Anthem For Doomed Youth Analysis

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
   Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
   Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries for them; no prayers nor bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
   Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
   The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

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u guys are grreat and awesome keep up the good work thnks so much.

| Posted on 2009-11-16 | by a guest

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I'm year 9 at school & had to do an essay on this poem. I just read up the top that someone did this for A-Level i think it's ridiculous i had to do this. But anyway thanks for all the analysis' they really helped me with my essay thank you!
Gabby!

| Posted on 2009-11-15 | by a guest

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How is this poem remotely inspirational? It's beautifully written, yes, and the message is very powerful. But it doesn't make me feel inspired, it makes me feel guilty for being a part of a society that would allow this kind of slaughter to happen.

| Posted on 2009-11-14 | by a guest

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To "Tom Cook"... Wilfred Owen never had any children. Nice try, but I'm pretty sure you can't be a grandfather without being a father to begin with.

| Posted on 2009-11-14 | by a guest

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My name is Tom Cook. Wilfred was my great grandfather and I am so happy that so many of you appreciate his work. I love it how he refers to the 'boys' as he calls them, so very powerful. The nations hopes and prayers are not powerful enough to bring them home. This poem can be described in one word and one word only- inspirational.
Tom Cook

| Posted on 2009-11-06 | by a guest

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My name is Tom Cook. Wilfred was my great grandfather and I am so happy that so many of you appreciate his work. I love it how he refers to the 'boys' as he calls them, so very powerful. The nations hopes and prayers are not powerful enough to bring them home. This poem can be described in one word and one word only- inspirational.
Tom Cook

| Posted on 2009-11-06 | by a guest

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He asks rhetorical questions at the beginning of each stanza. He then answers them, not in the way portrayed by the military (propaganda, patriotism, honorable sacrifice) but rather in the harsh reality which he and his fellow comrades suffered through. I think the title is perfect "ANTHEM for Doomed Youth". As said previously its ironic how an anthem is meant to represent a country's pride and yet it is the complete opposite in their case.
Thanks for all the help from the comments, they were great!

| Posted on 2009-11-02 | by a guest

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a 14 lined poem is a soonet, but is also called an iambic pentameter

| Posted on 2009-11-01 | by a guest

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Yes very nice posts everyone. Its mostly very helpful. I noticed alot of people are meantioning the "for these who die as cattle" which yes shows how their was mass slaughter and how each soldier was not individually mourned upon or recognisd. This is also significant and Wilfred Owen the writer of the poem fought at war and on his way to the battle field they transported him in a cattle truck. So this quote is also a personal link to owen himself and how he felt degraded, and also leading to his idea that war is not honorable but more so degrading for the soldiers.
Thank you for all the posts it has been very helpful once again :)

| Posted on 2009-10-27 | by a guest

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i dont like poets because they then make us have to assignments on them! so what does the pallor of girls brows shall be their pall mean?

| Posted on 2009-10-20 | by a guest

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i felt deeply, a connectin which only i can feel it felt like a sexual experience....but better by ten times!!!

| Posted on 2009-10-13 | by a guest

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In my opinion, the poem shows war, in the perspective of a soldier, and wilfred himself was a soldier and wrote his experience into a poem.
The purpose is mainly to remember the history and make changes so that things so horrible wont happen again.

| Posted on 2009-09-29 | by a guest

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as of the first line, "What passing bells for these who die as cattle", shows that the soldiers died like the cattle, nobody cares about them. No mark of respect was given to the soldiers. Ironically, we kill cattle for food- the soldiers are killed for the protection of our homeland. It dosen't matter how many of them dies.

| Posted on 2009-09-27 | by a guest

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your messages make the peom much easier to understan
thank you so much for helping me understand more about
'Anthem for doomed youth'
cheers!

| Posted on 2009-09-03 | by a guest

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May i just begin by saying how horrible it is that some people could mock this poem in such a way. The only reason for disliking this poem is only because you do not understand it! Thank you to everyone who has helped me so i was able to understand this poem. To sum the poem up it is about soldier beging sent to war for no reason than to die as their death was predicted before they left. Hope it helps amy x

| Posted on 2009-08-02 | by a guest

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Hey guys ur posts are really usefull and give me a better understanding of what the poem about. Appreciate ur analysis thanks heapz

| Posted on 2009-07-01 | by a guest

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"Anthem for Doomed Youth," a wartime Sonnet by Wilfred Owen The poem uses many techniques to convey its meaning. By our understanding of the use of these techniques, the poem becomes easier to understand and at the same time, more is revealed to us. Wilfred Owen was a soldier during WW1 and therefore gives us a firsthand experience of war. He was against war and was appalled by the effects of war on people and their families.
By using a sonnet for the structure of his poem, Wilfred Owen introduces a touch of irony. The conventional function for a sonnet is love, but this poem has a sort of anti-love, or rather, a love that turns bad. The young male population have so much patriotic love, and are so eager to serve, but this love turns sour. They spend time rotting in the wastes of the trenches, only to be mown down in the blink of an eye by a machine-gun. Not only are their lives wasted, gone without the holy rite of a funeral, but the lives of their loved ones at home are also ruined.
The technique of comparison is used a lot in this poem. Owen explores the monstrosity of war in various examples of comparison. The boys "die as cattle," this conveys the idea that the young men going to war is the same as cattle going to a slaughter house to be killed. With no real purpose but to be mindlessly massacred. Through personification, the guns responsible for taking so much human life are made out to be monstrous, even evil. The poem also likens their deaths to a funeral, but one where the bells are shots, and the mourning choirs are the army's bugles. The drawing down of the blinds, the traditional sign to show that the family is in mourning, has been likened to the drawing of a sheet to cover the dead.
Through various literary techniques, Wilfred Owen enhances the meaning of the poem. The title itself has significant use of assonance, "Doomed Youth." The sound is intended to be drawn out, long and melancholy, as melancholy as the subject of war itself. Onomatopoeia is used to make the sounds real: as if we were really there. We hear the "stuttering rifles" and the "patter out their hasty orisons." Repetition and alliteration have also been used to make the poem reflect the ordeal that the soldiers had to face: monotonous boredom in the terrible conditions, then their death, inevitable from the start, will come.
The poet structures the poem in a fascinating way. The poem is split into two parts, one part contains eight lines and the second part contains six lines. In the octet a question is asked in the first line and answered in the remaining seven lines. The poet also uses the same technique in the sestet, asking a question in the first line and answering it in the remaining five lines. The first part, the octet, focus’ on the realities of war on the battlefield, giving us an experience of what it is like to see and hear the disturbing sounds and visuals. The second part, the sestet, focus’ on the effects that the war had on the families of the soldiers.
The octet is dominated by the harsh sounds of war on the battlefield. The octet starts off with a question, “What passing-bells for those who die as cattle?” this is a good way to open the poem. The question contains a simile, “die as cattle”. This is referring to the soldiers being treated as cattle and creates an image of cattle being slaughtered in vast numbers. It could also be referring to the soldiers being treated as less than human. This has a great effect on what you think about the poem and the war. The poet then starts to reveal the realism of war through a selection of literary techniques in the remainder of the octet, “rifles’ rapid rattle.” An example of alliteration to emphasise that the opposing troops did not take pity on the individuals they are trying to kill. This makes the reader think of why the soldiers were battling. Both sets of soldiers are the same, fighting for leaders who are craving for power. “The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells.”This line shows that the wailing of the shells are constantly being launched as if they were a choir. A high-quality piece of word choice. “Demented” shows that the wailing of the shells are insane and creates the impression that things are going to turn out dreadful.
Wilfred Owen then separates the sestet from the octet by a question. “What candles may be held to speed them all.” This question introduces the consequences that the war had on the families of the soldiers back home. The question also brings in religious views which are backed up with other spiritual language such as, “orisons”. This is referring to the soldiers praying to a god, thus stressing that the soldiers do not want anything to do with such a terrible occurrence.
The poet draws the poem to a close suitably, “Drawing-down of blinds.” This is an excellent way to conclude the poem. The drawing-down of the blinds generates an image of shutting the blinds at night to end the day, only this time it is the end of a horrific ordeal for all of mankind.
I thought the poem was unusual but enjoyed reading it none the less. Owen is a fantastic writer and obviously despises the bloodshed, unnecessary slaughter and the horrors that soldiers had to put up with during the war. My opinion of the poem is that it is very well written. Owen has used imagery to make the reader understand that the death of the soldiers was common, expected and insignificant. He also makes excellent use of alliteration, onomatopoeia, similes, and rhyme which conveys Owens anger and unhappiness with the army and his pity for the soldiers.

| Posted on 2009-06-01 | by a guest

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I think that instead of saying that the soldiers deserve a proper funeral, Owen is saying that a proper funeral service would have been a mockery, that people need to respond properly. It doesn't matter what funeral they get, as long as every soldier is remembered.

| Posted on 2009-05-19 | by a guest

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"What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?"
Wilfred Owen is conveying the idea that the young men going to war is in the same like cattle going to a slaughter house to be killed. With no real purpose but to be mindlessly massacred.

| Posted on 2009-05-10 | by a guest

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I think that Owen has juxtaposed an ordinary funereal & how soldiers die in a battlefeild.By speaking of the absence of the bells,mourning & chiors, i think Owen wanted to emphasize on the pathetic fate of the soldiers who lost their youth & life in the battlefield.& It's important to not that Owen (though emphasizing on the sldires' fate) aslo talks about its effect on their loved ones at home. The beauty of the poem lies in how he evokes the readers' sympathy through clever tehchniques.

| Posted on 2009-04-23 | by a guest

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I think the poem shows a hard core message to all readers and that is to die at a war could be like being slaughterd like a cow. Meaning no one cares

| Posted on 2009-03-29 | by a guest

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i think that this sonnet is really good.it brings in all the language techniques. its quiet hard to understand,but got a really great meaning. its tells us how the soldiers risk their life us and we dont even care. they also gave up their families. they are not even buried properly.

| Posted on 2009-03-28 | by a guest

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Anthem For Doomed Youth is a sonnet written by Wilfred Owen about the realities if war through the eyes of a soldier. Wilfred Owen was a soldier during WW1 and therefore gives us a firsthand experience of war. He was against war and was appalled by the effects of war on people and their families.
The purpose of the poem is to raise themes such as the realities of war; this creates an atmosphere of despair about human existence. In this essay I will reveal the realities of war through a variety of writing techniques and give my personal opinion on the poem and how it is written.
In the way he composes it Wilfred Owen enhances the meaning of the poem. The title itself has significant use of assonance. "Doomed Youth." The expression is intended to be drawn out, long and melancholy, as melancholy as the subject of war itself. The title also indicates that this is a national thing, everyone is a part of it. “Anthem”. The word signifies a national anthem, where everybody joins in and takes pride from it. The poem does not reflect that the soldiers took pride be fighting in one of the world’s greatest disasters.
The poet structures the poem in a fascinating way. The poem is split into two parts, one part contains eight lines and the second part contains six lines. In the octet a question is asked in the first line and answered in the remaining seven lines. The poet also uses the same technique in the sestet, asking a question in the first line and answering it in the remaining five lines. The first part, the octet, focus’ on the realities of war on the battlefield, giving us an experience of what it is like to see and hear the disturbing sounds and visuals. The second part, the sestet, focus’ on the effects that the war had on the families of the soldiers.
The octet is dominated by the harsh sounds of war on the battlefield. The octet starts off with a question,
“What passing-bells for those who die as cattle?”
A good way to open the poem. The question contains a simile, “die as cattle”. This is referring to the soldiers being treated as cattle and creates an image of cattle being slaughtered in vast numbers. It could also be referring to the soldiers being treated as less than human. This has a great effect on what you think about the poem and the war.
The poet then starts to reveal the realism of war through a selection of literary techniques in the remainder of the octet.
“rifles’ rapid rattle.”
A fine piece of alliteration to emphasise that the opposing troops did not take pity on the individuals they are trying to kill. This makes the reader think of why the soldiers were battling. Both sets of soldiers are the same, fighting for leaders who are craving for power.
“The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells.”
This line shows that the wailing of the shells are constantly being launched as if they were a choir. A high-quality piece of word choice. “Demented” shows that the wailing of the shells are insane and creates the impression that things are going to turn out dreadful.
Wilfred Owen then separates the sestet from the octet by a question.
“What candles may be held to sped them all”
This question introduces the consequences that the war had on the families of the soldiers back home. The question also brings in religious views which are backed up with other spiritual language such as, “orisons”. This is referring to the soldiers praying to a god, thus stressing that the soldiers do not want anything to do with such a terrible occurrence.
The poet draws the poem to a close suitably,
“Drawing-down of blinds.”
This is an excellent way to conclude the poem. The drawing-down of the blinds generates an image of shutting the blinds at night to end the day, only this time it is the end of a horrific ordeal for all of mankind.
My view on the poem is that it is very well written. I am fond of the way the poet uses imagery to create a mood within the room, in which, the reader is in. Owen has used this imagery to make the reader understand that the death of the soldiers was common, expected and insignificant. He also makes excellent use of alliteration, similes, and rhyme which conveys Owen’s anger and unhappiness with the army and his pity for the soldiers.

