Poem

• What does the oxymoron "Doomed Youth" in the title mean?

  
  

  Owen laments the futile deaths of young men at war
• What does Wilfred Owen suggest about war in "Anthem for Doomed Youth"?

  War dehumanises soldiers
• What does the simile in"What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?" imply about soldiers' deaths?

  Soldiers are treated as expendable.
• What does the personification in "Only the monstrous anger of the guns" suggest?

  Soldiers have no chance against weapons
• How do alliteration and onomatopoeia function in "Only the stuttering rifles rapid rattle"?

  They create chaos of the battlefield. The alliteration echoes gunfire
• What does the religious imagery in "Can patter out their hasty orisons" convey?

  Owen's view that religion offers no hope on the battlefield that's why there is a repetition of "no"
• What does the repetition of "no" in "No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;" signify?

  Absence of mourning rituals
• What does the phrase "Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs" suggest about the battlefield?

  Only chaos remains, no mourning
• How does the onomatopoeia in the metaphor "The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells" contribute to the poem?

  It reflects the chaos of the battlefield
• What do the "bugles calling for them from sad shires" symbolize?

  Grief of loved ones for fallen soldiers. Owen believes young soldiers are lured to their deaths
• What does the rhetorical question "What candles may be held to speed them all?" mean?

  Questions faith
• What does the term "pall" refer to in the context of the poem?

  Cloth draped over a coffin. Owen expresses anger that fallen soldiers receive no proper burial/funeral
• How does Owen express anger regarding fallen soldiers' burials?

  They receive no proper burial or funeral
• What do "Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds" suggest about the fallen soldiers?

  They are remembered with love and care
• What does the metaphor "each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds" signify?

  Represents loss and a ceremony that households in mourning would draw blinds on the day of the funeral that fallen soldiers don't receive
• What is the structure of "Anthem for Doomed Youth"?

  • Sonnet form
  • Octave (first 8 lines)
  • Sestet (final 6 lines)
  • Rhyme scheme: octave ABAB, sestet ABBA
  • Iambic pentameter rhythm
• Why did Owen choose the sonnet form for "Anthem for Doomed Youth"?

  Sonnets are traditionally written about love > Owen manipulates this form to write about death and war
• How does the change in rhyme scheme reflect the nature of war?

  It reflects the unexpected and shocking nature
• What does enjambment after "rattle" signify in the poem?

  Reflects the never-ending chaos of war
• What does enjambment between "eyes..goodbyes." in the poem suggest about loss?

  It reflects the perpetual goodbye > loss
• What is the rhyme scheme of the octave in "Anthem for Doomed Youth"?

  ABAB
• What is the rhyme scheme of the sestet in "Anthem for Doomed Youth"?

  ABBA with a rhyming couplet
• How does the iambic pentameter rhythm relate to the poem's themes?

  It reflects the rhythm of a death march/marching to death
• What are the key themes in "Anthem for Doomed Youth"?

  • Dehumanization of soldiers
  • Futility of war
  • Absence of proper mourning
  • Questioning of faith and religion
  • Grief of loved ones
• How does Owen show that he believes that human life is futile on the battlefield 


  Through the juxtaposition between the dehumanisation of the soldiers and the personification of the guns
• What does the religious imagery throughout mean?


  Owen recognises that religion is a comfort to loved ones left behind - but he questions it. "candles" "holy glimmers" "prayers" "bells"