering into red while down the craters morning burns the dying soldier shifts his head
  To watch the glory that returns”

The first half of the second paragraph speaks of the patriotism of soldiers for their countries and how they “want” to die for their land. This can be observed in the line “Hankering for wreaths and tombs and hearses”. The final half of the second paragraph tells of how the soldier faces his destiny with courage.

In the trenches 1916 Isaac Rosenberg, 1890-1918

I snatched two poppies A
from the parapet's ledge, B
two bright red poppies A
that winked on the ledge. B
Behind my ear -
I stuck one through, A
one blood red poppy -
I gave to you. A

The sandbags narrowed -
And screwed out our jest, B
And tore the poppy -
You had on your breast ... B
Down - a shell - O! Christ, -
I am choked ... safe ... dust blind, I A
See trench floor poppies -
Strewn. Smashed you lie. A

Analysis

This poem demonstrates the true sorrow of war. The poem depicts a battalion of men in the trenches. One of the men sees two poppies on the parapets ledge, picks them, and gives one to his friend. The symbolism of the poppy in this half of the poem is that of hope.

The second half of the poem tells of the horror of how the trenches were bombed, and how the sandbags exploded; hurling dust everywhere. When the dust clears, the man sees what he believes to be poppies all over the floor. However, he is very sadly mistaken, as this is actually human blood. He then sees his shattered friend.

Sassoon has also included poetic devices such as personification, symbolism and rhyme. The line “One blood red poppy” is not only personification, but also symbolism. After World War I, poppies were a sign of respect for those who had fallen in battle, for those who's blood has been spilt. Sassoon has also incorporated rhyme into this poem, resulting in the poem flowing smoothly.

Base Details

1918

Siegfried Sassoon, 1886-1967

If I were fierce, and bald, and short of breath, A

I'd live with scarlet Majors at the Base, B

And speed glum heroes up the line to death. A

You'd see me with my puffy petulant face, B

Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel, A

Reading the Roll of Honour. "Poor young chap," B

I'd say-'I used to know his father well; A

Yes, we've lost heavily in this last scrap.' B

And when the war is done and youth stone dead, A

I'd toddle safely home and die-in bed. A

Analysis

The theme of this poem is anger and bitterness towards military leaders. Sassoon is attacking men who start wars who carelessly send soldiers to death from the comfort of their armchairs. Sassoon almost makes it sound like the “Scarlet Majors” couldn't care less whether 5 men die, or 5000, as long as they win the battle.

Sassoon also stereotypes military leaders by saying they are “Fierce, and bald, and short of breath”, and that they have “Puffy petulant faces”. Sassoon finishes this poem by saying “I'd toddle safely home and die - in bed”. This is symbolizing that many soldier who die, don't die in the comfort of a bed, rather, they die on cold, hard soil. Sassoon has also used the word “toddle” to create the image of how the majors walk. It is used in such a way that the reader acquires the image of a person who is somewhat obese.

Anthem for the doomed youth 1917 Wilfred Owen, 1893-1918

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? A --Only the monstrous anger of the guns. B Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle A
Can patter out their hasty orisons. B
No mockeries for them; no prayers nor bells, A
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,-- B
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; A
And bugles calling for them from sad shires. B

What candles may be held to speed them all? A
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes B
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes. B
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall; A
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, B
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds B

Analysis

This poem is called “Anthem for the doomed youth”. It describes the irony of the death of young soldiers being heralded by the sounds of gunfire, rapid rifles and shells wailing, and the sound of the bugle calling instead of the mourning by prayer and church bells. The second paragraph details the way that the dying soldier wait for death with the glimmering hope in their eyes, but this fades as they slip away, like a blind slowly drawing down , blocking out the light.

This poem contains vast amounts of poetic devices, including alliteration, rhyme and personification. Alliteration can be observed on lines 3, 8, 11 and 16. Personification is used in this poem to describe the sounds the guns and shells make. An example of this can be seen on lines two and three, where guns have “Monstrous anger”, and have a “stutter”. The word “Stuttering” is also used effectively as onomatopoeia, allowing the reader to understand the rifle further. Shells are described as sounding like a “Wailing, Demented choir”. This is effective because of the mental imagery created by the word “choir”. This allows the reader to create their own picture of the “Wailing, Demented choir”. The rhyme scheme can be observed by the “A's” and “B's” adjacent to the poem.

However according to history records, these are not the only things the Great War had an impact on. The war also had a major effect on poetry. Talented poets like Siegfreid Sassoon, Edward Thomas, Isaac Rosenberg and Wilfred Owen all expressed their views and stories of the war using poetry. Amongst the crowd, Wilfred Owen stood out for his distinguished and amusing way

Wilfred Owen was not just a great poet; he was also a soldier that fought in the war. Owen was a born of Tom and Susan Owen on the 18th of March 1893 in Oswestry, England. At an early stage, Owen gained interest in poetry but there is no EXACT record as at when he started writing them.

In between 1914 and 1915, Owen became increasingly aware of the magnitude of the War. Before this Owen visited hospitals and he was well familiar with many of the wars wounded.

