Jack Nguyen What ideas are being explored in the poem ‘Disabled’? How does Owen skilfully use language and structure to get across these ideas? Wilfred Owen was a soldier in the First World War. He was a distinguished War poet, and received a posthumous Military Cross for his services to his country. His experiences in the army influenced his poetry greatly; as he had been in a warzone himself and his young man’s naïve perception pe rception of war had been disillusioned. disillusioned . ‘Disabled’ was a was a poetic reiteration of the grievous wounds his comrades sustained. Owen depicts the people who signed up for national service as young, naïve men who sign up for senseless reasons. He shows this when he says “He thought he’d better join – He – He wonders why / Someone had said he’d look a god in kilts / That’s why; and maybe, too, to please his Meg; / Meg; / Aye, that was it, to please the giddy jilts.” This quotation shows quotation shows that the subject didn’t join for any good reason; the subject can’t remember why he joined. The various reasons for joi ning were because of vanity and to please “Meg”. The main character of ‘Disabled’ emphasises that the young men only thought of the glory of war and not of its consequences in this quotation. “He thought of Jewelled hilts, / for daggers in plaid socks; of smart salutes; / And care of arms; and leave; and pay arrears; / Esprit de corps; and hints for young recruits.” recruits.” The main character cha racter only thought of the ‘positive’ points of war, not of the death and mutilation, the pain and blood and sacrifice. The pre-modifier suggests that the subject was focusing more on the appearance of war than the reality underneath it, which highlights the subject’s youth and naïveté. Overall naïveté. Overall the poet thinks the men who go to war as fools who return disillusioned. Wilfred Owen illustrates the pointlessness and meaninglessness of war in various places throughout the poem, such as when he says “Before he threw away his knees” which suggests that his loss of limb was for no reason, that his life seemed to be disposable and expendable. When Owen says “He's lost his colour very far from here,
Poured it
down shell-holes till the veins ran dry,” dry, ” he tries to
create the impression that he dumped his blood for no good reason by using the verb pour, trying to connote that he was pouring away some useless liquid. Owen shows that there is nothing for the subject to live for anymore, the subject just exists, unable to do anything. This is shown when the subject cries out “Why don’t they come and put him into bed?” showing that he cannot do anything at all. When the subject is “waiting for dark” it shows that h e has nothing worthwhile to do, he just sits and waits. Also, the adjective “dark” suggests that his mental and psychological state is depressing and almost suicidal. This passage emphasises that war has brought no meaning to his life; it has not achieved some greater end. This contrasts to his past, as a year earlier the subject was full of life and energy, as the subject actively did anything and everything he could in or der to live life to its fullest and always strived to bring greater meaning to his life. The subject does not go to war for a good reason; he goes to war not because of patriotism but because of a selfish, vain cause. The poet portrays the contrast between leaving for war and returning from war by saying the subject was “drafted out with drums and cheers.” But cheers.” But when the subject comes back, only some cheer him, with not even the same passion as when they cheer for a goal, as shown in the quotation
Some cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer Goal. Only a solemn man who brought him fruits Thanked him; and then inquired about his soul The quotation also shows the reaction of society to those wounded in war, as it shows the uselessness of the man’s loss. The quote i s ironic as it likens the return from war to the football match from earlier in the poem, and though he has lost a lot more than “a blood-smeared leg” and achieved a lot more than a simple goal, society still reacted to his loss as less worthy of their attention than a goal.
