"Strange Meeting" is a powerful and poignant poem written by Wilfred Owen during World War I. The poem explores the theme of loss and the futility of war through the lens of a soldier who has just died in battle and finds himself in the underworld, encountering a former enemy.
In the first stanza, the soldier describes his descent into the underworld and his sense of disorientation and confusion. He wonders if he is "in Hell" and if the ghosts he sees are the "shades of the dead" or just his own "mad dreams." The imagery of the "dark, slumbrous tunnel" and the "vague sound" of "voices speaking" adds to the sense of mystery and uncertainty.
As the poem progresses, the soldier encounters a former enemy and engages in a conversation with him. At first, the soldier is filled with hatred and resentment towards his enemy, and he feels the "old hate" rising within him. But as they continue to talk, the soldier begins to see the humanity in his enemy and comes to realize that they are not so different after all. He realizes that they both fought and died in the same war, and that their deaths were ultimately meaningless and unnecessary.
In the final stanza, the soldier expresses his regret and sorrow for the lost lives and wasted potential of all the young men who died in the war. He wishes that he could go back in time and prevent the war from ever happening, and he laments the fact that "we though we hated peace, we laid down to die."
Overall, "Strange Meeting" is a powerful and moving tribute to the victims of war and a poignant reflection on the human cost of conflict. It serves as a reminder of the need for peace and understanding in a world that is all too often torn apart by violence and hatred.
Strange Meeting (poem)
Beauty, according to him and to Owen as well, is eternal in that it produces pure joy, which is necessary for happiness on earth. Furious worldwide protests ensued, bewildering some. They will be swift with swiftness of the tigress. Foreheads of men have bled where no wounds were. He looks upon war as a hellish dance of death.
Strange Meeting for War Poet Owen's Brother
Strange Meeting Analysis Strange Meeting is one of the most characteristic war-poems of Owen, and at the same time, the most moving. In line 34, the blood clogged in the wheel is partially figurative. How did he know him? This emphasizes the theme of futility of war and the degradation of war. However, it has since come to be regarded as a somewhat romanticised version of events. New York: New Directions, 1965. Just like the way the solder kills the enemy, he could as well be killed.
Wilfred Owen
For by my glee might many men have laughed, And of my weeping something has been left, Which must die now. His war poetry shows an astonishing advance in expressions as well as contents. They will be swift with swiftness of the tigress, None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress. Let us sleep now. Structure This poem is written in one stanza of Language and Imagery The voice is that of the speaker, we can assume the poet, who recounts the experience of a disturbing dream. Foreheads of men have bled where no wounds were.
Strange Meeting
He smiles and by that smile the poet comes to know that he is in hell. Courage was mine, and I had mystery; Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery; To miss the march of this retreating world Into vain citadels that are not walled. He soon learns that his enemy is not so much different from him after all, as it is revealed how they share the same thoughts. The third stanza then shows the conversation between the persona and the dead soldier which reflects the main theme of futility of war and universal suffering due to war. This same soldier speaks at length before revealing his identity. It deals with an encounter between the speaker and supposedly unknown or strange person, the enemy soldier killed by the speaker yesterday in the battlefield.
Strange Meeting Poem Summary and Analysis
His three-volume biography of Wilfred, Journey from Obscurity 1963-5 , was for many years assumed to be an accurate and objective record. Overall, the poem Strange Meeting is a perfect example of a superb World War I poetry. For by my glee might many men have laughed, And of my weeping something has been left, Which must die now. There is in his war poems piercing pathos welling out of the colossal waste of human life and opportunity. Courage was mine, and I had mystery, Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery; To miss the march of this retreating world. He had the courage and wisdom to refuse to join the march of the world into the camp of reaction. I would have poured my spirit without stint But not through wounds; not on the cess of war.
