Anthem for Doomed

Youth
Wilfred Owen
Compound word. This contrasts
with the rest of the aural imagery
used in S1 - the noises of horror
juxtaposed against this pleasant,
but meaningless, sound.
This simile is used to give the Rhetorical
audience the sense of the questions used to
soldiers’ deaths being begin both stanzas
indiscriminate & numerous.

Anaphora - the
repetition of “only”
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
stresses the nature of Consonance links these 2 words, building the contrast
their deaths. It is the between home and the front lines.
‘answer’ to the Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
rhetorical question.
Reinforces what the Alliteration to emulate the sound of
Personification relentless gunfire. Deliberately heavy &
soldiers get (horrid
sounds of warfare Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattleobvious,
instead of pleasant calling to mind
“passing-bells”). Builds Consonance creates a stuttering line that the hail of
the sense of inevitability brings to life the jarring rhythm of gunfire. bullets faced.
of their deaths. Can patter out their hasty orisons.
Personification, alliteration Enjambment A sense Consonance creates a
and onomatopoeia allows line 3 to of speed stressful building of
combine as methods to linger on the is created sounds, as if the line
make war seem more terrifying sounds by the itself is building in
brutal, violent and cruel. of gunfire. rhythm. anger.
Negative connotations Makes the stance on Cesura makes this line
are stressed by the remembrance rituals explicitly a little slower and
alliterative repeated use clear. Rather than paying tribute, mournful, juxtaposes
of ‘no’ and ‘nor’. Linked they’re more of an insult - they are with the brutal
to the “now”, ie, there is so far from the realities of warfare. depictions earlier in S1
no more ‘now’ for them.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells,
Consonance & internal rhyme is deliberately Comma and dash creates pauses which
tuneful, keeping with choir imagery. stress that no funeral rites can be given.

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, -

Metaphor - likens the shells to a choir from Consonance creates sense Repetition
hell singing in praise of death & destruction of increased ‘volume’ of ‘choirs’
heightens
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; the
Connotations tie to ideas of insanity, reinforcing contrast
ideas that war is absurd, futile & devastating .

And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

The ‘And’ makes the sounds described seem Sibilance softens the tone
irrelevant - it feels more like an afterthought, and marks the volta change.
much like the bugle calls themselves, as they The setting goes from front
called for men past the point of ever returning. lines to home front.
Consonance (cont on next slide) - the repeated ‘l’ 2nd rhetorical question -
continues through the whole stanza and fades pointing out that candles
towards the poem’s end, suggests both that the war are an inadequate
will have lingering consequences and, more hopefully, tribute for these soldiers.
that it will someday be replaced by a deeper peace.

What candles may be held to speed them all?

The term ‘boys’ stresses their ‘Answer’ to
vulnerability and youth. the rhetorical
question - no
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes candles, but
the fading
light in the
soldiers’ eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes. as they die.
Light is used
The looks in the soldiers’ eyes as they confront as a metaphor
their imminent deaths. The sibilance (alliterative for life.
End stop adds a
& consonantal) creates a whispering quality
sense of finality.
suggestive of weakness as life ebbs away.

S2 has a softer and more

compassionate tone.
Funeral theme is continued with This continues the idea of redefining Alliteration
the reference to ‘pall’ meaning usual rituals - these men won’t have
shroud, and a pun on ‘pallor’, funerals, therefore won’t have palls or
referring to the paleness of the coffins to drape them over. They will Consonance
mourners’ faces. instead be remembered in the grief- (see prev.)
stricken faces of their loved ones.
The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall;
Pallor relates to the paleness, but can also mean ‘deathlike’. This pun shows how the
girls have been touched by death in their own way. This suggests that their profound
grief is a more fitting way to honour them than any formal ritual would be.

Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,

Continues to offer ‘more fitting’ ways to honour the dead
Tone of hope - the persona
Reinforces the Rhyming couplet hopes effects of this war will
cycle of life & death concludes the sonnet make future wars unlikely.
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
Ongoing rituals Metaphor for the soldiers’ deaths (eyes
The tone of a
show that the closing), also a literal action (closing the
prayer is captured
negative legacy of house blinds). People doing ‘normal’ things -
by the solemn
war will live on, but a mundane image, but miraculous in its
pace and rhythm
also that life will peaceful simplicity. Being grateful for day-to-
of the last line.
slowly move on. day also honours the fallen.
6
 Structure
► Owen uses a carefully structured Spenserian
sonnet form to present his ideas.
► The Spenserian sonnet form is a 14 line, two
stanza poem, made up of three quatrains and a
concluding rhyming couplet.
► First stanza – octet (8 Lines)
► Second stanza – sestet
► Each stanza has a different focus on the one
unifying idea – sacrifice and death is part of war.
 Structure cont.
► Owen has used a 10 beat iambic
pentameter rhythm and concludes with a
rhyming couplet to further enforce the tone
of the poem, deep pity and pointless loss.
 General information
► An Anthem is a short musical composition, usually
sung on ceremonial occasions. Could you imaging
listening to Owen’s Anthem at the opening of an
Olympic games?
► It can also be a hymn that has religious, patriotic
and solemn overtones. Owen challenges both uses
of the Anthem. Think how civilised funerals usually
are and compare it to the young soldier’s funerals
in the poem.
 Poem Transformation
► While watching the transformation take note of the
following: context, music, composition.
 Transformation analysis
► Owen’s focus is on how the youths have
died and the pity of it. The transformation
focuses on a different angle. Identify the
angle and explain why you think the
composer has chosen to portray this side of
war.