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Futility by Wilfred Owen Wilfred Owen is arguably one of the most famous poets of World War One. In his well known sonnet futility he uses powerful techniques such as personification, metaphors and par-rhyme reinforced with powerful imagery to demonstrate the harshness of war. This can also be seen through the tone which changes from hope in the first verse to a profound despair in the second verse. This then causes Owen to question the pointlessness of war. In contrast to his other poems which convey images of horror and violence, in futility he focuses more on the theme of grief. The title of the poem acquires layers of meaning as the poem develops.
At first, it is the obvious futility of the personas faith that his friend can be revived if anything might rouse him now The kind old sun will know The personification of the sun is later picked up when futility refers to the creation of man. O what made fatuous sunbeams toil This is later explored in the second stanza was it for this the clay grew tall? The form of the poem is very significant; The rhythm in the first verse is irregular. This is greatly achieved by the use of para-rhyme. Snow / now /know This effectively describes his uncertainty of the life of the comrade and the suns power. As the poem progresses and conclusions are being reached the rhythm becomes more controlled.
In the last two lines where bitterness overcomes grief, he uses para rhyme again to evoke the pointlessness of war. tall all. In the first verse, Owen creates a very hopeful but gentle sorrowful tone. This is effectively achieved by his use of diction by using words such as gently and whispering. The opening line of the poem also contributes to the soft tone move him into the sun Although this is a command, it is followed by the word gently which gives the reader the impression that there is a sense of sorrow involved in this soldiers death.
In contrast to this, the second verse moves on to a more bitter and futile tone. Again this can be seen through the persona of the sun fatuous sunbeams The diction also changes in verse two. The repetition of hard consonants Woke wakes also adds emphasis to the change in tone... Throughout the poem, Owen uses the persona of the sun to express the harshness and pointlessness of war.
In the first verse he puts all his faith into the sun to rouse the soldier. Gently its touch awoke him once This suggests that before the war and at home the sun always awoke the comrade therefore there is hope that it will awake him now. In the second stanza he begins to lose faith in the sun. This is later picked up with the use of a powerful metaphor clay grew tall? The connotations in clay evoke a deeper understanding into Owens resentfulness of the sun.
The first connotation is simply the earth contains seeds. Then this reference is extended to the earth as a whole and then finally down to the dead comrades life. Another profound metaphor which contributes to the sadness of the situation is fields union. This has the literal meaning of that the comrade will never complete his life working on the farm and the metaphorical meaning suggests the wider tragedy that the comrade has so much of life yet unfulfilled. It appears that the sun has always been able to spark life and creation but is unable to awake the comrade now. are limbs, so dear-achieved, are sides, Full nerved still warm too hard to stir?
It is here, Owen questions the pointlessness of war and creation itself. The use of powerful techniques throughout the poem evokes a strong understanding of Owens inner thoughts and feelings about the creation of life... From the title to his extensive use of personification and metaphorical terms it vividly communicates the sense of tragedy and despair. Metaphorically, this poem acquires layers of meaning which together with the persona of the sun and the change in tone between the stanzas the reader can relate to Owens bitterness and despair and therefore can question the pointlessness of war which then reinforces the theme of grief.
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Research essay sample on Wilfred Owen Second Stanza
