English IO Part 4:

Strange Meeting
By: Wilfred Owen
It seemed that out of battle I escaped 
Down some profound dull tunnel, long since scooped 
Through granites which titanic wars had groined. 

Yet also there encumbered sleepers groaned, 

Too fast in thought or death to be bestirred. 
Then, as I probed them, one sprang up, and stared 
With piteous recognition in fixed eyes, 
Lifting distressful hands, as if to bless. 
And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall,— 
By his dead smile I knew we stood in Hell. 

With a thousand fears that vision's face was grained; 

Yet no blood reached there from the upper ground, 
And no guns thumped, or down the flues made moan. 
“Strange friend,” I said, “here is no cause to mourn.” 
“None,” said that other, “save the undone years, 
The hopelessness. Whatever hope is yours, 
Was my life also; I went hunting wild 
After the wildest beauty in the world, 
Which lies not calm in eyes, or braided hair, 
But mocks the steady running of the hour, 
And if it grieves, grieves richlier than here. 
For by my glee might many men have laughed, 
And of my weeping something had been left, 
Which must die now. I mean the truth untold, 
The pity of war, the pity war distilled. 
Now men will go content with what we spoiled. 
Or, discontent, boil bloody, and be spilled. 
They will be swift with swiftness of the tigress. 
None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress. 
Courage was mine, and I had mystery; 
Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery: 
To miss the march of this retreating world 
Into vain citadels that are not walled. 
Then, when much blood had clogged their chariot-wheels, 
I would go up and wash them from sweet wells, 
Even with truths that lie too deep for taint. 
I would have poured my spirit without stint 
But not through wounds; not on the cess of war. 
Foreheads of men have bled where no wounds were. 

“I am the enemy you killed, my friend. 

I knew you in this dark: for so you frowned 
Yesterday through me as you jabbed and killed. 
I parried; but my hands were loath and cold. 
Let us sleep now. . . .”
Banksy Graffiti Artwork
Rage the Flower Thrower
I would like to start my Individual oral by referring to a famous quote by George Orwell, "War Is Peace,
Freedom is Slavery and Ignorance is strength". Now, I am not saying this is true, but this is the issue I will
be focusing on today. The way in which governments manipulate citizens to take part in war! The texts I
will be discussing are Wilfred Owen's poem "Strange meeting" and a Banksy graffiti artwork, popularly
known as "Rage the flower thrower". In my exploration of Politics and Power, I learnt that in the name of
peace, citizens fall prey to many of the government manipulated schemes that have led to countless wars
and destruction, all of which were and are avoidable. In Owen's poem, he talks about the misuse of
nationalism which causes unnecessary war and human atrocities. Similarly, Banksy's artwork looks at how
we can try to turn violence into peace.

First, I would like to start with Wilfred Owen's poetry. In 1915 Owen enlisted in the British Army Reserves
during WWI. His own experiences largely influenced his thoughts and, therefore his poetry. He wrote of
endless marches, the terror of the howling shells, and the surprise attacks of poison gas. His constant
letters to his mother detailed the horrors that he witnessed, but his poetry captures the spirit of the war in
all its irrationality and brutality. Some of Owen's most famous poems include "Dulce et Decorum Est",
"Futility", and "Mental Cases". Poems such as Arms and the Boy follow an AABB rhyme and an iambic
pentameter with a heroic couplet. Traditionally, the heroic couplet was reserved for epic poems about war
and battles. It could be that Owen’s making a deliberate ironic choice here, by using a heroic form to
describe something that he thinks is not so heroic, even though his audience in the 1910s do not believe
so. In addition to using this structure, Owen has used "para-rhyme" in his poetry. For example “snow” and
“now” of the poem, Futility. The half-rhyme in the poem is used to create sounds of discordance and
depict the imperfectness of war. Like the technique, war was veiled by nationalism hence, deceiving the
citizens that war would help to bring about a perfect world.