| Posted on 2009-03-16 | by a guest

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Rapid - rattle is NOT assonance it is alliteration. Assonance is the repeating of a vowel sound and R is not a vowel.

| Posted on 2009-03-10 | by a guest

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Wilfred Owen’s ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ creates a picture of young soldiers dying on the battlefield. The reader is made to feel the grief of this poem together with the dead soldiers mourning families. Effective use of imagery, alliteration, and end rhyme as well as great writing leaves the reader with a lasting impression. The title alone shows how passionately Owen felt about the soldiers who were dying in the trenches daily. An anthem is a song of pride; this is sarcasm as ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ reflects on no pride for the soldiers. The ‘doomed youth’ are the young soldiers and the poem is an ‘anthem’ for them, however they were no longer around to hear or even sing it.
Owen has constructed this poem as a Petrarchan sonnet; this introduces a touch of irony. A sonnet is a love poem however there was no love for the soldiers on the battlefield. The soldiers went to war with so much love for their country, but then this love turned sour. Throughout the poem the use of end rhyme transpires with the rhyme scheme of ABABCDCD EFFEGG.
The first line is a rhetorical question, ‘What passing bells for those who die as cattle?’ This is implying that when the soldiers die there will be no bells rung at their funeral, they were laid to rest with no formal mark of respect. It immediately gets the reader involved in the poem. ‘Those who die as cattle,’ the death of the soldiers are compared to cattle. This is a harsh and vivid simile. The bodies of the dead soldiers were thrown into the trenches, as cattle to be deposited of in mass graves. Nobody mourns the death of cattle; similarly, a soldier’s death was one of little meaning. Whilst fighting they were no longer around family. They were among other men whose lives were also meaningless, until they were taken home to be laid to rest amongst their loved ones. There is no separate emotion for each man; they died all the same, like cattle going off to a slaughterhouse. ‘Anger of the guns’, this is effective use of personification and imagery, because we can visualise the guns. They would have been ‘angry’ because they were from the enemy’s side. This shows the strength of the guns were superior to the soldiers.
Owen goes on to use the alliteration of the ‘r’ sound in ‘stuttering, rifles’ rapid rattle’. This is effectual because the ‘r’ sound is very strong and harsh which shows the rifles were harmful. When the reader reads these words it sounds like the sound a rifle would make when it is being shot. The word ‘stuttering’ proves the continuity of the rifles. This also answers the question asked at the beginning of the poem. Only the sound of rifles will be heard at their funerals.
‘No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
No any voice of mourning save the choirs, -
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.’
‘No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells’, is an extension to the answer of the question at the beginning of the poem. The soldiers heard no bells at their funeral; instead, gunshots flying at them and their fellow mates. Owen cleverly lists the things someone would get at their funeral; however his point is that the soldiers will not get a proper funeral. Here, Owen also uses repetition of the‘ll’ sound, ‘bells, shrill, shells’. This sound gives the reader a sense of mourning. Owen explains in this part of the poem that the soldiers will get nothing in return of their service. They will get ‘the shrill, demented choir of wailing shells’, the wailing of the shells is personification of the voices of the singing choir. Owen furthers the reader’s understanding by implying that the young men will never be able to leave the battle field - even if they physically leave; in their minds they will still remember the shells of the war. In the battlefield, the overall impression would be harsh and discordant, making the listeners wince. This is why the choirs are described as “shrill” and “demented” – it is a mad and horrific cacophony of sound. This develops the idea of the noise of battle from the opening lines.
The second stanza is mostly about how the families and friends felt about the sending off of their loved ones.
‘What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.’
The use of another rhetorical question quickly grabs the reader’s attention and leaves them thinking more deeply into the situation. Owen speaks about how the soldiers will not get a proper funeral. Although there will be no holy candles held for them, there will be some sort of holy glimmer. This however, will come from the eyes of the soldiers-they will shine. There eyes could be glimmering because they are happy to have escaped the harsh war reality. The symbolism of their eyes shining is a way of saying goodbye as they substitute the candles which would have been lit to say goodbye. Owen uses the metaphor, ‘The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall’, by this he means that the girls will have a pale complexion, because they would be mourning, this would have replaced the pall (covering) of the soldier’s coffin. ‘Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds’. The flowers that would be placed on the coffin would be a product of ‘patient minds’ meaning that out of respect for their deceased loved ones, they would place flowers atop the casket. ‘Each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds’, this is the use of imagery, people draw down their blinds everyday and soldiers die everyday in the trenches. Owen has used this imagery to make the reader understand that the death of the soldiers was common, expected and insignificant. However, traditionally the blinds are drawn when someone dies. It is a sign to the world and a mark of respect for them. Instead of blinds being drawn around a dead person, the soldiers lying dead on the battlefield would simply have the day draw to a close. “Dusk” would come naturally, darkening the place where they lay. The alliteration of ‘d’ “dusk a drawing down”, reminds the reader of bell sounds and a dull stillness.
Overall, ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ is a solemn poem portraying the realism of war. Describing the sending off of the soldiers after they had been used to serve their country. It is stressing that they were not treated well and they didn’t leave their loved ones with much dignity. Excellent use of alliteration, similes, and rhyme conveyed Owen’s anger and unhappiness with the army and his pity for the soldiers, brilliantly. Owen's purpose in writing the poem was to show the public how truly terrible the war was. He wanted to show the public how the young men were dying needlessly.

