Futility

Stanza One.
Technique Example Explain
Personification “the kind old sun will Gives human qualities to give validity to Owens
know” request to wake his friend. The use of the adjective
‘kind’ evokes the melancholic tone of stanza one.
Rhyme snow – know Traditional device used to emphasise the idea that
the sun can wake the seeds but he soldiers death
leaves fields fallow and thus unawakened.
Pararhyme Sun – sown, snow – Disconcerting due to the expectations of rhyme to
now reinforce the tragic circumstances.
Assonance Sun – once Soft sombre tone/also disconcerting for an
audience traditionally used to rhyme.
Symbolism “snow” Reinforces the image of death.
Repetition Synonyms “awoke”, Emphasises Owen’s plea to the “kind old sun”.
“woke”, and “rouse”
Two and three “gently”, “into”, Provides a soft, almost conversational tone.
syllable words “always” and
“anything”
Alliteration ‘w’ in “awoke him Suggests the gentleness of the sun waking him on
once” his farm.

Stanza Two.

Very different in tone to the first stanza, which is sombre, melancholic and gentle, stanza
two is bitter and angry, questioning the very purpose of life itself. His summation in the last two lines
suggests that life is futile.

Technique Example Explain

Rhetorical Question “Was it for this the Expresses Owens’ emotional outbursts and engages
clay grew tall?” the reader to consider answers to these questions.
Hyphens “seeds –“ Enforces the pause allowing the reader to consider
Owens’ thoughts.
Alliteration “the clays of a cold Is spat out as the speaker reacts in frustration at the
star” futility of his attempt to awaken his fellow
comrade.
Dissonance “fatuous” Spat out reflecting Owens’ frustration.
Monosyllabic words “woke”, “once”, Focus our attention on the fundamentals of life.
“clays”, “cold” and
“star”
Biblical Allusions “clay” Refers to the creation of Adam from clay and hence
Owen questions the why earth and man was
created only to be killed in such a futile way.