War is like a toxic relationship, there is pain and suffering, but also that occasional sense that everything will be okay that is soon to be crushed. Some whom have made it back from war write about their experiences, but for what reason? For many generations writers have been drawn to the topic of war. Using the tactics of imagery, irony, and structure writers have protested, conveyed ideas about, and educated people on war. Writers Stephen Crane, Wilfred Owen, Kevin Powers, and Tim O'Brien often used imagery, irony, and structure in their works to voice their opinions on war. Imagery is a technique that most writers use to give detail of the setting or characters. In Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” strong descriptive words to create pictures in the reader's head, also known as imagery, was used to protest and portray the horrors of being in war. “Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light / As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.” (Owen). In that excerpt of his poem he is explaining how he saw his friend “drowning” in the gas. How is Owen protesting war in this piece? By giving detail to one of many gruesome images of war, and the suffering soldiers had to endure. …show more content…
In the poem “War Is Kind” by Stephen Crane irony is used to protest and show how “kind” war is. In this poem Crane used irony and glorification to protest and show how bad war is. By using the oxymoron “war is kind” it gets the reader thinking about how unkind and unforgiving war actually is. In stanza three it is said “Do not weep, babe, for war is kind / Because your father tumbles in the yellow trenches, / Raged at his breast, gulped and died, / Do not weep. / War is kind.” (Crane). Irony is used to show how war is not kind for killing the child’s
The poem War Is Kind by Stephen Crane is ironic. He is saying war is kind, but yet the reader can see that war has not been kind to anyone. A person would think that with the title War Is Kind that the poem would reflect about the good aspects of war not “a field where a thousand corpses lie.” (11) The theme of this poem is war is not kind displayed by irony because Crane writes about how war is devastating despite his title.
This is ironic because he is giving advice on how to write a story but he didn’t take his own advice. The last place of irony is when O’Brien says that this story was actually a love story. When most people think of death and war they think of sadness and tragedy. And these war stories, according to O’Brien, were love stories.
Even though all stories are made by different people in different times, irony is shown that it splits things up. In the short story made by Sherman Alexie shows the irony in several situations from the story. One of the many ironic things throughout the story was the dad protesting about war. In the story, it shows the dad saying war is not the answer but peace.
Imagery is often used in literature to emphasize an idea by creating a mental picture in the audience’s head, which has the ability of provoking emotion. For instance, an example of imagery in the queens speech is, “in the midst and heat of the battle”. This phrase uses descriptions that have the potential to place a vivid mental picture in the audience’s head, emphasizing the importance of what’s being said. Another instance where imagery is evident is when the queen describes herself as a “weak and feeble woman” but having “the heart and stomach of a king”. This line creates a mental representation of the descriptions the queen uses to describe herself.
As a method to introduce the truth behind the war, Wilfred Owen uses imagery to create vivid pictures during the times of battle. “Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots of gas-shells dropping softly behind us. ”(Owen) The depth of the description and word choice appeals to the reader to better convey the depravity of the situation. To further translate, the reader is put into the writer’s place.
Writers use irony to shed light on contradictions. “War is Kind.” (Doc A) It is very ironic to say war is kind. War is a scary place where blood is shed and lives are lost.
Most poets use their unique gift of writing poetry to relieve stress or just to document their emotions towards a given subject. Others use it as a key to bring about social change and voice their opinion on modern events. This is the case in Stephen Crane’s War Is Kind. The speaker in the poem uses irony as a strategy to convince the reader of the harsh reality of war.
The writers Owen and Powers protest war by using powerful imagery that conveys to the readers the gruesome realities of the wars. In the poem “ Dulce et Decorum Est,” stanza three states “. . . And watch the white eyes hanging. . . the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs. . .” (Owen). This protests war because it displays to the audience a tragic death of a fellow comrade. Whereas the deaths of wars are always glorified, Owen describes the ghastly incident by using words that appeals to the readers’ sight and hearing. In doing this the readers can imagine how the dead man looks and sounds, as he dies. In addition to this, another imagery that protests war can be found in the excerpt from the
Pain, violence, blood, and suffering, are all descriptions of war. Stephen Crane is known for his various works that use the use of sarcasm and symbolism. Many of his works were about wars his poem “War is Kind” and “ A Mystery of Heroism” are very similar yet very different at the same time. Stephen Crane uses irony in the poem “ War is Kind” and the short story “A Mystery of Heroism” to prove to the readers that he is opposed to the war by showing his negative view on the war by ironically stating war is a positive thing. He also tries to show the readers the effect the war has on the soldiers families.
In the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen the author uses imagery to develop the theme. The author does this by describing all the struggles and conflicts the soldiers where going through and what they looked like and felt like during this time. For example the author described the soldiers as "Bent double, like old beggars sacks" in line one. Another example would be in line seven when the author stated that the solders were "Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots of gas-shells dropping softly behind. Therefore the author is trying to state the theme through imagery by saying they where "Bent double" and "Drunk with
Wilfred Owens uses specific diction and imagery to set a gloomy, dismal mood, suggesting the irony of the title of the poem “Dulce Et Decorum Est”, which roughly translates to “It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country”. The word choice and the way it is arranged greatly impacts the poem. Owens utilizes strong grotesque language like “blood-shod”, “hags”, and “writhing” to display the truly disgusting and horrible truth of war. Additionally, he uses juxtaposition to bring out and emphasize this negative language.
By focusing on the death of one of the soldier’s, we as readers see the terribleness of the war through the eyes of that one soldier. For example, the following lines from the poem “if in smothering dreams, you too could pace behind the wagon that we flung him in, and watch the white eyes writhing in his face”. Another reason why I think Owen’s poem was more successful in times of employing imagery and figurative languages is his effective use of similes such as “flouncing like a man in fire or lime” “coughing like hags” and “like old beggars” this techniques greatly help us think beyond our normal level of imaginations to more deeply. Inclusion, with the effective used of this tools,(imagery and figurative language) Owen’s was able to pass on an important message on how terrible and bad war is by
Irony is found in the poem, “Dulce et Decorum Est,” written by Wilfrid Owen. The Latin phrase, “Dulce et decorum est / Pro patria mori,” translates to English as, “it is sweet and honourable to die for one’s country.” The poem does not describe a sweet death; it uses imagery to convey the scene of being gassed, “Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, / As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.” The poet chooses to use irony to communicate to the reader the expectations of the soldiers, to the harsh reality. Soldiers in World War 1 enlisted as a way to experience the world and to show their family and friends how brave they are.
Owen uses imagery to depict the realities of war, highlighting the painful aftermath it results in. Owen evokes sympathy by presenting the persona as a lonely, isolated war victim. The persona is unnamed, only identified as ‘he’. This suggests
In majority of Owen’s poem, he demonstrates the true image of war and the impact it has on the soldiers rather than masking it with the lies of pride