Comparing Poems 'Futility And The Right Word'

Comparison of ‘Futility’ and ‘The Right Word’.

In Futility attitudes to war are strongly shown. The poem mainly concentrates on the meaning of existence. The title of the poem ‘Futility’ means pointlessness and throughout the poem he is questioning the meaning of life. Also in this poem Owen shows that he maybe does not agree with war and it will not solve anything. The poem is questioning why his friend is dying and what is the point in fighting if lives are being lost or even what is the point of life if we are to die anyway. Owen fought in World War 1 himself so it makes the poem more personal as it could be about his own personal experience.

In the poem there are a lot of pararhyme’s used for example: sun and sown, once and France. This gives an uncertain tone to the poem, as the rhymes themselves are imperfect, and it supports that Owen thinks something is wrong. First person affects our perspective of the poem as it makes it more personal, as if our friend is dead and we are questioning why. It also helps Owen convey his points of how war is pointless and it is not needed as we can see the affects it has on close friends and family
As the poem progresses the boy becomes less intimidating almost as if the shadow is fading. In each stanza the way the figure is standing in the shadows is described differently, ‘watchful in the shadows’ and in the next stanza ‘defying every shadow’ shows Dharker is finding him less menacing as she can see the figure more clearly and is getting a better idea of his identity. Dharker describes the boys eyes as ‘too hard’ which portrays his confidence and purpose. This gives us more in depth knowledge of the boys reason for being there and makes the reader think of him more of a human after as war can depersonalize someone so we see them as a soldier and not an