War In Wilfred Owen's Anthem For Doomed Youth

War is often seen as a means to an end, but to some, the casualties of war are far too significant to justify. Throughout the centuries, there have been plenty of wars, some legitimate and some that without reason. But regardless of the reasons, the casualties of war remain the same, loss of human life. In his 1917 poem “Anthem for Doomed Youth,” British poet Wilfred Owen describes the darker side of the war. He illustrates what it is was like for the young men on the battlefield and how the world reacted to the war. The poem highlights the insidious nature of war by conveying the gross mistreatment of soldiers, the illegitimate motive for war, and the hopeless victory as it relates to the Just War Criteria.

Wilfred Owen is one of the best poets of WWI. According to “Poets.org,” Wilfred Owen was born “March 1893, in Oswestry, on the Welsh border of Shropshire. After failing to gain admissions to the University of London, Owen’s trained as a lay assistant to Reverend Herbert Wigan. Afterward, Owen’s later became a teacher in France, where he peaked interest in World War I and decided to enlist as an Artist’s Rifles member. Owen’s was later commissioned as a second Lieutenant after training in England. In 1917, he was

He uses the poem to highlight the gross mistreatment of the soldiers, the immoral motives for war, and the lack of reasonable victory in relations to the Just War Criteria. He compares the harshness of the battleground to the sanctity of the church as he conveys his displeasure with how the young men were treated during the war. The use of metaphors and personification within the poem helps depict vivid imagery of the war and the conditions the soldiers faced as they served. Towards the end of the poem, Owen highlights the saddens among the relatives of the deceased soldiers, creating a bittersweet ending to the chaos that is