Wilfred Owen Disabled Analysis

EXPLORE HOW CHANGE IS SHOWN IN THE “DISABLED” POEM

The theme of war and its consequences were explored through many poems and novels in the past. However the poem “Disabled” talks about how the war has influenced one soldier in particular physically and mentally. It talks about the major change in his life and his points of view on the situation. This poem is an anti- war poem and it within it, Wilfred Owen wants to remind the young people of the consequences of the war and how life changing it is towards people. Each stanza serves as a brief sketch of different phases in the soldier’s life and how they develop and change over time.
The opening line “He sat in the wheeled chair, waiting for the dark.” higlights the soldier’s disability and

He used to play football in his free time and this way Wilfred Owen again highlights how young he was for the war. He also links the football with the boys playing in the park as the innocent child's play with another idea of the soldier being “just a child” himself. “For it was younger than his youth, last year. Now he is old;his back will never brace…” In this sentence, Owen is showing the readers how the soldier was just a boy last year, even younger than his youth and how he quickly changed and lost his youth in the war. The word “Now he is old” is effective because it shows the change of the soldier after the war. Soldier of course was not physically old but the writer used this word to describe his inner feelings. In the sentence “His back will never brace” , the word “never” is effective because it illuminates how some silly choices in life can make the permanent damage which could be physical or mental. ’’His back will never brace’’ is also effective because it links to the old people and how they are disabled in most cases than the young people. This way, Owen showed how young people should not be disabled because they have whole life in front of