Essay Database

Owen's poem serves to uncover the lie that it is sweet and becoming to die for one's country. Owen's use of diction, vivid language, and graphic imagery emphasizes his point. The poem describes the fatigue, blindness, evil, obscenity, death, sufferings, and disgust of war. It shows the true life of a soldier, lying low, ill, endlessly trudging through mud with bloody feet, away from and into the pain of gas poisoning of comrades, and away …

…the emotions, thoughts and sights of the soldier, succeed to drive the full horror home. The scene witnessed by Owen is detailed enough to seem familiar. All the senses are used by Owen; the constant inputs of sound, smell, touch as well as sight increase the dimensions of his images. He attempts to connect war with other aspects of human suffering. Owen makes images and actions recognizable, even to those who have never experienced war.