An_Anthem_to_End_War

Meeting his eventual mentor Siegfried Sassoon had an immediate effect on Owen and his poetry. Under the influence of Sassoon, Owen began writing poetry that challenged the dominant beliefs of society of that time. As he developed as a poet and made a name for himself, his style became more distinctive. Owen began using metaphors throughout his poems "What candles may be held to speed them all' Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes". Owen is using this powerful image and stark comparison of altar boys carrying candles to honour deceased civilians as opposed to the reflection of gunfire in dead soldiers eyes suggesting that the soldiers who die in war, aren't given the same respect and dignity as others. Owen also had a talent for creating an aural sense for the reader. Owen uses many onomatopoeias in the poem "Anthem for Doomed Youth": "The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells", things provided a perfect example of how he cleverly created an auditory atmosphere and personified the inanimate bullets of gunfire at the same time. "Anthem for Doomed Youth" is a fitting example of the typical Wilfred Owen work. There is no doubt that reading this poem can be daunting and depressing due to the images and emotions that are invoked by Owens's cleverly constructed words. It is hard for any of us to understand why one would write about such misery and doom, yet a brief introduction to his life story reveals the depths of his life and the stimulus he sued to write his great works. In understanding his life and his motivation, we better understand and appreciate his work. To close the poem Owen writes "and each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds". This simple phrase allows the readers to picture the behind the scenes suffering of the loved ones after the burial of a soldier. Combining imagery with onomatopoeia, the end result is a lethal weapon, describing war as a killing ground literally. To put it simply, Owens poems are harsh, bit life through his own eyes was harsher.