Wilfred Owen went to the frontline of
the Somme in the winter
Bitterly cold and
killed many
January 1917, letter to his mother
'My platoon had no dug-outs, but had to lie out in the snow under
the deadly wind'...'hideous landscaped, vile noises,'...'everything
unnatural, broken, blastered; the distortion of the dead.'
What Wilfred Owen is trying to do
Emphasizes futility of war ('But nothing happens')
Subverting/falsifying positive messages
prevalent in propaganda ('on us the doors are
closed- we turn back to our dying')
Not sweet/honorable to die for country
Questions the mass death of innocent lives due to war
Conveys loss of faith
Suggests constant anxiety of having multiple enemies
Suggests that war generates a
society that sees a suffering
soldier as a coward
Portray juxtaposition of positive and negative to
suggest that pleasant imaginations are short-lived
What happens in the poem
Describes feelings of
soldiers gradually
freezing to death in
trenches
Soldiers huddle against gusts of wind and
snow waiting for something to happen
Phrase 'nothing happens' is repeated = refrain
Men are without hope
Dream of comfort of home,but
know they won't return
Despair has destroyed their faith in God
Resentfully and stoically accepting their
miserable fate and await their death