Pity is for the Living Soldiers Not for the Dead Ones George Michael Grima 11th Grade

Owen means to present to his readers the true victims of war – those who lived and not the dead. In doing so he seeks to bring out the truly horrific aspects of war. These aspects lead their victims to end up in varied severe dispositions. We can point out five types of victims highlighted in Owen’s poetry amongst others; the physically disabled, the mentally traumatized, those whose sacrifice is not acknowledged, the soldiers who are on the battlefield and those who suffer the indignities of war.

The physically disabled are perhaps the most thought of when speaking about war victims. These victims are mostly seen in Disabled. Owen vividly brings out the soldier’s disfigured state through the use of sensory detail, particularly visual images such as the description of ‘his ghastly suit of grey,’ and how he is ‘Legless, sewn short at elbow’. Contrast is also made use of in order to further emphasize on his inabilities. The contrast is made between his past youthful life and his present depressing life. A significant contrast can be seen in the different ways in how he was carried. Whilst before he was ‘carried shoulder-high’ now he is also carried around in a ‘wheeled chair’, which shows his dependent state. Apart from his...