Wilfred Owen
...one of the best-known poets of the war years. The first third of this essay concentrates on the life of Owen and how his life experiences affected his poetry whilst the last two thirds of this essay analyses two of his poems, Dulce Et Decorum Est and Spring Offensive.
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen was born March 18, 1893 at Plas, Wilmot on the edge of Ostwestry (BBC 1995:1). His father was middle class and of adventurous spirit having traveled to India prior to being married. Owens’s mother came from a strict Calvinistic background, which was rigidly Victorian in its ways. Both parents were well cultured albeit not intellectuals (Stalworthy1985: 2). Owen has been described as being sincere, serious and clever in his youth with a predilection toward old-fashioned paternalism toward his younger siblings. This trait, according to Lewis (1977:13) may have prefigured his later attitude towards both his men when he fought as an officer beside them, and towards all men who were suffering the consequences of war.
No one knows exactly at which age exactly Owen started writing; his earlier writings were a little grandiose. He experimented with style and was influenced by his surroundings. One of the major poetical influences came from William Keats. Owen according to Lewis (1977: 15) was quite enamored with the poet even though he had never met him. In a letter he wrote at the time about Keats, Owen wrote, ”His writing is rather large and sloped like mine…I seem to be strangely familiar with it” Lewis 1977:15).
In 1911 Owen matriculated at London University. Not having enough money to support himself he went to Dunsden, Oxfordshire as a student and lay assistant to a vicar. During this time Owen was still a believer in Christianity and was hoping possibly to join the holy orders and study theology and practice pastoral work in the community. However at this stage...
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