Disabled

Wilfred Owen

HE not named, as he is one

of many

Adjectives to show
sadness

He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark,

And shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,
Legless, sewn short at elbow. Through the park
Voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn,
Voices of play and pleasure after day,
Till gathering sleep had mothered them from him.
Alliteration
Repetition

The immediate appearance of 'dark', 'grey' , and

'shivered' sets up the isolation of the wounded
soldier. It strikes a strong comparison to the
warmth of the second stanza.

'before he threw away his knees' (L.10) The implication that this was a
needless loss (sacrifice) is reinforced by Ll.23-4 where the wounded soldier
fails to remember why he joined up, pointing only to a distant sense of
duty, and euphoria after the football match.
'glow-lamps' and 'girls
'Now he will never feel again
glanced' (L.8 & L9) Both are
how slim/ Girls' waists are' (L.11
linked effectively by the use of
& L.12) Showing not only the
alliteration.
physical loss of his arm, but also
Alliteration
the psychological scars as the
show Beauty
soldier knows he will be shunned by
women from now on.

About this time Town used to swing so gay

When glow-lamps budded in the light-blue trees
And girls glanced lovelier as the air grew dim,
In the old times, before he threw away his knees.
Now he will never feel again how slim
Girls' waists are, or how warm their subtle hands,
All of them touch him like some queer disease.
The results of his disability

'younger than his youth' (L.15) The reversal is total. The

implication is that his face is now older than his youth.
'He's lost his colour very far from here' (L.17) this line is an
example of one of the great memorable lines written by Owen. It is an
example of 'deliberate, intense understatements the brave man's
only answer to a hell which no epic words could express

There was an artist silly for his face,

For it was younger than his youth, last year.
Now he is old; his back will never brace;
He's lost his colour very far from here,
Poured it down shell-holes till the veins ran dry,
And half his lifetime lapsed in the hot race,
And leap of purple spurted from his thigh.

' a bloodsmear down his leg,/After the matches, carried shoulderhigh' (L.21 & L.22)
Again Owen uses irony effectively here. We are already aware that the soldier
has lost an arm and his legs, yet we are told that before the War he felt proud
to have an injury (obtained on the football field), and to be carried shoulderhigh (as a celebration as opposed to helplessness). Concept of reversal is
again used: sporting hero to cripple, handsome to 'queer disease' (L.13),
colour
to dark,
cold.
One time
he warmth
liked a to
bloodsmear
down his leg,

After the matches carried shoulder-high.

It was after football, when he'd drunk a peg,
He thought he'd better join. He wonders why . . .
Someone had said he'd look a god in kilts.
That's why; and maybe, too, to please his Meg,
Aye, that was it, to please the giddy jilts,
He asked to join. He didn't have to beg;
Smiling they wrote his lie; aged nineteen years.
'a god in kilts' (L.25) An indication
that the soldier was a member of one
of the Scottish regiments (repeated in
ll.32-6). Also implies that he joined up
for reasons of vanity.

'giddy jilts L.27)

Scottish term for a
young woman.
'Smiling they
wrote his lie:
aged nineteen
years' (L.29) The
sadness of the
soldier's plight is
heightened.
Clearly he was
under-aged when
he enlisted and
therefore is still
young.

Germans he scarcely thought of; and no fears

Of Fear came yet. He thought of jewelled hilts
For daggers in plaid socks; of smart salutes;
And care of arms; and leave; and pay arrears;
Esprit de corps; and hints for young recruits.
And soon, he was drafted out with drums and
cheers.

Another indication that the soldier was a member of

one of the Scottish regiments (repeated in ll.32-6).

'Some cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer Goal'

(L.37)
Recalls the image of the football match earlier. L.22 implies that
he was carried from the field shoulder-high, possibly as the
result of scoring the winning goal. Here, despite having
achieved far more, for far greater a loss than a 'blood- smeared
leg', the crowd's reception is more hollow.

Some cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer Goal.

Only a solemn man who brought him fruits
Thanked him; and then inquired about his soul.
Minister/Priest?
Several recruiting posters used the motif of
linking sport to the army, and there were
numerous recruiting drives at soccer
matches.

