Poetry Analysis: Wilfred Owen's

"Futility"
Futlity appeared in "The Nation" on 15th June 1918. Just as in his poem Frustration,
Wilfred !en tal"s of the #rie$an%es of a !ounded man !ho they mo$e into the sun,
!ith the hope that the sunshine !ill &stir' him. The poet (e#ins the poem tal"in# of a
%ertain )im' *t is o($ious that the poet is tal"in# a(out the +oldier. The anonymity
points to his rele#ation of identity, and la%" of indi$iduality in a system that pla%es the
+ystem o$er the indi$idual. The anonymity of the dead soldier may also (e employed for
o(-e%ti$ity, and to render the e.perien%e uni$ersal/so as to hi#hli#ht the predi%ament of
any soldier. The poem fun%tions as an ele#y for the dead soldier. The sun stands as a
metaphor for the 0i$er of 1ife here. n%e, the poet asserts, the sun's tou%h did a!a"en
the man in 2uestion. n%e upon a time, he !as &at home'. 3t home si#nifies that the
man !as %omforta(le and satisfied. The phrase !hisperin# of fields unso!n. su##ests
the possi(ility of fields yet to (e so!n, dreams yet to (e reali4ed.
The sun al!ays did a!a"e him, until this day. This su##ests the li"elihood that he is not
in a %ondition anymore to (e a!a"ened (y the sun. &+no!' stands as a po!erful em(lem
of death, de%ay and destru%tion. *t is as opposed to the !armth of the sun. nly the ld
+un 5the 6erpetuator of life7 %ould dis%ern if anythin# !as %apa(le of rousin# the man to
his senses. The line e%hoes the fa%t that no one !ho had %rossed in to the realm of death,
has (een (a%" to tell the tale of 8eath. The lines also refer to the ine$ita(ility of 8eath,
and hollo!ness of life. )en%e, the title Futility. The term 'futility' also fore#rounds the
pointlessness of !ar. 9oreo$er, it underlines the futility of e.tin%tion.
From the des%ripti$e mode in the first stan4a, the poet shifts to an interro#ati$e and
philosophi%al mode in the se%ond. The poet is in total denial o$er the death of his fello!/
(ein#. The +un !as %apa(le of !a"in# $e#etati$e entities li"e seeds, and the hard %lays
of a %old stars. While it refreshed lifeless stars, !hy !as it in%apa(le of endo!in# life to
a rational (ein# !hose si#nifi%an%e %annot (e understated: The poet is also a!are of
Nature's o$er!helmin# po!ers that 9an/made in$entions %annot !ithstand
5floods,tsunamis,earth2ua"e7Why %annot Nature then re$i$e the aftermath of a man/made
atro%ity su%h as !ar.
3re lim(s, so dear/a%hie$ed, are sides,
Full/ner$ed, / still !arm, / too hard to stir:
The rhetori%al 2uestion is aimed not only at the +un, the +ustainer of 1ife. *t is also
intended at the de$astatin# %on%ept of !ar in #eneral. !en too" part in World War * as
an offi%er in the 9an%hester ;e#iment. Therefore he (ore !itness to the %atastrophi%
effe%ts of !ar. )e !as depressed and dis#usted at the distressin# and demorali4in#
%onse2uen%es of the War. )e endea$oured to fulfill the responsi(ilities to his %ountry. *n
su%h a %onte.t, poetry had a therapeuti% effe%t on him, a release for the mi.ed emotions
he !as stifled !ith.
Was for this that the %lay #re! tall: 8id 9an ad$an%e in 1ife and pro#ressi$eness to
%ome to this: 3s the poet prefi.es the ad-e%ti$e fatuous (efore sun(eams, he illustrates
ho! the sun had lost its utility $alue in the fa%e of 8eath. Was it for this e$entual finale
that the sun a!o"e the earthlin#s: