How Does Wilfred Owen Use Satire In Poetry?

Section One I have chosen two poems that have been studied to be analysed. The first poem is ‘In Westminster Abbey’ by John Betjeman and the second one is ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen. The reason why I choose these two poems is because I have this tendency to be into war poems and am interested in how the poets used satire in them.
Satire is a powerful literature concept that can be used to address the fault in our society by using satiric devices such as humour, irony, invective, parody and many more. Even though these poets use criticisms to ridicule certain people, they are protected by the concept of satire itself, since those criticisms are implied in poems, rather than directly stated. Meyer (2009) indicates that poems are
Set during the beginning of World War II in Britain, it tells a story of a quite well-off woman who goes to Westminster Abbey one day in order to pray. At first, it can be seen that she is praying very sincerely, wishing for the well-being of the women of the Germans –England’s enemy in the war, the safety of those who fight for England i.e. the people of Jamaica, Hondura and Togoland, and so forth. However, later it becomes obvious that the real reason for her to pray is mostly herself. I can say that she is really being selfish for sure, for everyone is afraid of wars but not to the extent of praying for only oneself and being conceited even at the front of one’s God. We do care for other people even though the most important thing in the first place is our own safety as well as our family. Other people come down to the second place. But when it comes to this woman, it makes us wonder whether she is too afraid to be able to think properly or is just plain
It is shame that a poet with a talent for pure and raw poems died at the young age of 28. This poem shows the point of view of someone who is fighting in a war instead of someone who is just a spectator of war. Therefore, we can see a big difference if we compare this poem with the other poem I analysed that is ‘In Westminster Abbey’. We can see from the sentences such as ‘Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod’, ‘He plunges at me, guttering, chocking, drowning.’, that war is not a pretty sight especially for those who have to experience the hardship of battles. The poem’s speaker is trying to show here that yes, people can say that fighting for the independence of your country and dying in the process is sweet and proper, but the fact is it is only in the eyes of the people who never have to go through what the real soldiers have