The quotation: Now, he will spend a few sick years in Institutes, And do what things the rules consider wise, And take whatever pity they may dole. To-night he noticed how the women's eyes Passed from him to the strong men that were whole. Shows the after-effects of war and what the future holds for many of the war wounded by
emphasising the uselessness and passivity of the subject and how he only does “what things the rules consider wise”, sharply contrasting with the spirited young man that he w as before. The line “passed from him to the strong men that were whole” emphasises the after -effects of the war by showing the difference between him now and the strong men that were whole which he used to be a part of. Also, the adjective ‘whole’ shows the subject’s opinion of himself, that he is less than a man, that he is something else that is incomplete physically, as well as mentally and psychologically. Wilfred Owen uses the length of his stanzas very effectively in the poem ‘Disabled’. Normally the length of stanzas in a poem are uniform, however in ‘Disabled’ all of the stanzas apart from stanzas 4 and 5 aren’t of the same length and do not have the same rhyming patterns. Wilfred Owen does this to emphasise the fact that in all the other stanzas, the subject is in his present incomplete, not “whole” state, whereas in stanzas 4 and 5 the subject is reminiscing about his past life when he was whole. The differing lengths of the stanzas show that they too are broken, just like the subject matter in them. Wilfred Owen makes this poem more powerful by never using a name within the passage. Owen does this to imply that the circumstances within the poem did not happen to just one man, but to countless hundreds of them. He uses words like “he”, “town” and “institutes” in order to show that this could be any town or institute. Owen foregrounds the poem with the word “he” which shows anonymity of the subject and emphasises how the subject could have been anyone. The o nly time that he uses a name is when he says “his Meg” and this is too rhyme with beg in the next t wo lines. However, even when he does use a name to describe an unimportant detail, the name he uses (Meg) is very generic which adds emphasis on the anonymousness of the subject. The use of irony in the poem “Disabled” is used to make the passage more powerful and to portray how the propaganda and celebrations of war are all false. Wilfred Owen uses irony many times throughout the poem such as when one of the reasons for joining the army was to “please his Meg” but when the subject returns from war he states that he will “never again feel how slim girls waists are”. Another time when Wilfred Owen used irony in the passage was when the subject states that “he liked a blood smear down his leg”, suggesting that the subject was proud to have accomplished
something and to have achieved a hardship along the way. However, when the subject returns from war without his limbs, he feels not pride at his accomplishment but shame. This use of irony makes the poem more memorable still and shows how the young subject’s naïveté gradually fades throughout the poem. The use of connotation in this passage makes the poem more memorable by creating a dark mood in the reader. The author uses connotation to a similar effect in the lines “ghastly suit of grey” and “voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn”. These lines have connotations of a funeral, they implicate that the subject has nothing to do but wait for death. The subject is made to seem hopeless and useless, which is supposed to trouble the reader and again emphasise the meaninglessness of war. Irony and erotic language are used in the phrase “spurted from his thigh” to make the passage more powerful and make the reader realize that war does not achieve an end. The lin e “spurted from his thigh” has the sexual connotation of an ejaculation, but is actually describing maiming wound in battle. It is ironic because ejaculation is a life giving action, very much different from the grievous injuries that the passage is supposed to be describing. Also, this passage also shows the contrast between the subject joining in order to please women, but as a consequence of his actions is now repulsive to any woman. Wilfred Owen uses contrast in “Disabled” to make some of his more important phrases stand out and show the irony of the subjects’ decisions. Owen uses contrast when he first describes the subjects desire to ‘go to bed with’ many women, but ends the poem with “why don’t they come/and put him into bed?” which shows the complete reversal of roles from before the war and after it. Another example of contrast is when Owen describes the subject lying helpless in a wheel-chair whilst he described many young children running around a park, showing the contrast between what the children could do and what he could do. The entire poem is full of contrast between the young and old subject, and the differences between both their physical and psychological perceptions of the world. Also, the fact that the contrast and complete change in the subjects perception of life happened in the short time period of a year adds to the tragedy and sense of pathos in the poem. In conclusion, Wilfred Owen uses language and structure well to depict his opinions of war and his own experience and perceptions of war and the after-effects of it. He uses many techniques such as irony, contrast, connotation and erotic language to get his opinion across to the reader and uses these techniques to make the passage more powerful and memorable. Owen manages to insinuate to the reader his opinion on the young men who go to war and the grievous wounds they sustain and illustrates what he views as the pointlessness of war within the poem. He portrays his disgust for society at how they socially accept the disabled after a war and expresses his condolences for the future of the many who are disabled due to the war.
