ꕥ anthem for doomed youth
horror of war
sonnet form of the poem is used ironically
sonnets have 14 lines, iambic pentameter + regular rhyme scheme
sonnets usually written about love
owen uses the sonnet form ironically to show to contrast between the
harshness of his subject matter and the beautiful images one would expect
to find in a sonnet
what passing-bells for those who die as cattle?
similie compares soldiers to cattle unknowingly being led to a meaningless
death - shows how war is dehumanising and the deaths of soldiers are
pointless and cruel as they did not know what they signed up for when they
enlisted
rhetorical question shows owens outrage - creates angry tone showing the
injustice of war
‘only the monstrous anger of the guns’
guns are personified - irony of the things taking life are given life while the
soldiers were dehumanised
war is so dehumanising to soldiers that the weapons have more human
qualities than them
‘monstrous’ - connotations of something extremely aggressive and
frightening
‘only the stuttering rifles rapid rattle’
again personification - sam effect as line before
short syllables and alliteration of ‘t’ in this line create onomatopoeia which
mirrors the sound of guns which make the reader imagine what it is like for
ꕥ anthem for doomed youth 1
horror of war
sonnet form of the poem is used ironically
sonnets have 14 lines, iambic pentameter + regular rhyme scheme
sonnets usually written about love
owen uses the sonnet form ironically to show to contrast between the
harshness of his subject matter and the beautiful images one would expect
to find in a sonnet
what passing-bells for those who die as cattle?
similie compares soldiers to cattle unknowingly being led to a meaningless
death - shows how war is dehumanising and the deaths of soldiers are
pointless and cruel as they did not know what they signed up for when they
enlisted
rhetorical question shows owens outrage - creates angry tone showing the
injustice of war
‘only the monstrous anger of the guns’
guns are personified - irony of the things taking life are given life while the
soldiers were dehumanised
war is so dehumanising to soldiers that the weapons have more human
qualities than them
‘monstrous’ - connotations of something extremely aggressive and
frightening
‘only the stuttering rifles rapid rattle’
again personification - sam effect as line before
short syllables and alliteration of ‘t’ in this line create onomatopoeia which
mirrors the sound of guns which make the reader imagine what it is like for
ꕥ anthem for doomed youth 1