Unlike many of his other poems, Strange meeting is written in free verse. “Strange Meeting” is a poem
about war, but it does not focus on heroic deeds or grand victories. Instead, the poem treats war as
horrifying, wasteful, and dehumanizing. It erodes the natural solidarity between human beings, turning
people who might be friends into mortal enemies. Owen is able to highlight the extremities of the
manipulation through his use of symbolism and personification. The poem is set in a “tunnel”, making it
one of the most notable symbols in the poem. As the persona eventually realizes, this tunnel is not a literal
place: instead, it is “Hell.” In the Christian tradition, Hell is a place that God creates to punish and torment
sinners. However, the “Hell” that the persona describes in “Strange Meeting” doesn’t share much with the
usual Christian images. For instance, instead of being tortured by demons, the poem indicates that the
persona merely converses with another soldier—an enemy soldier that he, himself, killed the previous day
in battle! If there is punishment in the poem, this is it: the persona has to confront the consequences of his
actions and recognize the humanity he shares with the enemy soldier. Owen writes this as a form of guilt.
When asking people to sign up for the war, authority figures fail to mention the impact the event will have
on their lives (and that is if they survive). Additionally, Owen employs personification in his poetry. In lines
28 he compares humans to tigers when he writes, “[man will] be swift with swiftness of the tigress”. This
comparison personifies tigers and dehumanizes people. In other words, humans will become as ferocious
and as fast as a female tiger hunting her prey. It is as if humans have lost all reason and have resorted to
animal-like behaviour. To conclude, the techniques of symbolism and personification express Owen’s
opinion of the carnage of war.

Similarly, in Banksy's artworks, Banksy is able to communicate the unnecessity of war. Banksy is a
controversial street artist whose political statements and disruptive vision have impacted cities across the
globe at vital moments in modern history, provoking alternative viewpoints and encouraging revolution in
the art world. Even after more than thirty years of involvement in the global graffiti scene, his identity
remains unknown. Some of his most notable works about war include; napalm girl, Child Soldier and Mona
Lisa Bazooka. Banksy specialises in anti-authoritarian art that often challenges public institutions, most
commonly done in graffiti form in public places. Banksy employs pathos in all his artwork to convince the
audience of the emotional and physical trauma experienced by individuals during the war. This is done by
using different animal motifs and elements of surrealism, allowing his vision to be fresh and introducing
irony with a witty nature. Another element Banksy is known for is his ability to empathise with children
during the war. In child-solider he showcases a young boy using a machine gun amidst a colourful kiddish-
colouring to denote the fact that the child is forgoing all his innocence to partake in the war-like
environment. Similarly, Napalm girl is a collage derived from the famous image taken by Nick UT during the
Vietnam-war of a girl screaming as she is left naked in the streets from the Napalm attack launched by the
USA.

Now I will be transitioning to my target piece. In 2005, the graffiti artwork "Rage the Flower Thrower" was
found on the streets of Jerusalem alongside 7 large murals along the West-Bank segregation wall. This
mural was created using stencils, and depicts a man throwing flowers at someone in rage. Banksy employs
techniques such as the composition of the artwork and the colour to express the road to peace. This
artwork is composed of three sections: The man’s posture, mask and the bouquet of flowers. The man’s
posture alludes to images of protests. Except in this case instead of throwing a rock or a bomb, he is
throwing flowers, showing the pacifist nature of the artist. He does not believe that war is a necessity, he is
subverting from the norm that people in power are talking about in these war-tone countries to instil acts
of peace. Furthermore, the mask is a symbol of anonymity, suggesting that it could be anyone under the
mask. By doing this, Banksy may be saying that peace can be brought about by anybody and one must try
to write off violence and bring about a change. Another important aspect of this mural are the colours used
by the artist. Most of the mural is in black-and-white, the only spot of colour shown is in the flowers. The
man, himself is painted in black-and-white, perhaps to express his loss of hope for the cause. The flowers
on the other hand are in colour to symbolise the small chance that peace is still a possibility in the country.
To conclude, Banksy employs the techniques of composition and colour to condone the acts of violence.

In conclusion, the two texts make it clear that power can urge violence. Looking back at the quote, I
originally started this individual oral with, we as a global community can definitely relate to the warnings
brought about by the George Orwell when he wrote the book, 1984. In fact, this global issue is still relevant
today where we have sadly seen many give up their lives in the face of the Russia-Ukraine war. Together
with Owen’s poetry and Banksy’s artworks, one can help find a path of caution and peace that can help to
bring about a united and better world.