'do what things the rules consider wise' (L.41) The soldier's meekness is
complete. The fine young athlete has been reduced to a state of
dependency on others and helplessness (heightened by the pitiful
closing repetition of 'Why don't they come?'). The stanza has him
waiting for others to do things for him, he 'spends a few sick years', 'takes
whatever pity' others choose to offer him; he is passed over by the women's
attentions, as he bemoans the cold and hopes that someone will put him to
bed. 'Tonight he noticed how the women's eyes/Passed from him to
the strong men that were whole' (L.43 & L.44)Repeating what the soldier
has lost, this time in his attractiveness to the opposite sex. 'Whole' implying
that he is incomplete, less than a man.

Now, he will spend a few sick years in Institutes,

And do what things the rules consider wise,
And take whatever pity they may dole.
To-night he noticed how the womens eyes
Passed from him to the strong men that were whole.
How cold and late it is! Why don't they come
And put him into bed? Why don't they come?

Repetition shows how dependent he is on

them and has to wait for the orderlies/nurses

Exclamation for emphasis

Disabled by Wilfred Owen example essay!

I think that in the poem Disabled, Wilfred Owen is trying
to convey the real tragedy of war. Many people think
only of those killed but reading the poem you remember
that many people who were not killed in the war could
still have suffered a lot more. In the poem Owen focuses
on one young man, a single victim of war. It shows the
effect the war has on the young man's life, when on
returning from the war he has been maimed "legless,
sewn short at elbow
Owen writes the poem with style. He uses the
recruits contrasting memories and new views to
create the war victim's true feelings "About this
time town used to swing so gay", "He thought be
better join in" - he wonders why. "Voices of boys
rang saddening like a hymn.
Where is the Explanation?

The poem also illustrates how his lifestyle

changed dramatically. He was once a great
athlete, popular with the girls but now he is in a
wheelchair, "they touch him like a queer
disease", and he notices how "their eyes pass
from him to the strong men that were whole".
Explanation?
An artist was once eager to paint him but "Now he is
old, his back will never brace; hes lost his colour very
far from home". He was quite obviously attracted to
joining for all the wrong reasons "It was after the
football, when hed drunk a peg", " Someone had said
hed look a God in kilts", "to please his Meg". All
these reasons were encouraged by official recruiting
propaganda "Smiling they wrote his lie, aged nineteen
years".

When he departed for war he was treated

like a hero but peoples' reactions were
different on his arrival home, "Some
cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer
goals". Only one person thanked him. The
war took away everything in this young
man's life and Now he will spend a few sick
years in Institutes".

Essay
Think of a poem about an incident
that changed a persons life forever.
Show how the poet contrasts life for
the subject of the poem before and
after the incident.

Remember!
POINT make it!
EVIDENCE prove it!
EXPLANATION tell me WHY you make
this point

Think of a poem about an incident that

changed a persons life forever. Show how the
poet contrasts life for the subject of the poem
before and after the incident.
Disabled by Wilfred Owen is a poem about a
young man who is disabled during the First
World War and shows how his life changes for
the worst afterwards. Before the war he is a fit
young athlete, popular with the girls and good
looking. Afterwards he is confined to a
wheelchair, dependent on nurses to care for him
at their convenience and ignored by the girls
and other people.

At the beginning of the poem we see the young

man in a wheelchair, waiting for dark, shivering
and listening to the sounds of boys playing; he
remembers the things he used to be able to do
and his lifestyle before the war.
OR:
At the beginning of the poem we see the young
man sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark
shivering and listening to the sounds of boys
playing; something he used to be able to do
before his injuries.

He is not named in the poem and this

emphasises the fact that there are so many of
these crippled soldiers. The use of adjectives
such as 'dark', 'grey' , and 'shivered' shows the
isolation of the wounded soldier. It strikes a
strong comparison to the warmth of the second
verse.

Point: Before his injuries, the soldier used to go down

town and enjoy himself with his friends. Evidence: When
down Town which used to swing so gay he would watch
the girls who would glance lovelier as the air grew dim but
now he remembers that he has since thrown away his
knees which implies it was a foolish thing he did and that
as a result he will never again feel how slim girls' waists
are, or how warm their subtle hands Explanation: As a
result of his becoming crippled he is now ignored by the
girls as if he has some queer disease and begins to
remember the reasons why he joined the Army in the first
place. (This links to the next paragraph about why he
joined vanity, drunk and wanting to please his girlfriend
Meg)