In this essay I am going to compare the different perspectives of the poets Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke with respect to the

Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
       - Only the monstruous 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.

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 good-byes.
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.

http://users.fulladsl.be/spb1667/cultural/owen/anthem-for-doomed.html

III. The Dead by Rupert Brooke (1887-1915)

Blow out, you bugles, over the rich Dead!
   There's none of these so lonely and poor of old,
   But, dying, has made us rarer gifts than gold.
These laid the world away; poured out the red
Sweet wine of youth; gave up the years to be
   Of work and joy, and that unhoped serene,
   That men call age; and those would have been,
Their sons, they gave, their immortality.

Blow, bugles, blow! They brought us, for our dearth,
   Holiness, lacked so long, and Love, and Pain.
Honour has come back, as a king, to earth,
   And paid his subjects with a royal wage;
And Nobleness walks in our ways again;
   And we have come into our heritage.

http://www.amherst.edu/~rjyanco94/literature/rupertchawnerbrooke/poems/menu.html

This essay will compare the different perspectives between the poets Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke with respect to the World War I, referred to then as the Great War. For that purpose the poems “Anthem for Doomed Youth” by Wilfred Owen with “III and The Dead” by Rupert Brooke, will be compared.

The first poem, “Anthem for Doomed Youth” by Wilfred Owen describes how the burial of those who died in the war. The poem is clearly divided in two parts. The first stanza is an octave and the second one is a sestet. Petrarchian sonnets are usually formed in such ways. In the first stanza, concretely in the first verse Owen states that the burial of the soldiers is different “these who die as cattle”. Then, the author describes ironically the atmosphere of the burial by making reference to “the monstrous anger of the guns”, “stuttering rifles” and “wailing shells”. Then, when Owen talks about “bugles” (songs played in military funerals), he introduces a different tone, which is followed by a softer mood in the second stanza when Owen refers to the “candles” they should held to speed them all , “holy glimmers” and “flowers of tenderness” which are elements more commonly found in a burial rather than guns and he also talks about the suffering of the family and friends of the soldiers “the pallor of girls’ brows” “ their pall” “patient minds”. These changes of tone and the change in the rhythm of the poem could also be interpreted as the beginning and the end of a battle.

Along the poem we can clearly observe the contrast made between the elements associated with the war and those associated with a formal burial. Owen says satirically that the “anger of the guns” is the only “passing-bell” of the soldiers, the rapid rattle of rifles the only “orisons” (funeral prayers), and the wail of shells the only choir music.

To sum up we can say that where the first stanza expresses the bitterness that the soldiers die “as cattle” and substitutes the elements from a formal burial with the elements of war, the second stanza describes the dead soldiers as individuals, with families that will be in mourning for them.

In general terms we can come to the conclusion that Owen today condemns the horrors of war as “If he glorifies the soldiers - and he does, gloriously - it is as victim, not as victor; not as the hero achieving, but as one whose sacrificial love passes the love of women” (Spartacus). We can observe noticeably this view in the first stanza “these who die as cattle” as dying as cattle. He is horrified about how many young soldiers die in the absurd war. Owen in the preface of a volume of poems, states that he was not concerned with “poetry”: “My subject is War, and the pity of war”. “Anthem for Doomed Youth” reminds readers that each one of the millions soldiers who died in the Great War were individuals and as such their families and friends will suffer their loss.

Rupert Brooke poems, however, “glorified England and the idea of dying for England and one might think that Brooke was very keen to fight and die for his country”(warpoetry) . Even, the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill wrote his Obituary for “The Times” in which states that “During the last few months of his life, months of preparation in gallant comradeship and open air, the poet-soldier told with all the simple force of genius the sorrow of youth about to die, and the sure triumphant consolations of a sincere and valiant spirit”.

In the poem “ III. The Dead” we can easily observe his praises to the soldiers who died in the war, not as victims but as authentic patriotic heroes and we can confirm what many critics and the Prime Minister affirmed.

In the first verse it is observed the military emphasis, which is repeated in the first verse of the second stanza “Blow out, you bugles...” as bugles are played in military burials. Since the first verse of the poem, R. Brooke states that soldiers are “rich Dead” and what makes them rich is the way in which they died, fighting for England. He glorifies them because of that reason several times in the poem “rich Dead”, Dead is written in capitals; “Dying has made us rarer gifts than gold”. The soldiers also bring us “Holiness”, “Love” and “Pain” and “Honour” has come back with them as a King. R, “Nobleness walks in our ways again”. Brooke is constantly glorifying their action by saying all what they bring us dying in such a bravely manner. To emphasise the gifts they bring us R. Brooke personifies them as they are in capitals.

R. Broke also make emphasis on that the soldiers are sacrificing their youth life by rejecting doing usual thinks as working, having fun“ gave up the years to be for work and joy” and die without issue “and those who would have been, their sons…” For these reasons they are immortal.

All these sacrifices they made and all they contribute to society “holiness, Love, Honour, Nobleness” is “our heritage”, which means we have to be proud of them but at the same time it gives us responsibility. Probably the same responsibility he felt when he joined to the army for his loved England.

Bibliography

http://users.fulladsl.be/spb1667/cultural/owen/anthem-for-doomed.html. eric.laermans@intec.rug.ac.be. 3-04-2006

www.amherst.edu/~rjyanco94/literature/rupertchawnerbrooke/poems/menu.html. Richard J. Yanco. 03-04-2006

http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/brooke2.html. 2004 Saxon Books. 04-04-2006

http://www.firstworldwar.com/poetsandprose/owen_editors.htm . Stephen Cloutier, contributed by Richard Schumaker.04-04-2006

http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/content/articles/2005/03/16/wilfred_owen.shtml. shropshire@bbc.co.uk. 04-04-2006

http://home.tiscali.be/ericlaermans/cultural/owen.html. eric.laermans@intec.rug.ac.be. 04-04-2006

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jowen.htm.05-04-2006

http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/projects/jtap/tutorials/intro/brooke/obituary.html. Robert Means. 05-04-2006

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Academic year 2005/2006