Wilfred Owen successfully creates the truthful and terrifying image of war within his poems. The loss, sacrifice, urgency and pity of war are shown within the themes of his poetry and the use of strong figurative language; sensory imagery and tone contribute to the reader. This enables the reader to appreciate Owen’s comments about the hopelessness of war and the sacrifice the men around him went through within his poems, ‘Dulce et Decorum Est.’ and ‘Futility’.…
He uses similes to portray the negative affect war had on this soldier’s life and how his life was wasted “like bright oil down a gutter.” Horn also uses a clever play on words when he conveys how the soldier was a “puny chap” but through war “he’s broadened out.” The soldier broadened out not in terms of muscles or character but because he died in the field of combat and was laying there long enough for his body to swell. The theme which is prominent throughout the entire poem is that of death. The poet arouses different emotions in the reader which include anguish and…
World War I, the most savage altercation at the time, is depicted with such vivid imagery in Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” that it makes it difficult for one decerne this poem from a personal experience. This poem draws its unfiltered power from Owen’s brutal personal experience as an infantryman. Owens’ powerful imagery conjugated with the personal allusions of the speaker proves to the reader how a different point of view can twist someone’s reality.…
After having a thorough read of the novel ‘Jasper Jones’ by Craig Silvey, I have come to understand the powerful effects of using written codes and conventions in novels. Silvey’s impressive piece of literature was carefully constructed through techniques such as characterization, socio-cultural context, themes and intertexuality. By doing this, Silvey was accredited for convincing the readers, appealing to their emotions and manipulating their beliefs and values to accept or agree with his opinions on the issue covered in the novel.…
‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen and ‘The Soldier’ by Rupert Brooke are poems about war which treat their subjects differently. Both poems are examples of the authors’ perceptions of war; Owen’s being about its bitter reality and Brooke’s about the glory of dying for one’s country. The poets express their sentiments on the subject matter in terms of language, tone, rhyme, rhythm and structure. ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ has very effective language by using diverse methods such as alliteration, onomatopoeia and diction. The tone is unyielding and vivid imagery is used to reinforce it, primarily by means of compelling metaphors and enduring similes. The rhyme scheme is regular with very little change and helps establish the rhythm. The poem is divided into four stanzas, the first two of which set and develop the scene, while the third and fourth convey the abiding memory and offer a commentary on what has preceded. ‘The Soldier’ is a Petrarchan sonnet divided into two stanzas. The initial octave lays out Brooke’s thoughts and feelings regarding his subject, with the sestet offering a definitive final comment. The tone along with the rhyme is very regular, helping to convey the poet’s attitude. It has a continually lilting rhythm which reinforces the latter.…
When I read into the background of the poem I discovered that Henley wrote “Invictus” after deciding to have life threatening surgery to save his leg against the doctors recommendations. This information struck me differently as I began to think…
The novel that I have chosen is Tomorrow When The War Began by John Marsden. This is the first novel out of the seven part series and it was first written in the year 1993 to 1999 (with the sequel). This novel has had worldwide sales of about 2.5 million copies, which was written in a comparatively kind era. From the summaries on the websites, Tomorrow When The War Began tells a story of a young group of rebels that have been separated from their families, and are forced to fight in an invasion of their country that they are then thrown into a conflict that they never saw coming. The author of this novel, John Marsden, is an Australian author that has had his books translated into eleven languages, which are Norwegian, French, German, Swedish,…
kind for Doodle, but his Aunt Nicey disagrees saying “caul babies should be treated with…
“Nelson Mandela is a man of destiny” -F.W. De Klerk (140). How did a man who spent 27 years in prison change the hearts and minds of people who called him “terrorist in chief?” Is it possible for one man’s determination and careful planning change the direction of a country so set on the norm? John Carlin tells the story of Nelson Mandela through the eyes of people close to him as well as through the eyes of his enemies. Both friends and enemies portray just his presence as overwhelming. Invictus tells the story of how Mandela used his overwhelming presence to unite a country through the sport of rugby. The story begins on the morning of the 1995 Rugby World Cup championship game. The rest of the book details how he got to that point. Starting with his time on Robben Island as a prisoner for 18 years, where he was able to think and plan for a South Africa without apartheid. His last few years of prison he is allowed secret conversations with high ranking members of the National Party. In these conversations he uses his overwhelming presence to affect the hearts of powerful South African leaders and he is eventually allowed a visit from the President of South Africa which leads to his release. After his release he begins negotiations to end apartheid which leads to him becoming president. As president he has the daunting task of uniting a divided country. After many years of dealings with the Afrikaners (majority of white population), he decides rugby is how he will unite the country. The rest of the book details the events leading up to the 1995 Rugby World Cup championship game using friends and enemies of Mandela to detail the impact a sport could have on a country. Carlin tells a story of how Nelson Mandela used his overwhelming presence and political savvy to save a divided country from civil war with the game of rugby.…
“Icarus” by Edward Field is about a young man named Icarus Hicks who experiences anguish while living in the human world, but attempts to fly again. The original Greek myth of Icarus states that Daedalus, father of Icarus, made wings out of feathers and wax to escape from the Labyrinth (a complex maze he built). After constructing the wings, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun; however, Icarus disregarded his warning and flew close to the sun, melting the wax. Icarus plummeted into the water where he drowned to death. The poem, “Icarus” exhibits how Icarus did not actually drown but swam to a city where he began to live a human life. References to the myth include, “compelled by the sun” (line 14) and “thought himself a hero” (26). Icarus is depicted as remorseful of his actions and wishes he had drowned instead.…
Blue and Gray Review: First Draft by Todd Mosier It's often said that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes, finding that beauty requires looking deeply beneath the surface. Never before has this sentiment seemed so relevant as when one first observes Gray and Gold by John Rogers Cox. Gray and Gold by John Rogers Cox, currently hanging in the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio, is nestled unassumingly in the American Modern section of the museum, and even just a quick glance can confirm that this painting has earned its home. This is America on canvas.…
In 2009 a movie was released with the title Invictus. The movie stars Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman. On February 11, 1990 Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years of being imprisoned in Robben Island. In 1994, he is elected President of South Africa. It is about the story of how Nelson Mandela, the president of South Africa, joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team to help unite their country. The movie ends with Morgan Freeman reciting Mandela’s favorite poem, “Invictus”. The first time I ever heard this poem was on an episode of One Tree Hill my sophomore year. Lucas Scott, the main character in one tree hill quotes the poem in episode six of season three. In the episode he finds out he has a congenital heart condition. He is told that he could never play basketball again but he pushes through it for the love of the sport. The final scene is of Lucas Scott doing suicides in the school gym. As he is doing suicides, there is a voice over of him reciting Henley’s poem. The poem show that Lucas is unconquerable by not giving up on basketball even though a doctor told him he wouldn’t be able…
Ok what I have got here today is a detailed speech and I intend to explain two poems “Disabled” and “Dolce et Decorum est.”, both written by Wilfred Owen. I would choose these two poems to be in an anthology because I found the poems to be very dramatic and extremely detailed. Owen intends to shock us by demonstrating what a soldier might expect in a situation between life and death. He is not afraid to show his own feelings. Wilfred Owen is an anti-war poet and expresses his ideas and feelings through various themes and poetic devices which I will be discussing throughout this speech.…
Evidencing that every text is a reflection of its context is Leon Gellert’s poem “A Military camp in Egypt” and Wilfred Owens “Dulce et Decorum est.” Poetry stemming from WW1 is frequently presented as constantly opposed to the futility the conflict created. This is made even more pronounced when the poets themselves were enlisted as soldiers and endured the horrors documented within their works. Both Gellert and Owen use their poetry as a means to voice their opposition to fighting and critique the government’s continued sacrifice of youth and innocence.…
Owen's war poetry is a passionate expression of outrage at the horrors of war and of pity for the young soldiers sacrificed in it. It is dramatic and memorable, whether describing physical horror, such as in‘ Dulce et Decorum Est’ or the unseen, mental torment such as in‘ Disabled’. His diverse use of instantly understandable imagery and technique is what makes him the most memorable of the war poets. His poetry evokes more from us than simple disgust and sympathy; issues previously unconsidered are brought to our attention. One of Owen’s talents is to convey his complex messages very proficiently. In‘ Dulce et Decorum Est’–‘ If in some smothering dreams you too could pace / Behind the wagon that we flung him in’ the horror of witnessing this event becomes eternal through dreams. Though this boy died an innocent, war allowed no time to give his death dignity, which makes the horror so more poignant and haunting. This is touched on in‘ Mental Cases’–‘ Treading blood from lungs that had loved laughter / Always they must see these things and hear them’. Many of the sights which will haunt the surviving soldiers are not what the officials have ordered them to do, but what they have done to save their own lives. It is the tragedy of war that you are not able to stop to help a dying man. They then, not only physically scarred and mentally changed, carry remedyless guilt with them. They have survived, at the expense of others–‘ Why speak not they of comrades that went under?’ (‘Spring Offensive’). Another dimension is that even the enemy soldiers are just like them, it is the politicians and generals who have caused this war, not these ordinary men. This is explored in‘ Strange Meeting’ - the meeting of an enemy who is really a‘ friend’.…
