Has your soul sipped: Context
Owen wrote this poem in Craiglockhart (war hospital) in June 1917,
and show his first experiments in sustained parahyme. This was just
before Owen met Sassoon. During this time the Archbishop of
Canterbury had stated that “love your enemy” was wrong to follow,
at a time of war. Owen therefore felt confused by this statement and
wondered if Christianity had died. Although even though Owen was a
strong Christian, he wanted revenge on the enemy.
 the poem “Has your soul sipped” is all about the sense of happiness that the
persona that Owen created feels about killing someone at war (most likely an enemy
solider).
This sense of happiness is shown through the kind of lexis that Owen had used for
example “sweetness”, “sweets”, “love” and “smiling”.
The persona feels a sense of victory and power by killing this person “...or the proud
wound the victor wears” here he goes as far to say that he feels very proud of the
wound that he gave the enemy solider.
Even though killing someone isn't something to be proud of during the war some
people felt happy and the feeling that they achieved something. Also the reason why
so many men joined the army during the war is because they thought they had to
stand up and protect their country and by killing an opposing solider they felt as
though they have protected their country in one way or another
There are also a lot of negative lexis that is used for example “bitter”, “blood”,
“death” and “murdered”
This shows a really strong contrast between the lexis chosen to represent
“sweetness” and the negative lexis chosen.
The first few stanza’s in the poem tell us
Connotations of death, foreshadows
what happens later in the poem.
Stanzas 1-3
This feeling is greater than
anything else you could possibly
feel.
Constant repetition of the ‘s’
creates a sadistic sound and shows
the sadistic side of Owen.
Shows the withdrawal Owen is feeling.
He is hungry to feel that “sweetness”
again.
No control over this feeling
A feeling he didn't think he could
enjoy, but does.
Withdrawal
Pleasure
Parahyme
Themes
Uses words found typically in
poems, but contrast with war
imagery.
Rose has connotations of love
and death (placing a rose on a
grave)
Despair
Sadistic
Stanza 4
The lexis
“sweeter” is
repeated as
the first
word in
stanza’s 4,5
and 6
Sweeter than
nocturnes
Of the wild nightingale
Or than love's nectar
After life's gall.
In this whole stanza the persona is talking
about how this feeling is so much
superior than other feelings he’s felt. He’s
describing all these other things like
“sweeter than nocturnes......” and how the
is better.
Natural image:
one of victory as
it overcomes
something bitter
A nightingale creates
a birdsong through
the night and
creates a bittersweet
image because it is
the man that's
singing
This links to
soldiers singing
during the war to
keep their hopes
up
Stanza 5
Living is
opposite to
dying creates
a very strong
contrast
References to
senses
Sweeter than odours
Of living leaves,
Sweeter than ardours
Of dying loves.
This stanza is also another stanza where
the persona is describing the happiness
he’s feeling
Alliteration
Another reference to
death
‘Has your soul sipped’
Stanzas 8-11
Definition of wan: pale and giving
impression of illness or exhaustion.
Stanzas (8-11)
Or the sweet murder
After long guard
Unto the martyr
Smiling at God;
A oxymoron ‘sweet murder’
How Owen uses this to contrast
extremities of ‘death’.
Juxtaposition of the words
‘sweet murder’. Use of deixis as
reader will want to know how
and why this murder is sweet.
God could be the persona of poem, as he has taken
the boys life therefore Owen has earned his place in
heaven, so the boy is now smiling at him because he
knows that he can now go to heaven for sacrificing
himself for his country.
To me was that smile,
Faint as a wan, worn myth,
Faint and exceeding small,
On a boy's murdered mouth.
Though from his throat
The life-tide leaps
There was no threat
On his lips.
But with the bitter blood
And the death-smell
All his life's sweetness bled
Into a smile
The use of body parts- the
source of communication
and expression
Repetition of the lexis ‘faint’
which tells the reader how
weak the boy was and
everything and like his life is
fading away.
The purpose of these stanzas:
To contrast the first few stanzas about
the unidentified ‘sweetness’, to make
the reader realize that then sweetness is
of the death of a young boy from the
opposition.
You get an impression that Owen wants
you to understand that you should be
motivated for fighting for your country
and feeling pride in killing the
oppositions.
Death
Despair
Main
themes
The use of plosive letters
‘bitter blood’ imitating the
blood as being shaped as his
smile. ‘bled’
Conflict
This is giving the reader
imagery representing death as
a smell and connotes a
battlefield full of dead soldiers.
Loss of innocence
‘Murder’
‘Wild nightingale’
‘Mourning’
Leaves
ROSE
Nectar
Soul
How are
they
linked?
Moon
SOUL
Dying
blood
mouth
lips
Martyr
interpretations
The contrasts of
the different
themes help to
form a general
interpretations.
God
sweetness
Juxtaposition of death and nature.
Unnatural death (war) contrasted with
nature – intriguing.
smiling
proud
Rays of
the rubies
Love
dreams
Scent – odours of
leaves
Life's gall
dearth
soft
e
f
f
e
c
t
pride
Sight – rubies
sunrise
dying
Bitter
blood
Bitter
blood
Exceedingly
small
Death
smell
Nectar - taste
Helps set the tone and mood of the poem
wound
mourning
hungers
reflection
educate
engage
interact
insight