Analysis of Sonnet Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen

Group 2 Anil Raj Ain Fatihah Ng Pin Ting Roland Wong King Teck

Anthem for Doomed Youth

by Wilfred Owen
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons. No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells, Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; And bugles calling for them from sad shires. What candles may be held to speed them all? Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes. The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall; Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Petrarchan Sonnet
 Written in the form of an Italian Sonnet  It has fourteen lines which are divided into an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines).  The rhyme scheme of the poem is abab cdcd effe gg.  The rhythm of "Anthem for Doomed Youth" is based on the accents and pauses of iambic pentameter.  Each line has five beats, and each beat utilizes the pattern of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.  Generally, the first stanza presents a theme, and the second stanza develops it.

Meter
All lines except 2 and 3 are in iambic pentameter, a verse format in which a line contains five pairs of syllables (ten syllables in all). In each pair, the first syllable is unstressed and the second stressed, making up a unit called an iamb.

Lines 4, 5, and 6 of the poem demonstrate the pattern of iambic pentameter:

Can PAT..|..ter OUT..|..their HAS..|..ty OR..|..is SONS No MOCK..|..er IES..|..for THEM..|..from PRAYERS..|..or BELLS Nor AN..|..y VOICE..|..of MOURN..|..ing SAVE..|..the CHOIRS

Occasionally a line of iambic pentameter contains an extra syllable, for a total of eleven, as in line 1: What PASS..|..ing BELLS..|..for THESE..|..who DIE..|..as CAT..|..tle

Lines 2 and 3 of "Anthem for Doomed Youth" veer from the iambic pattern because the stress falls on the first syllable in the first pair (ON ly) in each line.

Overview
Is a well known Petrarchan sonnet that enable the reader sees the horrors of war and how unfortunate it is to die in war.

Owen fought in World War I and wrote this poem while in a hospital recovering from shell shock. This poem solemnly discusses death in war and shows how those who die in war do not receive the normal ceremonies that are used to honor the dead. Owen was able to express how he felt about those who passed away while fighting in war, and he successfully relates to his audience how horrible going to war is.

First Stanza
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons. The first line of the poem describes the Doomed Youth dying as cattle . This description shows how awful war is and depicts multitudes of people being slaughtered and the nature of war to be full of mass deaths. The simile shows how the soldiers are no more important than cattle which are lead to the slaughter without feeling. Usually at funerals or ceremonies for the dead there are bells ringing and prayers being said.

Second Stanza
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells; Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; And bugles calling for them from sad shires. Owen compares the events of war to traditional burial rituals and describes how those who die in war do not receive proper funerals. Owen shows that in war there are only the sounds of guns being fired. In war, instead of honoring those who have fallen, more are being killed by the same weapons.

Third Stanza
What candles may be held to speed them all? Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes. The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall; Here, Owen illustrates the families reactions to finding that their loved ones have died. The dead soldiers do not get to be honored by their family and friends, but all the family can do is grieve at the sorrowful news.

Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
Its syntax implies that this two lines stands in place of the flowers that would adorn a funeral or a grave, and flowers, like blinds, close as night falls. This silent grieving stands in stark contrast with the noise and violence of the battlefield not only in mood but also in meaning: instead of representing a poor parody of the rites of burial, this grieving transcends more outward observance, replacing ritual with a deeply felt and lasting interior observance.

Themes
Senseless Devastation  The butchery of war horrified Wilfred Owen.  His comrades in arms represented the best hope for a better future, but all around him that hope was vanishing in the fire and smoke of the battlefield.  The war also devastated the loved ones at home, robbing them of sons, daughters, brothers, and fathers and leaving only emptiness behind. Loss of Identity  In war, young men with distinct personalities and unique talents become nameless pawns to do the bidding of the political decision-makers.  When they fall on the battlefield, no one stops to mourn them or pay them homage. The bombs keep falling. The guns keep firing.

Literary Devices
Sound + Visual Imagery The sounds of rattling guns, wailing shells and bugles (as heard in warfare) are compared with the sounds of prayers, bells and choirs (as heard in a funeral procession) Visual: The families of those who died in the war.

Imagery drawing-down of blinds (last line) Traditionally this is a sign that the family is in mourning but this can also be implying drawing a sheet to cover the dead.

Irony
This title Anthem for Doomed Youth conveys a strong, gloomy feeling; usually an anthem is a joyous song of celebration but when coupled with Doomed Youth , anthem takes on a whole new meaning that implies much sorrow.

Contrasted with youth suggesting strength, vitality and innocence.

Provides a woeful impression because it foretells of young people having no hope.

Symbolism
BELL
The bell is known as an object which tolls for the dead This "passing-bell" is referring to the deaths of the soldiers and it also foreshadows the suffering of the soldiers' families. The bell might also represent a school bell which reminds us that many of the brave, dying soldiers are still children.

CATTLES Owen is comparing the cattle to the young soldiers. Cattle are slaughtered just as the soldiers are inhumanely and mindlessly slaughtered. Their deaths are as significant as those of cattle, insignificant and impersonal.

Literary Devices
Phrases with onomatopoeia stuttering rifles, rapid rattle, patter out, and wailing shells imitate the sounds on the field. Alliteration- to promote rhythm and euphony, as in rifles' rapid rattle and glimmers of good-byes.

Tone: Angerness towards the futility of war

Literary Devices
Personification : -monstrous anger of the guns (comparison of guns to angry humans) -Owen makes the enemies guns seem evil and monstrous being that they are in part responsible for taking human lives. - demented choirs of wailing shells (comparison of the shells to deranged humans). Metaphors center on the poignant suffering of the mourners at home - One compares the holy glimmers in the eyes of boys to candles, and another compares the pallor of the girls' brows to the pall that covers the casket. - In the third, the tenderness of patient minds becomes the flowers that adorn the soldiers' graves.

References
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/176831 http://shakespeare.about.com/od/thesonnets/a/ what_is_a_sonnet.htm http://www.eliteskills.com/poetry/Sonnet.php http://www.sonnets.org/basicforms.htm http://shakespeare.about.com/od/thesonnets/a/ what_is_a_sonnet.htm http://ifp.12writing.com/2010/03/writingsonnets-with-meter-rhythm-and.html http://www.rc.umd.edu/rchs/sonnet.htm

References
http://mural.uv.es/horpla/owen.html http://jacobt2.hubpages.com/hub/Anthem-for-DoomedYouth http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Analysis-AnthemDoomed-Youth/75205 http://www.slideshare.net/rgarofano/anthem-for-doomedyouth-analysis http://authspot.com/poetry/wilfred-owens-anthem-fordoomed-youth-analysis/ http://ncowie.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/anthem-fordoomed-youth-notes/ http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides7/Anthem.ht ml