Anthem for doomed youth analysis

Anthem for Doomed Youth

by Wilfred Owen

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
— Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Summary of Anthem for Doomed Youth:

• Popularity of“Anthem for Doomed Youth”: Wilfred Owen, a well-known British poet wrote this poem.

  It is one of the tragic sonnets also known as a funeral dedication for soldiers in the First World War. It was first published in 1917. The poem speaks