Anthem for Doomed Youth
Wilfred Owen (1893 – 1918)
Anthem for Doomed Youth
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 now for them; no prayers nor bells;
5
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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Anthem for Doomed Youth
Wilfred Owen – a soldier who was suffering from shell-shock (PTSD) while writing this poem. Died a
year later in battle.
• 1. a rousing or uplifting song identified with a particular group, body, or cause.
• 2. a musical setting of a religious text to be sung by a choir during a church service, especially in Anglican or
Protestant Churches.
• Death/injury/disaster is certain
• Boys that go into battle are young and immature and don’t realise the horrors on the battlefield – think it is
honourable and they are eager
 Contradiction in the title?
 The poem laments the loss of young life in war and describes the sensory horrors of combat. It takes
particular issue with the official pomp and ceremony that surrounds war (seen in the word "Anthem" in the
title), arguing that church bells, prayers, and choirs are inadequate tributes to the realities of war.
 The poem brings the reader right into the normally hidden senselessness of this fighting, and the brutality,
too. It holds that horror-filled image up next to the more patriotic versions of war we get at home, so the
reader could see how different, and how terrible, war truly is.
Lines 1 – 4: pleasant sound of bells vs the sounds of the realities of war
Church bells rung
when a person dies
Rhetorical
question: no bells
– what’s the
point?
Why not
‘those’?
Herds slaughtered
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Adjective:
Scary/
— Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Personification?
frightening
>
Only
the
stuttering
rifles'
rapid
rattle
destruction
Alliteration?
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
Suddenness of
death in frontline war
prayers
Rhyme and rhythm:
Musical and exciting yet
monstrous and
frightening
Points to ponder…
• Effectiveness of poet’s use of rhetorical question to make his point.
• How imagery(figures of speech) and diction(adjectives) is used to
convey the poet’s attitude to war.
• Explore the how the use of imagery and diction serve to convey the
poet’s view of the propagators of war. Who are the people that
propagate war?
Lines 5 – 8: rituals are far removed from realities of war - pretentious
Rituals like the elaborate
ceremonies/bells mock
those they’re supposed to
honour
‘no’ sound - closing
down or rejection of
possibilities
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
Intensity and
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
consistency
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
Adjectives:
Piercing sound
Twisted / mad /
insane / exciting
Instrument used
at funerals
Or as military
signals
L8 –
Change?
No answer to these calls:
towns left with most young
men dead
Points to ponder…
• Consider how the poet uses sound to highlight the realities of war vs
the pretentiousness of rituals.
• Explore the rhyme scheme of lines 1-8.
Lines 9 – 12: emphasizes the emotional aspect of war – grief, pain & suffering for families
Metaphor for
larger ceremonies
to honour
Help them pass
on peacefully eg.
ligthing a candle
Rhetorical
question: no
candles – what’s
the point?
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Choir boys
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
a that fighting The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
one’s country is
noble/good
Sad look on the wives’
sisters’ and mothers’ faces
Why not men?
Tears and memories
of loved ones –
short lives
Cloth covering the
coffin – usually a
flag
Points to ponder…
• Consider the poet’s use of a rhetorical question yet again. What point
is he making here.
• Explain the message the poet is trying to relay to the young men and
their families in these lines.
Lines 13 & 14: sorrows of warfare, both for the soldiers and their families.
On coffins to
signify sympathy
(bloom?)
Affection of those left in
pain and suffering Realisation?
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
Slowing
down and
quiet
Tender moment of
grief: shut everyone
out and mourn in
one’s own personal
way
End of life
Symbol for the
way of keeping
out the
realities of war:
Lack of
responsibility?
Points to ponder…
• Consider the poet’s attitude and tone. How do they support the point
the poet is making about war?
• Carefully analyse the structure, rhyme and rhythm of the poem. How
do they support the content and message of the poem
• Discuss the development of the following themes: warfare, religion
and death.
Questions:
1.
The title of the poem is ironic. Explain how the poet used irony to sum up his philosophy as presented in the poem.
(2)
2.
Discuss the effectiveness of the opening questions as a statement of the poet’s attitude towards warfare.
(3)
3.
Examine the poem carefully and determine what type of sonnet it is.
(2)
4.
What word would best describe the overall tone of the poem? Justify your response by quoting to support your
answer.
(3)
5.
Is the final line a fitting conclusion to this sonnet? Justify.
(3)
6.
What is the poet’s attitude towards war? Discuss with reference to the words and images used in this sonnet.
(4)