ANTHEM FOR DOOMED YOUTH BY WILFRED OWEN

ANTHEM FOR DOOMED YOUTH

A

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; 

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, –

The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; 

And bugles calling for them from sad shires.⁸

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.




Analysing : 

"Anthem for doomed youth" shows the readers the horror of war and how it is a misfortune to die in war . The poet fought in world war 1 and wrote this poem in a hospital . 




This poem discusses about how boys and men fighting in the war and then died , did not receive a proper funeral , evident from : " 

          What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? " . The poet here describes the youth fighting in the war as "cattle" . This shows that many people are being slaughtered and died in the war as if they are not worth anything , just like a cattle . Hence , this similie shows that the people fighting in this war are like mere cattles , not important at all . 

Also , the poet compares a normal funeral to the "funeral" at war . It is evident from " 

No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells " . This shows that the soldiers in war did not receive proper funerals like having "prayers" and "bells" but during war , they are only "stuttering rifles' rapid rattle" and "monstrous anger of the guns" . Hence , this implies that in war , no soldiers are being honoured but only more killing is done , showing that war is horrible . 

All in all , I feel that what the author is trying to tell the readers is that war is horrible and do no good to the world and I , strongly agree with it .



http://www.wargames.co.uk/poems/WWIpoems.html

                               https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzQiZFjlCHQ