Compare and Contrast the Work of Two Post Twentieth Century Poems Essay Example

employs this tactic to demonstrate the existence of varying perspectives in every narrative.

Examining another one of Wilfred Owens' anti-war poems, "Disabled," is the focus of this analysis. The title is direct and unambiguous, reflecting the content of the poem about a soldier who has suffered the effects of combat; the absence of a name emphasizes the universality of the experience. Owen employs multiple nuances throughout the poem.

"Ghastly suit grey suit" refers to the man's appearance or mood, or the color of the pajamas worn by injured soldiers that strip them of their identity, reducing them to mere statistics. Owen uses this phrase in order to convey the various tragic meanings and provoke the reader's interpretation. The poem also demonstrates the toll that war takes on individuals, aging them prematurely and robbing them of their youth. As highlighted by "Voices of boys rang saddening," the victim is a young boy.

Owen emphasizes the irony of war to a young boy, highlighting how distant his carefree past seems. In just a year, he goes from worrying only about money for entertainment to having his life shattered by war and being robbed of his youth. Despite his young age, he is forced to mature quickly due to the devastating impact of war.

Owen uses sarcasm when stating that by signing up for the army, the soldiers "threw away his knees." However, one of the main reasons why young men like him enlisted was because they believed they would be greeted as heroes by girls upon their return. Unfortunately, this was not the reality for many soldiers who either died or returned home "Disabled" and were not welcomed as

they had hoped.

Despite being disabled or disfigured, most people choose to ignore their condition and move on. One of the poets I studied, Siegfred Sassoon, wrote a poem titled "Base Details" which carries several meanings. "Base" implies the camp where significant activities take place, and "Details" represent the gruesome and catastrophic outcomes of war. The poem begins with the phrase "If I were," suggesting that Sassoon is portraying a Major who is bald, short of breath, overweight, and unfit.

In his work, Sassoon critiques the practice of sending inexperienced young men to the front lines under false illusions of heroism. This is exemplified in his quote "speed glum heroes up the line dead". The public also fails to fully grasp the true horrors of war as demonstrated by the Mayor's ignorance in referring to a fallen soldier as a "poor young chap". Unlike the Mayor, soldiers do not have the luxury of returning home to die peacefully in their beds, as Sassoon points out in "I'd toddle softly home and die in bed". In another of his poems, "Suicide in the trenches", Sassoon highlights how soldiers are often referred to as boys due to their vulnerability and youthfulness.

Sassoon's poems are brief yet impactful, exemplified by lines such as "He put a bullet through his brain". The simplicity of the message makes it easier to convey. While one of his poems has three stanzas, the second does not follow the same rhyming scheme as the first and third, as Sassoon intended it to stand out. In addressing the reader as "you" in the third stanza, Sassoon prompts them to realize the gravity of the situation. All four

poems share a similar message intended for a specific audience. I found Sassoon's concise and direct approach particularly effective.

It seems that Owen's poetry tends to be longer because he doesn't want to omit any minor details. In order to comprehend the whole picture, every fact is necessary. Sassoon, on the other hand, generally conveys his message more directly and bluntly. This shock tactic is used to make his message memorable to his audience.