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‘‘Anthem for DoomedAnthem for Doomed Youth’ Youth’

This is one of Owen’s best known poems. Its plan issimple. With bitter irony, the first stanza translates

the pandemonium of battle into funeral rites for the

fallen. The second stanza continues the metaphor in

the quiet of a stricken Enlish !illae.

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"#nthem for$oomed %outh’

 An anthem is usually a hymnto praise or celebrate but in

this bitterly ironic title,Owen is criticising the

praising of War.

 You wouldn’t usually associate the youth withbeing doomed, but these men were being sent

to their deaths. Owen uses the association of

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““ What passing-bells for What passing-bells for

these who die as cattlethese who die as cattle??

 When a person died, their body would be ta"en to a church for

the funeral. #hese rights werenot gi$en to the those who died inthe war. #hese men died for their

country, yet what funeral right

 were they gi$en?

“passingbells” arethe bells

used toannounce a

death.

 What image is Owen creating here? #he sa$ageryand brutality of war is re%ected on in this image of

death. &sing the word 'cattle’ is a graphic way ofshowin how the men had no control o$er their

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““Only the monstrous angerOnly the monstrous anger

of the guns.of the guns.

Owen as"s a rhetorical )uestion

before pro$iding the answer. *eallows the reader to re%ect on the

reality of how young men die at warand what sounds after their death is

not bells , but..

+nstead of an honourable death, with afuneral and people mourning them,

they will ust die on the battleeld. oone will come and no one will try and

nd them.

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““Only the stuttering ri%es/Only the stuttering ri%es/

rapid rattlerapid rattle0an patter out their hasty0an patter out their hasty

orisons.orisons.

#he imagery Owen uses hereappeals to our hearing and sight.Owen recreates the sounds of thebattleeld , showing the anger of

 war with constant “stuttering ofguns "illing innocent li$es. 

#heir 'funeral prayers’need to be completed)uic"ly as there are so

many to be said. #hisempathises the $ast

Owen uses both

alliteration andonomatopoeia to furtherempathise the ring of

the guns. The

alliteration mimics thesound of the gun re.

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o moc"eries now for them1 noo moc"eries now for them1 no

prayers nor bells1prayers nor bells1or any $oice of mourning sa$e theor any $oice of mourning sa$e the

choirs, 2choirs, 2

#here is no dignity or pleasantries in dying at war.o one mourns for our men who ha$e been sent to

be slaughtered. #here are simply too many forthem to be accounted for indi$iduality and for themto all recei$e the burial they deser$e for ma"ing the

ultimate sacrice.

3espite Owen’s orthodo4 0hristian

upbringing, how his faith actuallyde$eloped during the last years isfar from clear, and it is hard not to

thin" that he was notremembering in this poem those

members of the clergy, and they

#he glorious

dead will ha$enothing. o

 $oices mourning

them. #here will

howe$er be

choirs. 5ut will

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““#he shrill, demented choirs of#he shrill, demented choirs of

 wailing shells1 wailing shells1 And bugles calling for them from And bugles calling for them from

sad shires.sad shires. 

#he only choirs that will be present at

these men’s funerals will be the horricsounds of shells and warfare. Owen is

emphasising the tragedy and pity of war.

6a$ing mad- thishighlights the sensethat the shells and

bombs arecompletely out of

control. 7erhaps

8any men came from the 9nglishcounties and countryside. 5ugles were sounded, calling them andencouraging them to go to war, to

their deaths. #here is solemntone here hei htenin the sense

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The juxtaposition of "choirs"The juxtaposition of "choirs"

and "wailing shells" is aand "wailing shells" is a

startling metaphor, od!sstartling metaphor, od!sworld and the e#il!s both asworld and the e#il!s both as

one$ after which line % leadsone$ after which line % leads

into the sestet with theinto the sestet with thecontrasted, muted sound ofcontrasted, muted sound of

the &ast 'ost.the &ast 'ost. 

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““ What candles may be held to speed What candles may be held to speed

them all?them all?

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““ot in the hands of boys but inot in the hands of boys but in

their eyestheir eyes:hall shine the holy glimmers of:hall shine the holy glimmers of

goodbyes.goodbyes.

(hy

doesOwenuse theword

“boys”)

The last sights these men would e#ersee would be the horrors and pity ofwar. The image here is of the tearful

eyes of the soldiers, glittering li*ecandles as they go towards their

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#he pallor of girls/ brows shall be their#he pallor of girls/ brows shall be their

pall1pall1#heir %owers the tenderness of patient#heir %owers the tenderness of patient

minds,minds,

+lowers suggestbeauty and

sadness.

paleness o-in cloth

They patientlywait for their

men to return.

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 And each slow dus" a drawing- And each slow dus" a drawing-

down of blinds.down of blinds.

 Aptly, dus" is falling in the last line and spea"s of

nality. #he dus" is slow, for that is how timepasses for those who mourn, and with the drawing

down of blinds and the attendant sadness.

 We may thin" of a house in :hrewsbury where atthe ele$enth hour of the ele$enth day of the

ele$enth month a telegram was deli$ered thatinformed Wilfred Owen’s parents of his death ust a

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+n 'Anthem for 3oomed Youth’ we see the mainimage is the funeral ser$ice that was not gi$en to

soldiers for their bra$ery and help to the country,instead Owen compares a burial to what happened

out on the battleeld. #he rst $erse was li$ely withgunre1 the imagery appeals to hearing and sight.

#he second $erse we see that there are no auralimages. +t is a much more silent and )uiet $erse,

trying to show the sadness of war. Owen was trying

to show the sadness of war.

 Anthem for 3oomed Youth is mainly about young,

bra$e soldiers not getting a proper funeral ser$ice.#here are images of death, sounds of gunre and

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