Anthem for Doomed Youth

Question 1

Anthem for Doomed Youth — Context:

Answer 1

• Wilfred Owen was a devout Christian, he worked as a lay assistant to a priest, assisting with the care of the poor and sick. He lost faith in the Church to support people in need.
• Owen enlisted in the army in 1915 and was fighting in the trenches from June 1916. He had first-hand experience of WWI.
• Owen’s new concern was to warn the public of the brutality of war and to stress that it was far from glorious, as suggested by the government’s propaganda.
• Many of Owen’s poems were in direct response to propagandists like Jessie Pope.

Question 2

Anthem for Doomed Youth — Form

Answer 2

Petrarchan Sonnet

Both the Octet and Sestet open with rhetorical questions, which are vividly explained in each. Traditionally, the octet presents an issue that is resolved in the sestet after the volta. However, the speaker suggests that there will be no resolution for the soldiers – just unending suffering.

Question 3

Anthem for Doomed Youth — Rhyme:

Answer 3

The poem fails to follow the conventional rhyme scheme of a Petrarchan Sonnet, uses rhyme of a Shakespearean Sonnet instead. Distorted form reflects how war distorts the lives of men.