| Posted on 2009-02-28 | by a guest

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Th first line in the first stanza
"What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?" contain a rhetorical question, allusion and a simile.
Owen uses "cattle" to emphasize the comparion of how the soldiers died just like cattle. They just get slaughtered. Also Owen uses the rhetorical quetion to express his anger and resent towards the homefront. This is supported when he also answers the rhetorical quesiton. The allusion is that the "passing bells" are not present in the battlefield (obviously). This alludes to the bells being struck at a funeral.
I could tell more because im studying it at class, but CBF.
TSDEWYASCSC

| Posted on 2009-02-22 | by a guest

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I think Owen uses the layout for a sonnet because he wants to create irony and highlight the contrast between love and war. :) Just a suggestion...

| Posted on 2009-02-19 | by a guest

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Wilfred Owen’s Anthem for Doomed Youth creates a picture of young soldiers dying on the battle field. As well as a family at home sharing the mourning for their lost sibling, the reader feels the grief of this poem. Effective use of imagery, alliteration, and end rhyme as well as great writing gives the reader a lasting impression. The title alone shows how strongly Owen felt about the soldiers who were dying every day. An ‘anthem’ is supposed to be a proud song, and this is sarcasm as there is nothing happy or proud about the poem. The ‘doomed youth’ are the soldiers, this ‘anthem’ is for them, and however they will not be around to hear or even sing it.

| Posted on 2009-02-18 | by a guest

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Does anybody know what does wraths flowers have to do with this poem?
Thanks.