Finally at the age of 22, Owen went back to England and enlisted in the British army. This was how his journey started. Owen described his decision to join the army in September, 1915. His exact words were; "I came out in order to help these boys--directly by leading them as well as an officer can; indirectly, by watching their sufferings that I may speak of them as well as a leader can. I have done the first."

This all changed within 2 years. Owen's perspectives of life had evolved from being a young man that found great interest in poetry to a man that spent his last minutes fighting for his country, Owen died on the 4th November when he tried to lead his men across the battlefield. In one of his poems, he quoted;

". . .Above all I am not concerned with Poetry.

My Subject is War, and the Pity of War,

The Poetry is in the Pity."

Although he lived only 25 years, he became known as one of the most popular War Poets.

Dulce Et Decorum Est is originally a Latin title from a line of Horace. This was the title that Owen gave to one of his poems meaning “It is sweet and honourable to die for one's country”. However his reasons for the title were not to prove the saying but to mock it and bring another meaning to the honour of dying at war.

The poem is split in four stanzas. Three of them describe a terrible incident which he experienced. From the beginning of this poem you get the picture of tired, hopeless, and wrecked soldiers that are spending the last of their strength trudging back to their camps after a fight on the battlefield.

After reading the poem, I could create a picture of devastation and soldiers clinging on to life. In their pain they cursed, bled, and limped as they tagged along. I could also picture them looking forward to resting. As if that wasn't enough, within seconds they were attacked by gas and even in their weak condition, they still struggled and hurried to put on their gas masks. Unfortunately, someone wasn't fast enough to put on his mask and he got caught up in the gas. They tried to help him but they couldn't ease his pain. All they could do was throw him at the back of the wagon where he suffered much more pain as Death was gently eating him away when the wagon jolted as they drove away.

Owen uses an agonizing way of expressing his experience in the First, second and third stanza. In those days, most people were probably under the impression that going to fight for your country in war was right and honourable. Other poets also portrayed war like this; as a thing worthy and honourable to do. However they left out the painful and bitter side of the story. This is where Wilfred Owen came in.

Maybe because of his war experience he knew that of all things it wasn't sweet to die. His message was clearly passed across to the people. In pure words Owen was saying“dying for your country is not as sweet as it sounds, it's not right and it's very painful”.

Other poets portrayed the war as something worthy of pride; something to boast and tell others about, Owen saw it as a terrible experience, one that could haunt you till the end of your days. His quote;

In all my dreams before my helpless sight

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning

The third stanza was only two lines, yet it carries much weight that could touch anyone that read it. It is deliberately this length to give extra impact to the reader and emphasise the nightmare that the poet continually experiences.

On the other hand, the fourth stanza is much different. In the 1st, 2nd and 3rd stanza he moves from a narrative form of description to a very direct convincing manner in the fourth one.

The fourth stanza comes across as a direct speech; in poetry technique it is called “Direct Apostrophe”. This stanza directly speaks to the people to future convince them specifically that from his own experience, dying at war is not sweet.

In the poem, Owen also uses a great range of figures of speech. The structure is very traditional because is follows the “ABABA” method, he also uses similes to enhance his description of his experience in first and second stanza e.g. “like old beggars under sacks”, “coughing like hags”, “floundering like a man in fire or lime” and many more.

Apart from this, he uses other figures of speech like alliteration, oxymoron, and onomatopoeia which include Words and phrases like “knock - kneed”, “Drunk with fatigue”, “men marched asleep” and so on.

This is very overwhelming because the poem rhymes from the beginning to the end yet it still makes perfect sense. This is what shocks most people.

In general from my own perspective, I would say that this poem was is very tragic, something that brought back his old memories, something that brought back the pain and unimaginable suffering people went through for their country.

No wonder the last quote from the poem was;

The old lie: Dulce et decorum est

Pro patria mori

It is truly a lie. No one deserves to go through the heartache of dying on the battlefields of the Great War that would never be forgotten.

Anthem for Doomed Youth is another one of Wilfred Owen's famous poems that he wrote during the war. The title “Anthem of the doomed youth”, introduces the graveness of the poem. From that I could tell that the rest of the poem would be something sorrowful, tragic and maybe with a hopeless ending. When I read the poem, I understood that the poet; Wilfred Owen was lamenting and expressing how sober he felt about the way young lives were wasted in war.

The poem consisted of two stanzas one 8 lines and the other 6 lines making a total of 14 lines, the same structure of a sonnet but with an opposite theme. Usually sonnets are written as love poems but Owen writes about bitterness, violence and death. In the first stanza, Owen starts off with a rhetorical question (a question asked but does not need anyone else to answer);

What passing bells for those who die as cattle?

The passing bells were used in those days to announce someone's death. It was a custom and in other words, a way of honouring the dead. Owen starts of by questioning how people died at war, comparing the way they were killed to animals (using similes). Immediately after that, he answers his question himself using a wide range of figurative expressions to describe the violent and taunting honour that these people were given at war - The sound of guns, the atmosphere of violence, no choirs and people mourning and paying their last respect, He was actually saying ironically that they were giving no honour at all.

