Darshanie Persaud Lower 6 Arts Literature in English

“Most poets rely on symbols to create a world they dream of rather than one that truly exists.”
With reference to at least THREE poems by ONE British, American, OR Postcolonial poet that
you have studied, discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement.
40 marks

World War I began in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.
His assassination sparked a war that lasted throughout Europe until 1918. By the end of the war,
more than sixteen million soldiers and civilians died. This tragic event spawned a significant
corpus of literature, indicating the beginning of public scrutiny for governments and power
brokers. Having said that, Wilfred Owen was a British poet who, as a result of his military service
on the Western Front, centered his poetry on the brutality of war. His poetry is a factual
representation of war, based on his personal experiences on the battlefield. Moreover, Owen’s
poems highlight the truth of war through many themes that explore the dreadful and gruesome
scene that it was, as well as the discrepancy between the reality of the battlefield, and what people
‘thought’ war was. According to Cooke (2016), innocence was lost when teachers were asked to
dedicate their teaching to support war efforts, bringing children into adult issues that they had no
say in. Similarly, through the falsified propaganda motioned by governments, many boys lost their
innocence when dispatched to the battlefield. In this essay, the theme of loss of innocence is
explored through Wilfred Owen’s poetic oeuvres; Anthem for Doomed Youth, Disabled and Dulce
et Decorum Est’.
In ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’, Owen addresses loss of innocence by portraying a funeral,
emblematizing how young men have been forsaken and deprived of their identities, and dignity
during war. Owen personifies guns as “monstrous” and fashions a staccato rhythm through the
employment of onomatopoeia and alliteration, “stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle,” which underlines the
catastrophe that awaits the boys’ innocent hearts, (Kousar, 2016). Moreover, the loud sounds of
gunfire successfully focus the audience’s attention to the shocking imagery on the battlefield,
which elicits a terrified response, warning them about the dreadful truth of war. Furthermore,
according to Simcox (2000), “religious images and allusions dominate lines 9-14”, and one can
learn about the truth of war by looking at the boys’ faces. As Owen communicates, “What candles
may be held to speed them all? / Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes,” he aims to allude the
candles to the image of altar boys and the tears that they have in their eyes, representing the
innocence of little boys before they were coveted by duty. After coveted, their youth and innocence
have been lost and they are denied the opportunity of a childhood, (Clausson, 2005). Additionally,
the precise use of diction, “holy” in line 11, also conveys the innocence of the “boys” on the
battlefield, enabling the audience to recognize the horrific and overwhelming nature of war.
In a similar manner to ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth,’ ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, exposes the
social effects of World War I on young men. According to Harrison (1993), Owen introduces this
idea directly at the outset of the poem through the vehicle of simile. Boys, for example, are
deprived of their humanity and health in the same way that the aged and destitute are relegated to
beg for a living “like old beggars” (line 1). Owen also compares the boys to old, nasty women in
Darshanie Persaud Lower 6 Arts Literature in English

“coughing like hags” (line 2), highlighting that they have lost their youth and with it their vigour
and masculinity, Wright (2002). Moreover, the introduction of the concept of “innocent tongues”
(line 24) creates an environment of universal inclusivity. This is accomplished by using the plural
word “tongues,” which establishes the language diversity in the war and refers to how the war has
a global effect, impacting many nations. In addition, the youth are labelled as “innocent,”
conveying a sense of sanctity, implying that these young men have never faced war and its
outcomes. Furthermore, pursuant to Wright (2002), once a child’s innocence has been taken away,
they are unable to return to their previous state. War and the realization that death is unavoidable
might alter a person’s life and cause them to be disturbed for the rest of their lives. When it comes
to serving their nation, many soldiers are naive, they desire to be heroes like ones in the past, which
is why, “To children ardent for some desperate glory,” is written in line 26. The oxymoron
‘desperate glory’ is a less complex one, indicating how teenagers long for glory in order to fulfill
the governments’ ‘propaganda,’ despite having no idea of what their ultimate experience will be
‘Disabled’ is similar to but yet distinct from the previous poems mentioned. It is unique in that
it explores the effects of war on a soldier’s innocence and freedom when he returns home, whereas
the preceding poems, particularly ‘Anthem of Doomed Youth,’ largely concentrated on the
battlefield. In consistent with Van Way (1997), the theme of lost innocence is shaped through the
demolition of the character’s youth, which ended prematurely by his lack of experience and
awareness. With a mix of raw honesty and delicate circumlocution, the poem paints a striking
picture of a young soldier who has lost his limbs, hence, “legless, sewn short at elbow”. The poem
begins with the gloomy revelation of a young man in a wheelchair who is completely reliant on
nurses and additional means of maintenance for the rest of his life, (Yustisiana, 2010). It
symbolizes the death of his innocence and, with it, his freedom. In addition, the opening stanza
compares what the soldier used to be with what he has become through the severe repercussions
of war (Simcox, 2000). With that in mind, employing flashbacks and juxtaposition, Owen contrasts
the man’s immature and hopeful past with the depressing reality of the present Furthermore, in the
third stanza, Owen used colour symbolism to describe the imagery of losing a hopeful attitude
towards life, (Williams, 1992). For example, “leap of purple spurted from his thigh” and “he’s lost
his colour very far from here” are images that imply a lack of regeneration and a life that has been
limited. The image is surrounded by dark and dreary descriptions, implying that regeneration is a
thing of the past and unrecoverable. Essentially, the present triumphs over the past’s fantasies.
Moreover, due to the harsh realities of battle and the ongoing strain, it can impose on life, the
tension between preceding naivety and the pessimistic approach of life currently has shattered any
confidence and innocence the soldier might have had.
In conclusion, people are constantly reminded of the ever-present disturbing reality of the
tragic loss of young lives and their innocence through the heart-wrenching images Owen portrays
in his poetry. Despite the fact that the developments in each poem were distinct, they all
represented the theme of loss of innocence. Owen describes how governments take advantage of
youths’ vulnerability by peddling propaganda, declaring that dying for one’s country is a sweet
thing to do. However, when one has firsthand experience with war, it is difficult to comprehend
why people continue to declare war and encourage young men to fight and honour their country
Darshanie Persaud Lower 6 Arts Literature in English

and family. In essence, one will remain innocent until he or she has experienced the actual trauma
of war.