Poetic and Language Techniques in Strange Meeting

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Poetic and Language Techniques in Strange Meeting (Wilfred Owen) Diction (wod choice! to de"e#o$ the setting% Owen’s choice of words in Strange Meeting varies Meeting varies according to the subject matter. At the start of the poem he creates creates a dream-like setting: ‘it seemed’ and ‘I escaped’ l.. !is use of adjective adjectives s creates the sense of place in which he sets the scene for the meeting. "he wa# down is ‘profound’ #et ‘dull’ l.$% carved out of ‘granites’ l.&. 'ranite is a hard% igneous rock. In one of his letters home Owen wrote:  "he men had to dig trenches trenches in ground like like granite.  "he stillness of the language lulls the reader. reader. "he jolt of the probing (line (line )* when ‘one sprang up’ l.) is reminiscent of the change in action in Dulce Dul ce et Decorum Deco rum Est E st when the ‘fatigue’ of troops ill prepares them for the ‘gas’. !ere the action works through a string of human gestures: ‘sprang up% and stared’% showed ‘recognition’% ‘lifted .. hands’ and smiled l.)-+. "he e#es of the man however are ‘piteous’ - not pitiful but rather asking to be pitied.

The &ono#ogue (#i'e a s$eech othe $eo$#e #isten )ut it isn*t a con"esation! Owen creates a monologue monologue%% with the ‘other’ soldier’s s oldier’s words taking over the poem. "he language changes to be no longer descriptive but abstract and philosophical. Owen uses abstract nouns nouns which carr# deep meanings: •

‘hope’ (l.)*

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‘beaut#’ (l.,*

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‘the truth’ (l.$*

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‘"he pit# of war’ (l. $*

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‘discontent’ (l. $/*

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‘0ourage’ ( l.&1*

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‘m#ster#’ ( l.&1*

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‘2isdom’ (l.&*

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‘master#’ ( l.&*.

 "hese concepts are are interwoven with words words which carr# carr# the emotions of the speaker speaker such as ‘hopelessness’ l.) and ‘weeping’ l.$&% creating c reating a dense te3ture te3ture of meaning.

+onos,##a)ic +onos,##a)ic wods

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In the 4nal section of the narrative the language again undergoes change. "he plain words: 5I am the enem# #ou killed% m# friend6 have a strong emotional impact. "he# are straightforward and almost monos#llabic compared with the comple3it# of the previous language. "he verbs ‘knew’ and ‘frowned’ l.% ‘jabbed’ and ‘killed’ l.$ move the poem on to its close with the familiar vocabular# of war we recognise from man# of Owen’s other poems. In reaction to the jabbing and killing the soldier had ‘parried’ l.& - a verb meaning ‘to ward o7 a blow’. Owen states that the man was unable to defend himself. !is hands were ‘cold’% an une8uivocal word indicating basic ph#sical su7ering. "hat the man’s hands were also ‘loath’ l.& adds a more comple3 idea. ’9oath’ suggests a reluctance to act. Owen is sa#ing that the man was unwilling% as well as unable% to defend himself.

E##i$ses  "he 4nal line of Strange Meeting: ‘9et us sleep now...’ is moving in its simplicit#. It is followed b# ellipses which ma# be interpreted in several wa#s: •

Owen intended to continue writing so this is onl# a fragment of a poem

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Owen is indicating that sleep will end in death

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Owen is suggesting that death is a sleep

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Owen is impl#ing that the sleep with be unending% the# will be at peace

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Owen leaves us with a deliberatel# ambiguous ending.

-no&ato$oeia  "hroughout Strange Meeting Owen uses onomatopoeia to stress sounds or settings •

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‘no guns thumped’ or ‘made moan’ l.& is a negation of sound% creating the sense of mued silence ‘;oil blood#’ l.$/ demands a strong sensuous response to the heat and sight but also to the implied sound of boiling In l. $+ the brittle repeated ‘k’ of ‘break ranks’ and ‘trek from progress’ replicates the noise of shattering 2hen ‘;lood has clogged’ l.&&% the sound of the word ‘clogged’ allows us to e3perience the thick% stick# mess of blood

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2ith the soft% repeated ‘w’ sound of ‘ing =ames ;ible. In line , ‘9ifting up his hands as if to bless’ Owen uses words almost identical to those of the gospel writer 9uke who tells how 0hrist% after his death and resurrection% lifted up his hands to bless his disciples (9uke $:1*. "his is followed closel# in line ten b# ‘we stood in !ell’. In the 0hristian creed 0hrist is described as descending into hell after his death and before his resurrection (see 9iturg# ?orning @ra#er:Apostles 0reed*. Owen would have spoken these words ever#