Anger In The Poem 'Disabled' By Wilfred Owen

How does Owen convey anger in his poem, ‘Disabled?’

Anger. Fear. Pity. Hate. These emotions are not what we choose to feel when seeing a surviving soldier arriving back home, from fighting in a gruesome war. What we would like to hear is how loyal, patriotic and courageous he was for fighting to protect us, and serve our country. However, Wilfred Edward Owen (March 18 1893-November 18 1918), blesses us with the raw truth, writing first-hand from the perspective of a man who had experienced the torment and grief that comes hand in hand with being a front-line soldier. He had written his most influential poem, ‘Disabled’, at Craig Lockhart Hospital in Edinburgh, after recovering from serious injuries during World War Two. Their rage from being ‘disabled’ is creatively displayed in the array of poetic devices, which sing

This insists that he is certain about the unchanging nature of his condition. However, there are also frequent uses of enjambment, for instance in ‘through the park voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn’, so the reader may interpret the lack of pause as a rant or rush of words, due to his obvious frustration. His rhyme scheme is chaotic (as the patterns for each stanza keep changing) mirroring his overturned life after injury, but its regular presence (and the fact that every stanza begins with an ABA couplet- with the exception of the second) show that his pain is constant. Insightfully, the rhyming couplet at the end of every line, gives a childlike feel, as it resembles a nursery rhyme. Therefore, it suggests to the reader how easy it is to lose one’s youth. The rhythm is musical which forges a stark contrast between the disturbing imagery, in turn, diminishing the audience’s feeling of comfort and instead replacing it with horror. Furthermore, the repetition of the words, ‘why’ and ‘join’ are commemorated with bitterness as it is an offshoot of