“Wilfred Owen is not so much a war poet, but an anti-war poet.” Discuss.

Wilfred Owen’s highly reflective poetry allows a deeper understanding into the occurrences of World
War One. Having had personal experience as a soldier, he demonstrates war poet properties
through his vivid description of action on the front-line. However, Owen’s poetry is highly
opinionated and clearly displays his animosity for the principles behind war as well as those who
supported its philosophy. Ultimately, Owen’s poetry explores many aspects of war and by inevitably
witnessing such destruction, his views could be ascribed as anti-war.

Owen’s poetry describes the physicality of many injuries and deaths as they occurred during war.
The poem Dulce et Decorum Est details the physical effects upon the soldiers from enduring
prolonged battle. It begins with a simile “coughing like hags” which likens the soldiers to old women
to convey their deteriorated physical state. Considering how men were typically perceived as
stronger than women during this era, it seems war has reduced their robustness. The metaphor
“drunk with fatigue” similarly illustrates how after months of fighting, the soldiers are far from their
ideal capacities. The soldiers would undoubtedly have had no access to alcohol, yet they are still
exhausted and weary. The iambic pentameter creates a marching rhythm which reinforces the
tedious conditions of war. Additionally, the poem explores the most poignant death in all of Owen’s
poetry “guttering, choking, drowning…” Such continuous present tense conveys a sense of urgency
in the soldier’s death, and the excruciating pain he would have experienced. It is evident that
witnessing this death would have created affliction, for the speaker is seen to be “smothered” by his
dreams. While this seems to condemn war, Owen is merely describing the horrid events he
observed. The poem Anthem for Doomed Youth also explores the devastating deaths that resulted
from war. By likening the soldiers to “cattle” in an abattoir, the soldiers appear vulnerable and
unappreciated. Much like slaughter, their deaths are unrecognised “no mockeries for them now”.
The only sound to signify the soldier’s deaths, is further destruction “monstrous anger of the guns”.
The personification reinforces how the real enemies are the weapons, and their method of death
was agonising. Whilst incredibly moving, the poem simply illustrates these events of war without
incorporating any of Owen’s strong views.

As a poet who wishes to “warn”, many of Owen’s views are partisan. Consequently, many of his
poems reprehend those who strongly endorse war. The poem The Parable of the Old Man and the
Young explores how the authorities that encouraged men to enlist are concerned little with
bloodshed. The parable seeks to tell a moral story where “Abram” represents the establishment
while “Isaac” symbolises the innocent youth. Abram’s action at the conclusion of the poem “slew his
son and half the seed of Europe one by one” asserts the government’s insouciance towards the
death of unfledged lives. The metaphor “seed” likens to young men to having potential like trees, but
this growth was stunted by the war. Owen’s anger is inconceivable, and the poem is a political
attack that clearly shows he castigates war and its supporters. Furthermore, the metaphor “Ram of
Pride” displays how, in Owen’s perception, the government would rather sacrifice their innocent
young men than lose their pride, and the war. Owen’s antipathy for those who encouraged war is
further reinforced in the poem Disabled. The extensive list of propaganda “pay arrears”, “jewelled
hilts” and “esprit de corps” highlights how the authority figures lured enlistments. While some would
argue that these benefits were still applicable, Owen completely disregards them by juxtaposing the
speaker’s life full of potential, with a life destroyed by war. Owen targets blame for the soldiers
“legless” state upon “they” who “wrote his lie”. A clear distinction between Owen and the authority
figures is created through exclusive language “whatever pity they may dole”. Thus, this disbelief of
the government’s willingness to provide condolences for the soldiers reinforces Owen’s negative
attitudes. Whilst powerful, Owen’s contempt for authority is subjective, for it is only his personal
experience that allowed his to develop such strong emotions.
Owen’s personal opinions are weaved throughout his objective accounts of the desecration of war.
Many of his poems were written soon after the time of observation, resulting in a rather accurate
portrayal of war. However, the addition of Owen’s opprobrious attitudes result in poetry that
describes war blatantly, with an underpinning aversion. The tragically beautiful poem Spring
Offensive depicts war as an onerous journey that only results in death. The metaphor “knowing their
feet had come to the end of the world” parallels the physical position of the soldiers to an emerging
battlefield that could feasibly result in their death. While Owen is simply observing how the soldiers
behaved “many there stood still”, his disdain for war is apparent through his language “to face the
stark blank sky”, which symbolises the lacking hope that is seen for the future. The poems detached
witness speaker enhances the poems impact by combining vivid imagery with Owen’s reflective and
personal interpretation. Moreover, the poem Disabled also incorporates third person perspective to
allow a reflection on how war has diminished the soldier’s physical and emotionally “life”. Owen’s
personal observations likely lead to inclusion of the metaphor “leap of purple spurted from his
thighs”. However, with his perception that was only results in devastation, this metaphor creates an
impression of how this soldier’s life has been drained in a physical and mental sense. The blood
analogy is reinforced with the past, where the young man previously “liked a blood-smear down his
leg”. The poems present tense conveys how this life remains in the past, and the soldier’s current
state is the only living he will experience. Instead of just describing how the soldier who survived
war looks, Owen’s anti-war opinions are built into the poem to show how the war experience has
destroyed everything he ever enjoyed.

Wilfred Owen is a war poet whose personal experience contributes to his bitter ridicule of war. In
some facets of his anthology, he describes war objectively as it was seen to all on the battlefield,
and in the trenches. However having served as a soldier for a prolonged time, Owen developed a
hatred for war, particularly those who controlled and endorse its principles. Both Owen’s
observations and his personal views combine in his poetry to allow a representation of wars events,
with a strong warning. Despite being written almost 100 years ago, Owen’s poetry still holds
valuable messages for us today.