Essays on Wilfred Owen

Wilfred Edward Salter Owen18 March 1893Oswestry, Shropshire, England

4 November 1918(1918-11-04) (aged 25)Sambre–Oise Canal, France

War poetry

First World War

18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918

Wilfred Owen was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War.

"Dulce et Decorum est", "Insensibility", "Anthem for Doomed Youth", "Futility", "Spring Offensive", "Strange Meeting".

Owens poems talk about the truth of war. The poems focus on the fear of war, horror, sacrifice, glory and questioning life's purpose. In particular, the poems “Mental Cases” and “Dulce Decorum Est” both strongly emphasise the reality and horrific experiences of war. Owen's aim was to tell the truth about what he called 'the pity of War'.

As a poet, Wilfred Owen was instrumental in depicting the realistic effects of War. As such, his poetic style appeared to be a combination of satire and anguish. He also is significant for his technical experiments in assonance, which were particularly influential in the 1930s.

Owen's legacy is inscribed into a culture of remembrance, as the body of his work is generally regarded as a memorial to the atrocities of war.

“Red lips are not so red as the stained stones kissed by the English dead.”
“All a poet can do today is warn.”