The seven lines of Wilfred Owen's description in the first stanza contains figures of speech such as descriptive words, personification, and even in one case an alliteration statement. This was all probably to enhance his explanation. Take for instance, the 2nd and 3rd lines are examples of personification - “Monstrous anger of the guns” and “stuttering rifles”. These lines use terms that are only used to describe human features to describe objects of violence. Also, the 2nd line contains an alliteration statement “rifles' rapid rattle” which explains the rifle sounds and gun noises going on in the air. The rhyming of this stanza follows the ABABABA scheme.

From the whole stanza, I observed that not only was he sober and bitter but he was also angry and total against the war.

However in the second stanza, I observed a change in atmosphere and location. The second stanza seems to have switched from a general topic on war to specifically directing the whole issue and relating it to young people. This could be because most of the men that fought at war were very young. The second stanza also starts off with a question and just in the same way, he immediately gives an answer which tells the reader that the way the people dye at war compared to the way people are meant to die is very miserable.

All in all, the poem summaries to one question - “What honour is given to those that die in such a way on the battle fields of the war.?” And unfortunately, only one answer - An atmosphere of violence.

In all of Wilfred Owen's poems, Wilfred explored a great use of writing skills and techniques to express his views of war. He used poetry to pass a message, he wrote in sonnet structures to express sorrow, and he never ceased to capture his audience. The moral content is very much anti war and this Owen brings across with great skill - which is still extraordinary today especially when you take in to account how young he was when he died. His subversion of the sonnet form, particularly, is outstanding - taking the structure of a traditional love poem and using it to portray the agony of war and loss.

Owen used language to great effect. Throughout his poems there is a vast usage of literary techniques - metaphors, similes, personification, onomatopoeia and such like. He uses these to heighten the emotional impact of his poetry. His use of alliteration gives the impression, when the poem is read out, of being closer to the action the poem conveys. It sounds like you are there.

His distinct achievement is as a result of how he used he portrayed War in a different way. It is clear that he was against the war because of his dominant way of his expressing his views. Today, the people of our modern age can understand the real things that went on during that war. Wilfred Owen represented a strong icon in the world of poetry through the War.

Written by student Riyanat Shittu.

First of all the themes of both poems are very different with Brooke going on about how you should give up your life for England and if you die England will become victorious. All the time his phrases such as "in hearts art peace" contrast to what it was really like in the war. Whereas Futility by Owen is about a dead body slowly decaying showing the relationships between man and nature. He explains how life took a vast amount of time to evolve into what we are today and that all that time is wasted in war which implies why bother?

There is a lot of Personification in both poems starting with Owens where he personifies the sun. He talks about the sun being the creator of everything and how the relationship between man and sun as "gently its touch" used to wake up the soldier shows the friendship and positives of the poem. Some of the language used in this poem is in Latin with the words "fatuous" and "futility" which both add emphasis to the original effect they had on the poem. Also biblical references with the use of "clays" to show that he believes that the sun is the creator and ruler of the world. Moving onto Brooke's poem he personifies England, talking about "her" like a mother looking after all the population. He says that if England "bore" all the people than you should give something back by fighting for her. The use of alliteration such as "foreign fields" adds a flowing, enjambment style to the stanza as the "flowers" of England make it sound more natural and divine.

The mood and atmospheres of both the poems contrast quite a bit, with the basis of Owens's poem being pretty sombre like the title "Futility" which means utterly worthless. Phrases such as "if anything might rouse him now" shows the desperation and depressing mood of this poem. Brooke's poem on the other hand is uplifting and gives a strong patriotic feeling to all the readers. He uses the conditional tenses "if I should die" which gives us the image of him dreaming or fantasizing about the war and what a magnificent honor it is to be able to die for your country. He uses language of religious sounds with everyone "blest" by suns of home, "Washed" by the rivers which is the language you would hear at a baptism signifying a new beginning, a new start or chance.

Both poems are sonnets with Brooke's poem being of a classic iambic pentameter structure, Brooke's also has a rhyming scheme with ten syllables per line whereas Owen's is a sort of half rhyme with no obvious shape or structure to the poem. There is evidence of some flowing enjambment in Brookes poem as "some corner of a foreign field that is for ever England" as the alliteration adds to the sense of movement and rhythm. In Owens Poem there is a sort of groan in the poem as "-O what made fatuous sunbeams toil" sounds as if he is suddenly letting out an explosion of pain.

Brooke's poem was written from behind the lines during the Second World War like Owen's poem which was written in the front lines of the trenches.

In Owen's poem it is written in first person with a sort of philosophical second stanza and a descriptive first stanza. Brooke tells us about his love for England and how it has given you life that you should give something back "a dust whom England bore" backs up this information. Owen is angry about war which showed in both Futility and Dulce et Decorum est.

To conclude there are many main points to compare and contrast, there is the patriotic poem by Brooke which keeps repeating England and how it is great to give up your life for England as "she" has given you health and prosperity. However I prefer the more sombre poem by Owen which shows us the real truth about the war as he personally fought in the trenches with his friends and he had seen them die. He would have the horrific true perspective of the war. The Language he uses is so powerful like in Dulce et Decorum est and is also philosophical and full of wonder like Futility and that is why I had to pick this poem.