Explain how Wilfred Owen conveys ideas about war and youth in the poem, “The Next War”?

Wilfred Owen a renowned WW1 poet and also dignified soldier projects a vector depicting the piteous nature of war. This is represented in the poem, “The Next War”. Owen’s notion coveys his vitriolic censure of the nobility of war and criticizes the advent of war. Owen explores the concepts of the perpetual nature of war and the complacency of soldiers toward death. By highlighting how war has had various implications on soldiers and society including youth, Owen achieves his intent illustrating his experiences.

By exploring the perpetual nature of war, Owen indicates how war has had ramifications on the potential of youth. He focuses on the elements such as the complacency of soldiers towards death and the ignorance of government authorities. The personification “friendly up to death”, represents the soldiers’ amicable nature towards “death” itself. Furthermore, the jocular tone reinforces how death is a harbinger for the soldiers who are desensitised to the common occurrence of war. Owen enables the embodiment of “Death” to reflect the complacency of soldiers towards death. Owen also highlights the cyclic nature of war to emphasise the devastating extent of impacts it has on the common soldier. The tactile imagery , “Sat down and eaten with him”, presents an itemisation of the soldiers’ encountering of death. Moreover, it features the nonchalant attitude of soldiers as it is symbolized by war’s perpetuity in the diction of the word, “bland”. The dull connotations of the word illustrate an association with the incessancy of of weaponry and artillery. Thereby, Owen dawns light on the pity of war by reiterating the notion of the perpetual nature of war and complacency of soldiers towards death. This conveys how the aspect of the youth exploitation has been incorporated by Owen to render the unfulfilled potential of life.

Moreover, as the poem enters a transition as Owen illuminates on how soldiers are subdued by the extent of desensitisation. The complacency of soldiers towards death depicts how “Death” and the soldiers have created a nexus or camaraderie. The alliteration of the “w” sound in “We whistled while he shaved us with his scythe”, mocks the sound of wailing shells “singing” may suggest a sense of elation and triumph adding further to the personification of death. A sinister element is also evoked to portray the “friendly” companionship between the soldiers and the “Death”. The symbolism furthermore of the scythe perhaps could be a reference to a “close shave” or a brush with “Death”. This therefore depicts the complacency of soldiers towards