Will Spier

In the poems ‘anthem for doomed youth’ and ‘the send off’ Wilfred Owen uses lots of techniques to convey powerful feelings about the war. Owens attitude to war is apparent in both poems. He uses a different setting in either one but his attitude of disapproval of the war was still shown thorough ought different settings in each of the poems to help show the different feelings towards the war. In ‘anthem for doomed youth’ he sets the setting in a battlefield where there is lots of powerful loud vocabulary, where as in the send-off it is set in a train station and he uses very quiet subtle vocabulary but still is has the same mood and the general theme is still the same. On the other hand the way that Owen conveys the mood is different. In the send off Own uses quiet and subtle language but that still has a powerful meaning behind them, they are given in a peaceful manor. In comparison to hat in anthem for doomed youth Owen uses harsh violent words such as ‘rapid rifles rattle’, this use of alliteration help to bring out the noise of the battlefield and the sound, which the solders would be hearing.

In the titles of ‘anthem for doomed youth’ and ‘the send off’ Owen went for a very different approach on how much he gives away within the titles concerning the context of the poem. He states that the men are ‘doomed’ and so they have no chance of survival in the war. In comparison he dose the complete opposite with the ‘the send off’ as with this title he decides to give very little away about what the poem could be about. It is only explaining that the poem is about somebody leaving, preferably the solders leaving for war. But dose a definite fate to which they will be going. Unlike ‘anthem for doomed youth’. This makes the reader have to think more about what is going to happen that the people that are being ‘sent off’. It also allows Owen to build up his anger thou ought the poem as it starts off a more settling poem but then gets greater in violent language and vocabulary, therefore portraying more of Owens anger with the war. This is very different to ‘anthem for doomed youth’ and the poem is very cynical and violent from the start.

Owen conveys his anger about the losses of the lives in the war in both of the poems by the use of sound imagery. In ‘the send off’ Owen describes the men as singing when they leave but this contrasts greatly with the end of the poem as Owen as Owen says that the men are ‘creeping back’ and that they are now ‘silent’. The use of the word ‘creep’ reinforces a silent return for the few men who return are not noticed.

Owens use of alliteration in ‘anthem for doomed youth’ helps the reader to understand the violent sounds that the solders experienced. ‘Rifles rapid rattle’ is a powerful phrase and a strong use of alliteration to show the reader the speed and violence of the battles that were taking place. Also the repetition of the ‘r’ sound is a good use of and onomatopoeic technique, it helps the reader get a sense the mimicking of the guns that Owen was trying to describe. This has an effective impact on the reader as it allows the reader to build up a mental picture of the scene and really get a feel for the point that Owen way trying to put across.

Owen structures both poems differently to help portray that each scenario has a different meaning. For example ‘the send off’ is a very slow starting poem with lots of short flowing stanzas, this helps the poem flow with a genital rhythm. This gives the poem quite a downbeat attitude but dose not dull down the meaning, which goes along well with the context of the poem. Where as in comparison to ‘anthem for doomed youth which there are a lot longer stanzas with more shorter snappier lines. This could be another link to the fast paced action of the battles. Is also gives the poem more of a lively rhythm to it. Also the fact that ‘anthem for doomed youth is actually a sonnet is a contrast to the true meaning to of a sonnet which is