Wilfred Owen's "Anthem for Doomed Youth" is a powerful sonnet that explores the

tragedy of war and the loss of young lives. The poem is structured as an Italian
Petrarchan sonnet with an octet/sestet structure but loosely follows the rhyme
scheme of an English Shakespearean sonnet. This structure allows Owen to present
two contrasting ideas: the horror of war in the first stanza and the grief of those
left behind in the second.

Throughout the poem, Owen employs vivid imagery to convey the brutality of war and
the sorrow of those left behind. In the first stanza, he uses auditory imagery to
describe the sounds of battle: "stuttering rifles' rapid rattle." This contrasts
with the lack of funeral bells, emphasizing that the only sounds accompanying the
soldiers' deaths are those of gunfire. In the second stanza, Owen shifts to visual
imagery, depicting sallow, tearful children to illustrate the contemplative nature
of grief.

Owen's tone in "Anthem for Doomed Youth" is a mix of satire and sincerity. In the
first stanza, he satirically contrasts the imagery of battle with solemn funerary
rites to illustrate the incompatibility of religion and combat. The soldiers die
without receiving proper religious commemoration, their deaths marked by gunfire
instead of bells. However, in the second stanza, Owen's tone shifts to one of
sincerity as he describes the "sad shires" that lack the means to bury their
honored dead. This lack reveals genuine grief that is both powerful and original.

Owen's diction in "Anthem for Doomed Youth" is carefully chosen to convey his
message. He uses words such as "mockeries" to describe the burial rites of the
Church and "stuttering" to describe the sound of rifles. These word choices
emphasize the senselessness of war and its devastating impact on both soldiers and
civilians.

In conclusion, Wilfred Owen's "Anthem for Doomed Youth" is a powerful poem that
uses structure, imagery, tone, and diction to explore the tragedy of war and its
impact on those left behind. Through his vivid descriptions and carefully chosen
words, Owen conveys a message that is both poignant and timeless.