Disabled vs. an Unknown Girl
A Comparative Essay between “Disabled” and “An Unknown Girl”
Moniza Alvi reflects on India as her hand is hennaed by “an unknown girl” “in the evening bazaar”. The predominantly upbeat mood of this poem contrasts with the pessimistic mood in “Disabled” written by Wilfred Owen, a soldier in the First World War, stating his anti-war view through a poem on the life of a young soldier “sewn short at elbow”, crippled by war. In his poem, the difference between past and present allows Owen to reveal the regret and disappointment felt by the persona whereas, although Alvi portrays India as a magical, beautiful place where she experiences freedom, the ending reveals she will never be completely included. As such both poems illustrate longing but Alvi is longing for her identity whereas Owen is longing for his past life.
To begin with, there is a difference in mood between “An Unknown Girl” and “Disabled” as Alvi creates an optimistic mood whereas Owen creates a predominantly depressing mood. Owen creates this by suggesting a theme of isolation felt by the persona which is implied in the first stanza when Owen says “mothered them from him”. The word “mothered” has caring, kind connotations but when used with “from”, it implies that he is not given the love and is actually an outcast which creates a strong negative mood as we can feel his seclusion. Similarly, “Espirit de corps” is said in an ironic tone which emphasises the fact that he is an outcast and that war does not leave you with glory or pride. This inspires pathos as everything has been taken away from him and he is no longer included, an idea which is further emphasised by the iambic pentameter in the first stanza, communicating the dull monotony of his life due to the isolation as he has no one to share anything with. Finally, the question at the end of the poem “Why don’t they come?” shows that he is literally waiting for someone to “put him into bed” as he is not able to do this himself. We can
Moniza Alvi reflects on India as her hand is hennaed by “an unknown girl” “in the evening bazaar”. The predominantly upbeat mood of this poem contrasts with the pessimistic mood in “Disabled” written by Wilfred Owen, a soldier in the First World War, stating his anti-war view through a poem on the life of a young soldier “sewn short at elbow”, crippled by war. In his poem, the difference between past and present allows Owen to reveal the regret and disappointment felt by the persona whereas, although Alvi portrays India as a magical, beautiful place where she experiences freedom, the ending reveals she will never be completely included. As such both poems illustrate longing but Alvi is longing for her identity whereas Owen is longing for his past life.
To begin with, there is a difference in mood between “An Unknown Girl” and “Disabled” as Alvi creates an optimistic mood whereas Owen creates a predominantly depressing mood. Owen creates this by suggesting a theme of isolation felt by the persona which is implied in the first stanza when Owen says “mothered them from him”. The word “mothered” has caring, kind connotations but when used with “from”, it implies that he is not given the love and is actually an outcast which creates a strong negative mood as we can feel his seclusion. Similarly, “Espirit de corps” is said in an ironic tone which emphasises the fact that he is an outcast and that war does not leave you with glory or pride. This inspires pathos as everything has been taken away from him and he is no longer included, an idea which is further emphasised by the iambic pentameter in the first stanza, communicating the dull monotony of his life due to the isolation as he has no one to share anything with. Finally, the question at the end of the poem “Why don’t they come?” shows that he is literally waiting for someone to “put him into bed” as he is not able to do this himself. We can