Wilfred Owen’s Poem “Strange Meeting”, Essay Example

The poem, “Strange Meeting,” has more than a few mentions of the words war, fear, guilt, and blame. The poem’s characters are soldiers. It basically highlights the sufferings of the soldiers and highlights their suffering and how they endure pain and death while pursuing their duties. “Strange Meeting”is one of Owen’s most enigmatic and famous poems. Published in the early 1900s in the Wheels: an Anthology of Verse by Edith Sitwell, it is considered a technical achievement of immerse originality and one of the most inspirational compositions inspired by WW1. The main theme highlighted in this poem is the horror and the futility of war. The poet aims to show that there is no honor or chivalry in war but only death and suffering.

Theme

The effects of the war changed the socio-economic and political structures of the society forcing people to change how they related to each other. Many joined hands to condemn the war, with writers using different strategies to communicate with the society.  Initially, most of them wrote patriotic verses, designed to rebuild a united front aimed to fight Germany’s aggression. However, this changed as they realized the grey reality and the uncertainty of the war. With the growth of their frustrations, they lashed out to those that profited from the war or supported it. The final part of the poem highlights the sadness, destitution, and the wasteful nature of war and how it affects all involved parties. The poet was no exception. In this poem, he laments about the terrors faced by his generation and also foretells of the future conflicts between nations. He proposes that war enemies can be friends, if only they would find a way to work through their differences.

Speaker

In this poem, Owen gives a two-for-one perspective on war. There are two speakers, both highlighting the issues surrounding the concept of war. The first is believed to be Owen, a fallen soldier whose actions land him in hell. “And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall; by his dead smile I knew we stood in hell.” The speaker paints a scary picture for the reader, which further helps to highlight the effects of the war. The picture makes the reader feel disoriented, almost as if they are experiencing a bad dream.

The second narrator is a soldier killed by the first speaker. Owen gives more focus to this speaker who goes into details to highlight the destructive nature and evil characteristics of war and its effects on the people and society in general. “The pity of war, the pity war distilled, now men will go content with what we spoiled.” Through this speaker, the reader gets detailed information as well as the emotional output associated with combat and survival in enemy territories. The speaker acts as the poet’s main communication vessel to deliver his opinions and thoughts on war.

Setting

The events in this poem take place in hell. Even though Owen does not reveal this fact at the beginning of the poem, from the description he gives concerning the environment, it is obvious that he is not speaking about the earth. He opens the poem by talking about an individual who has fallen through a tunnel carved out of the horrifying history of the war. The tunnel feeds into hell where soldiers get to spend the rest of their lives. When the poet is not describing the actual hell, he provides information showing that all individuals in hell are not happy and content. The version of hell given by the poet has several shady and miserable characters. The poem describes the second narrator looks more as an individual who looks miserable than the soldiers in the field. Anyway, hell cannot exist without suffering, pain and ugliness, all elements created by war.

Occasion

The events highlighted in the poem take place during a meeting of two former war enemies. It seems to be a conversation between a first and a second narrator as they reminisce their time during the war. The second narrator dominates the conversation and even reveals that it was the first-narrator that killed him. Even though they were once enemies, this occasion seems peaceful. The two narrators use their meeting to highlight the effects of the war and how much it had changed their lives. The meeting also shows that the narrators are tired and all they desire is “drift off to sleep.

Tone

The tone used in this poem differs between the first and the second narrators. In the beginning, the poet uses a distant, dreamlike tone, which creates an epic feeling which later morphs into an eerie with the realization of hell. There is a somber tone used to show the narrators contrast with the supernatural feeling created by the existence of hell. The words of the German soldiers have an element of despair and hopelessness, which is later replaced by a mood of penitence.

The tone changes when the second narrator begins to speak. Through his words, the narrator creates a positive, reflective, meditative tone. He uses his experiences to show the world that war is dangerous and meaningless.  At the end of the poem, the tone becomes more reflective, gentle, and meditative. The tone is also ironic as the Owen uses the phrase ‘my friend’ paradoxically. He refers to his enemy as a friend.

Owen also uses slant rhyme, for instance, hell and hall, mourn and moan, hour and hair. Even though these worlds look similar, they do not rhyme. Noteworthy, slant rhymes are easy to understand. The use of perfect rhymes in this poem would be confusing and abhorrent. By using slant rhyme, Owen succeeds in simplifying his message and thus, does not force the reader to spend a lot of time analyzing the themes and the content of the poem.

Internal Structure

In the first stanza, Owen sets the scene for the reader. From the title, the reader understands the meeting is not ordinary. It is as though the narrator has escaped the war. He reveals that he travels through a long tunnel. During WW1, such tunnels were used as hide-outs and escape routes.

In the second stanza, the reader understands the horrific, ghostly, and surreal nature of the depicted environment (post-battle hell). It is also evident that the narrator and the dead soldier know each other. The stanza elevates the readers’ curiosity as they strive to understand the identity of the dead soldier and why they were both in hell.

In the third stanza, the vision of the deceased soldier’s face is revealed and the speaker’s sentiments allay fear in the readers and also make a connection not characterized by sadness or animosity. The stanza also shows the effects of the war, that is pain, fear, and mourning. The speaker shows the destitution, loneliness, and guilt in both speakers, all elements influenced by their participation in the war. At this point, the emotions seem ineffective as both soldiers seem more interested in telling the truth about the effects of war. The truth consists of pain, sorrow, and compassion.

In the final stanza, the speakers seem to make up and are finally at peace. It emerges that even though they considered each other as enemies during the war, they now know better and understand the essence of letting go and moving on. The conjunction of a friend and an enemy is a paradox that changes the tone and shows the simplicity of fulfillment. The speaker in the stanza indicatesthat it was not his desire to die but he was too tired to effectively defend himself. He finishes off by saying “Let us sleep now….,” to show his willingness to let go of the past.

“Strange Meeting”is a poem that highlights the effects of war on people and societies. Owen highlights the link between two soldiers affected by WW1. Even though they were on opposing sides, they both end up in the same hell, an element that shows that war equally affects the participating parties. However, even though they were sworn enemies during their lifetime, they forgive each other in the afterlife. By this point, the poem shows that war is pointless and forces the reader to consider other alternatives for sorting socio-economic and political issues.