The poetry is in the pity

by: Romany Howes (11 November 2014)

Picture Courtesy of
The Royal British Legion.

On the anniversary of the end of World War One, we remember, not just the fallen soldiers, but those among them who, despite their sacrifices, achieved immortality in the literary world.

Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) was one such soldier, one of the most well known and poignant poets that the 20th century has ever produced. And what is even more astounding is that only four of his poems were published in his brief lifetime.

Owen enlisted in the army in 1915 and his first experiences of active war service led to shell-shock whereupon he returned to the Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh to recover. It was there that he met Siegfried Sassoon, and this meeting led to some of the most poignant poetry ever written about conflict. Anthem for Doomed Youth, Dulce et Decorum Est and Futility evoke emotion, pity and thought. Read them for yourselves and see the power of the written word.

The majority of his poems were written between August 1917 and September 1918. Wilfred Owen died in combat on 4 November 1918, a bitter irony as the war was to end just a week later. He left a legacy of poetry which every generation should read, and today, being the anniversary of Armistice Day 1918, why not see for yourself why he is considered one of the greatest poets that ever lived.

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