| Posted on 2009-01-26 | by a guest

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"rapid rattle" is assonance and sounds like the machine guns

| Posted on 2008-11-29 | by a guest

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cheers for everyone who posted a worthwhile comment, helped me out in my a-level essay there. but for people who don't even know who wrote the poem? get an education you useless waste of space.
- cristie.

| Posted on 2008-11-26 | by a guest

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i thought that the poem was really good and i don't know how people could say such bad things about it, probably because they do not understand it. but i ask them, "think of a family member who was a soldier and died in war but never received a proper funeral. example, one of religion rather than one that is filled with cannons and gun shots going off. how would you feel when you know that they have risk their lives to save your country.

| Posted on 2008-11-03 | by a guest

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Thnx 2 whoevr posted the coment on 2008-02-20. Before, i had the impression that by 'patter out their hasty orisons' Owen meant the quick prayers that the soldiers mutter right before they die. But this is anothr way of looking @ it & thx 2 whoever that posted it.

| Posted on 2008-08-29 | by a guest

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One thing that I would like to point out is the format of the poem. It is in the format of a sonnet which is commonly used for love and romance but this poem is a war poem perhaps it suggests conflicting ideas about war as some see it as wonderful and great?
Just some random epiphany,
Shann.

| Posted on 2008-08-17 | by a guest

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this poem is really boring and i wish no one had ever written it
get an imagination mate
my cat could write a better poem

| Posted on 2008-07-14 | by a guest

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i feel that the poem showed appaling sense of imagination and stunk like like ha ha ha u thought this was going to be smart feel my pashion ah

| Posted on 2008-07-02 | by a guest

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i think that this poem shows that the soldiers in war died to the sound of guns and violence as said in lines 2and3.
i also agree that this poem shows the contrast between a proper burial and the one the soldiers had in war.
Line1 shows the comparison between the death of a soldier and the death of cattle because if you think about it cattle die usually after being slaughtered and they don't get a proper burial.
And thats all i have =]

| Posted on 2008-06-20 | by a guest

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i love maxine and bridgette.
if you want some of bridgette call 0402681137
she offers something that is out of this world.
she also like to smell other girls chairs :S
she has a stalker from her last out of this world experience and his name is Billy...

| Posted on 2008-06-02 | by a guest

.: Contrast :.

I feel that this poem shows much contrast as compared to a peacetime funeral. A peacetime funeral takes place normally at home or in a funeral parlour, but there is no real funeral for the soldiers' in this poem, no passing bells for the dead, only rifle and machine gun fire.
Next, in a peacetime funeral, prayers are usually said to appease the souls and candles are lit. However, int he poem, no prayers are said (line 5) and no candles are lit (lines 9 & 10) The only light that is there in their funeral will be the "glimmer of goodbyes" in their eyes (line 11)
Lastly, in a peacetime funeral, the choir will sing songs of mourning. However, in the soldiers "funeral", the only choirs are the shrill choirs of the shells that hit him (line 7) and the sounds of military commands by the bugle will be the only instrument mourning him.

| Posted on 2008-05-11 | by a guest

.: This poem :.

I feel that this poem is suitable in portraying the youths who are literally "doomed" as they go out for war. These youths' deaths are inevitable as shown from "And bugles calling them from sad shires," which means that military funerals have alrdy been carried out in their sad homelands. The government and the people knew that these youths were doomed to fail and lose their lives. Also, they die in the most insignificant and gruesome way as possible. It is insignificant as they die amidst the horrible war, with "the monstrous anger of the guns" and the "rapid stuttering of rifles," which speaks out hasty funeral prayers. This shows that these youth's deaths are not commemorated in any heroic, slow or solemn manner but in the most trivial manner possible as the prayers are conducted quickly without much heed, and they are dying far away from their homelands, without their loved ones, just the war, and the shrill of bullets to accompany their death. This is such a horrible and merciless way to die. These youths are slaughtered like animals as shown from the word "cattle", which symbolizes how trivial and cameo their lives are, akin to lambs to the slaughter. Also, how about the last stanza: dusk and the drawing-down of binds. This portrays night and symbolizes death, as the drawing down of curtains is a tradition to ensure that the person's death is a sign to the world and also a mark of respect

| Posted on 2008-02-20 | by a guest