How do Wilfred Owen’s poems show the harsh realities of war, specifically the way that war strips people of their humanity?

Wilfred Owen’s poem ‘Anthem For Doomed Youth’ depicts the sense of doom and tragedy that is evoked by war. He uses a range of language devices to establish this notion of dehumanisation through war, such as the simile “what passing-bells for these who die as cattle?”. Here, Owen asks us to ponder on the way that human beings treat each other in war, comparing the traumatised soldiers to dead cattle. This line really resonated with me as it perfectly captures the harsh realities of war, conveying the way that soldiers in war are killed like slaughtered animals and the lack of dignity these young men obtain when being treated this way. Through Owen’s words, it is highlighted that death was something so common that the tyrants waging war essentially desensitised the horror of battle. Hence, Owen challenges readers to take on the experiences of these soldiers and elicit pity and mercy for these young men that are essentially ‘doomed’.

After the lecture, I also went on to read Owen’s poem ‘Insensibility’ which further establishes the way that war strips people of their humanity. The repetition of “their” in the 3rd Stanza (“their spirit” … “their old wounds”) dehumanises the soldiers as they are not referred to by name, and by third person, thus desensitising their souls. There is no burden of their souls, for they are desensitised. The scars of war no longer ache as their blood is drained from them, when they die. The harsh weather, the cold winter days and nights, have made them become unaware of their physical, emotional and psychological wounds. Furthermore, the metaphor of “men, gaps for filling” depicts the young men as commodities who are put as replacements for the soldiers that have died. This line does not consider the young men who are fighting for their country as being their own individual person, but rather a necessity to winning a war, simply filling up a gap. Overall, conveying similar ideas seen throughout Owen’s poetry and exposing to us the harsh realities of war.