Wilfred_Owen

he central concerns Owen portrays in his poetry revolve around the horrors of war and mass loss of innocence, the final lines in 'Ducle Et Decorum Est' draw together these concerns with the reference to the lie which was told to young boys about war being honourable, which ultimately led to their death. In the poem 'Futility', Owen recreates a situation where a young boy has died portaying the concerns of the horrors of war and the innocence, raising the futile nature of war in which he personally experienced in a fifty hour artilery barrage. In the poem 'Mental Cases' Owne extends the portrayal of the horrors of war, exposing the devastating aftermath on the soldiers mental capacity, having lasting effects. Owens uses careful structure and a variety of language features to highlight these concerns.    In the poem 'Futility' Owen introduces the loss of a boy who has died in the trenches overnight and a traumatized peer offering the erratic notion to 'move him into the sun' the imperative tone of the command emphasizes the desperation to revive the boy " This was suggested as the sun "awoke him once" the past tense giving a reflective tonE, highlighint the boys innocent origins introducing the concern of innocence. Owen then uses the world "even" adding to this imperative tone "Always it woke him even in France" to emphasize the astoundment that the boy had survived as long as he had on the Western Front as the world France alludes us to. The introduce idea of innocence is a central concern drawn together in the closing lines of Dulce Et Decorum Est.    Owen further develops the notion of the sun, by first reinforcing the definate nature of the boys death with the repetition of "this morning this snow" as it reminds the reader that the sun could not wake the boy highlighting the futility of moving him into the sun. Owen personifies the sun "the kind old sun" in order to give it a omnipresent complex with religious connotations to portray the sun as all knowing and god like, which is then supported by "Woke once the clays of a cold star" which in past tense refers to the origins of humanity mythologically being moulded from clay then brought to life by the sun. Owen's development of the sun is to highlight the tragic nature of the deaths which make the suns effort pointless, in the futile war which is taking so many innocent lives    Owen concludes with a rhetorical question which explores the confusion over the pointless death, "Was it for this the clay grew tall'" reinforcing the question posed, engaging the reader, confronting them with the question of what is the point of humanity if all that is done is engagement in wars. Owen then allows for contemplation of this with a dash "O-" followed by another rhetorical question concluding "To break earths sleep at all'" Leaving the reader to continue to ponder on the pointless deaths that occuring during war. A aspect of the concern of the old lie mentioned in the concluding lines of 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' its drawing together of central ideas including the pointless deaths that occur in the futile war.    In the poem Mental Cases, Owen introduces with the introduction of the physical and mental condition of shell-shocked soldiers with visual imagery "bared teeth leer like skulls" creating a distorted image with the simile comparing their faces to leering skulls, emphasising the mental and physical distortion they suffer. The boys are referred to as "they. these" in order to objectify and show the dehumanisation the had war. The rhetorical question "but who these hellish'" Owen confronts the reader with who these boys are, attempting to give them back some humanity. The introduction of this mental and physical distortion adds to the loss of innocence conveyed in Dulce Et Decorum Est '   Owen develops the mental and physical brakedown of the soldiers attributing it to the war "batter of guns, shatter of muscle" as the aural imagery indicates the distinct sounds of a battlefiend. The brake down is likened to a living nightmare with the word choice of 'always' indicating the inescapable nature of the world they now live in, as they are 'rucked to thick for these men's extrication' with the word choice of men's reminding the reader again that these are men who have been so traumatized they have become trapped in a living nightmare.    Owen concludes by using 'bloody imagery "sunlight a blood-smear" enforcing the inescapable nightmare, adding another dimension to the already haunting nightmare of which these is no reprieve. Blame is placed for this condition of the soldiers, with Owen confronting all levels of society, such as the church with biblical allusions "snatching after those who smote us brother" with the archaic term smote. The reader is also blamed "pawing at those who dealt them madness and war" using frantic imagery creating a confronting image, aimed at all society for the glorification of war which ultimately led to the demise of these boys. This mental and physical brake down is referred in to in the concluding lines of 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' as it was the 'old lie' which lured the 'children ardent for some desperate glory' into their fate of mental and physical distortion.    The concluding lines in Wilfred Owen's "Dulce Et Decorum Est" draws together the central concerns of his poetry. These concerns being the horrors of war both during and after, which led to the pointless death and devastating mental deterioration, all of which occurred because of the 'old lle: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori' It is honourable to lie for your country.