Wilfred OwenTHE PITY OF WAR

Context/Big Ideas

The sacrifice of a generationHypocrisy of society, the Church etc

Powerlessness

Loss of faith

Poet as commentator/conscience

Meeting of form and history – at such a cataclysmic moment

what form can poetry take?

Cosmic stage – apocalyptic language and crisis

Central Themes War and the pity of war

Hypocrisy of society, the Church etc

Brutalisation of mind and body

Struggling with faith

Sensuality and horror

Guilt - collective and individual

Isolation

Pain of survival

The role of the poet

How - structure

Sonnet form and experimentation

Iambic pentameter and breaking the rules

Parrarhyme

Irregular/disjointed rhyme

Grammatical rules - verbs as nouns, holophrastic sentences, breaking rules (knives us)

Caesura

Anaphora/Anaphoric phrases

Narrative voices

Time - chronological/non-chronological, memory

Allegory and parables

Elegy and Lyric form

How - techniques Onomatopoeia

Euphemism

Humour

Puns and ambiguity

Metaphor (and extended metaphor)

Rhetorical questions - who is he asking?

Personification and dehumanisation

Senses

Juxtaposition

Time

How:

language

Biblical

Colloquial

Historical/mythical

Sensual

Graphically violent

Visceral

Apocalyptic

How:

narrative viewpoint

Micro or macro viewpoints?

1st or 3rd person

Persona and purpose

Writing skills

Use a simple formula to ensure your essay does the right thing.

PEAL – Point, Evidence, Analyse, Link, Repeat

Make a Point about the poetic qualities of something relevant to the question and your

topic sentence.

Sentence starters:

• Nouns: Owen…

• Adverb/adjective: powerfully, memorably, scornfully, graphically, shockingly, Interestingly...

• Verbs: Portrays/presents/employs/suggests/manipulates/conveys/structures/characterises/criticizes

- Owen powerfully portrays the hopelessness of the forgotten soldiers by…

- Owen’s scornful use of euphemisms enables the reader to understand…

- Owen uses juxtaposition to create a shocking portrayal of...

- By criticising the hypocritical attitudes of civilian society, Owen forces the reader to consider...

Writing skills Provide evidence in support or to illustrate

Analyse the evidence by explaining the meaning and effects of specific diction and techniques, not a general translation of the quote or purely thematic interpretation

Link using a connective to the next point - explore an alternative interpretation of what you have just analysed or look for comparisons/contrasts

Have a go yourself. Re-write the following.

Discuss how Owen portrays the harsh conditions experienced by the soldiers

Owen tells us how hard conditions were for the soldiers. He uses a lot of senses to describe how horrible things were with ice and freezing conditions eg the wind is so painful he feels like it cuts him. Owen doesn't use normal rhyme to shown how difficult things are. We realise that the war was a waste because of the way that Owen has no hope and knows he is going to die by either guns or the weather. He makes us realise how unfair it all was.

Where next? Re-read the poems, especially your key poems.

Identify killer quotes/structure/technique points.

Passage preparation: create brief paragraph plans,

based on your killer points.

Essay preparation: create brief paragraph plans,

based on killer points with links (comparisons/contrasts)

with other poems.

Write some essays under timed conditions, testing your

knowledge.

Mark, review and target set.

Do some short burst writing – 10 minutes on any exam question or any poem.

Essay questions

“Owen’s chief concern is to show ‘War and the Pity of War.’ Discuss the poetic methods used by him to present aspects of pity in two poems.

Discuss ways in which Owen suggests harsh conditions for the character(s) in his poetry. Refer to two poems in your answer.

‘The language of Owen’s poetry has a visceral physical power.’ In the light of this view, compare Owen’s use of language in two poems.

Discuss the importance and treatment of memories in Owen’s poetry. Select two poems to explore this.

Discuss how location and setting show a vital part of understanding the ‘Pity of War’ in two poems.

Discuss how and to what effect the language of sound is used by Owen in two poems

Explore how Owen creates memorable characters in two of his poems, explaining how he uses them to present his concerns

Passage questions

Comment closely on how the language and tone of the following poem present the speaker’s experience.

Discuss the effects of the following poem in detail, commenting in particular on ways in which Owen presents the character’s mood.

Comment closely on the ways in which the following poem presents viewpoints on war

Comment closely on the following poem, paying particular attention to the effects of its language and structure.

Discuss how Owen uses the structure of the following poem, commenting on ways that he uses it to present his concerns

Comment on how and to what effect Owen uses different senses in the following poem