Verified Document

Wilfred Owen's Anthem For Doomed Youth And Claude Mckay's If We Must Die Term Paper

¶ … Wilfred Owen's "Anthem for Doomed Youth" and Claude Mckay's "If we must Die." This is a paper that compares and contrasts two poems on death and dying. It has 2 sources.

Wilfred Owen's "Anthem for Doomed Youth" and Claude Mckay's "If we must Die" are two poems that share several similarities. They are both sonnets and pertain to struggle. They are both are set in different periods, but are set in the same century (1900s).

The sonnets, "Anthem for Doomed Youth" and "If we must Die" are set about fifty years apart in the 20th century, and they focus on the First World War and the Civil Rights movement respectively. Each of these poems has described the state of its characters very well because of the imagery in them. The words that are used in them rhyme very well too, which shows that the poets have been very selective. This can be said because of the fact that the rhyming words that have been chosen are ones that make complete sense and fit in well with the theme.

The theme in both poems is about death, and about the way that this death may come to people. Though...

Death is focused on in the poem because of the fact that these young willingly give up their lives for their countries at the time of war leaving behind all those who weep for them. This is the reason why the poet includes the words, "The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall." These words are very real because of the fact that they represent all those whom these soldiers leave behind. Similar to these words are the words in Mckay's poem that state, "Though far outnumbered let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!" This is a real approach to what the poet has written about. It appears in both poems that the selection of words and verses are ones that are real and give the reader a good idea of what each poet feels for his subjects.
The way that these poems contrast is the approach to death that the poets have taken.

It appears that Owen sympathizes…

Sources used in this document:
Yet another difference between the two poems is the way that the poets have depicted the opposition in each of the struggles. In McKay's poem the oppressors of the freedom rights fighters are described as a "murderous, cowardly pack." This is in contrast to the automatic assumption that neither army could be called cowardly because they are each fighting to defend their countries.

McKay, Claude. If We Must Die 1919 http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/mckay.htm

Owen, Wilfred. Anthem for Doomed Youth. 1921. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~benjamin/316kfall/316ktexts/owenanthem.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Anthem: Individuality Vs. Conformity the Novella Anthem
Words: 923 Length: 3 Document Type: Thesis

Anthem: Individuality vs. Conformity The novella Anthem by Ayn Rand is the story of an individual's search for identity in a society based on conformity. Set in the future the story's protagonist, Equality 7-2521 is a street sweeper whose great sin is to have personal ambition. Equality 7-2521 is born into a collectivist society in which everyone's life is controlled by various councils of social planners and disciplinarians and in which

Anthem, the Author Ayn Rand Once Again
Words: 900 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Anthem, the author Ayn Rand once again examines the conflict between the individual and society. The story occurs in a fictional location and society where the individual possess no rights. It is the responsibility of the individual to serve the state and any form of independent thinking or action is strictly prohibited. Against this background, the hero of the story, Equality 7-2521, emerges as an intelligent young man who

Individual Vs. Society in Catcher in the Rye and Anthem
Words: 1549 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

'How else can men be when they live for their brothers?'" (Rand 151) Not only is there no separation between self and others but also living for others without thinking for one's self or tolerating disagreement, living in a kind of frozen state of agreement, is considered normal. Instead, Equality 7-2521 finally "discovers my will, my freedom. And the greatest of these is freedom. I owe nothing to my

National Anthem Protest Essay
Words: 3012 Length: Document Type: Essays

This free essay discusses the National Anthem Protest which was first started by Colin Kaepernick in the NFL and has now spread to many players both in the NFL and other major sports.  We will provide you with example titles, related topics, an outline as well as all the major parts of an essay (thesis statement, essay hook, introduction, body, conclusion, works cited).  This can be used as a template/guideline/reference

Religious Freedom and Sports
Words: 4091 Length: 12 Document Type: Research Paper

Obviously, while the statutes prohibit religious discrimination, the courts will not simply rubber-stamp an employee's claim that something conflicts with his religious beliefs. Instead, the court will look at whether a bona fide religious practice conflicted with an employment requirement, whether the employee brought the religious practice to the employer's attention, and whether the religious practice was the basis of the adverse employment decision. Once that is established, the

Death of Soldiers on the
Words: 1467 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Instead, the soldiers about to serve should be 'treated' to the mimicking of gunfire, so they will be prepared for the trenches. In foxholes, after all, the soldier's 'hasty orisons' must keep time to the guns and the rifles. Owen uses personification to characterize the guns which are angry (as his tone). The guns do their work and the alliteration of the 'rifles' and 'rapid rattle' and the consonance

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now