Disabled

1
Disabled

• Wilfred Owen

2
HE not named, as he is one of many
Adjectives to show sadness
He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark,And
shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,Legless,
sewn short at elbow. Through the parkVoices of
boys rang saddening like a hymn,Voices of play
and pleasure after day,Till gathering sleep had
mothered them from him.
Alliteration
Repetition
The immediate appearance of 'dark', 'grey' , and
'shivered' sets up the isolation of the wounded
soldier. It strikes a strong comparison to the
warmth of the second stanza.
3
'before he threw away his knees' (L.10) The
implication that this was a needless loss
(sacrifice) is reinforced by Ll.23-4 where the
wounded soldier fails to remember why he joined
up, pointing only to a distant sense of duty, and
euphoria after the football match.
'glow-lamps' and 'girls glanced' (L.8 L9) Both
are linked effectively by the use of alliteration.
'Now he will never feel again how slim/ Girls'
waists are' (L.11 L.12) Showing not only the
physical loss of his arm, but also the
psychological scars as the soldier knows he will
be shunned by women from now on.
Alliteration show Beauty
About this time Town used to swing so gayWhen
glow-lamps budded in the light-blue treesAnd
girls glanced lovelier as the air grew dim, In
the old times, before he threw away his
knees.Now he will never feel again how
slimGirls' waists are, or how warm their subtle
hands,All of them touch him like some queer
disease.
The results of his disability
4
'younger than his youth' (L.15) The reversal is
total. The implication is that his face is now
older than his youth.'He's lost his colour very
far from here' (L.17) this line is an example of
one of the great memorable lines written by Owen.
It is an example of 'deliberate, intense
understatements the brave man's only answer to
a hell which no epic words could express
There was an artist silly for his face,For it
was younger than his youth, last year.Now he is
old his back will never braceHe's lost his
colour very far from here,Poured it down
shell-holes till the veins ran dry,And half his
lifetime lapsed in the hot race,And leap of
purple spurted from his thigh.
5
' a bloodsmear down his leg,/After the matches,
carried shoulder-high' (L.21 L.22)Again Owen
uses irony effectively here. We are already aware
that the soldier has lost an arm and his legs,
yet we are told that before the War he felt proud
to have an injury (obtained on the football
field), and to be carried shoulder-high (as a
celebration as opposed to helplessness). Concept
of reversal is again used sporting hero to
cripple, handsome to 'queer disease' (L.13),
colour to dark, warmth to cold.
One time he liked a bloodsmear down his
leg,After the matches carried shoulder-high.It
was after football, when he'd drunk a peg,He
thought he'd better join. He wonders why . .
.Someone had said he'd look a god in kilts.
That's why and maybe, too, to please his
Meg,Aye, that was it, to please the giddy
jilts,He asked to join. He didn't have to
begSmiling they wrote his lie aged nineteen
years.
'giddy jilts L.27)Scottish term for a young
woman.'Smiling they wrote his lie aged nineteen
years' (L.29) The sadness of the soldier's plight
is heightened. Clearly he was under-aged when he
enlisted and therefore is still young.
'a god in kilts' (L.25) An indication that the
soldier was a member of one of the Scottish
regiments (repeated in ll.32-6). Also implies
that he joined up for reasons of vanity.
6
Germans he scarcely thought of and no fearsOf
Fear came yet. He thought of jewelled hiltsFor
daggers in plaid socks of smart salutesAnd
care of arms and leave and pay arrearsEsprit
de corps and hints for young recruits.And soon,
he was drafted out with drums and cheers.
Another indication that the soldier was a member
of one of the Scottish regiments (repeated in
ll.32-6).
7
'Some cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer
Goal' (L.37)Recalls the image of the football
match earlier. L.22 implies that he was carried
from the field shoulder-high, possibly as the
result of scoring the winning goal. Here, despite
having achieved far more, for far greater a loss
than a 'blood- smeared leg', the crowd's
reception is more hollow.
Some cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer
Goal.Only a solemn man who brought him
fruitsThanked him and then inquired about his
soul.
Minister/Priest?
Several recruiting posters used the motif of
linking sport to the army, and there were
numerous recruiting drives at soccer matches.
8
'do what things the rules consider wise' (L.41)
The soldier's meekness is complete. The fine
young athlete has been reduced to a state of
dependency on others and helplessness (heightened
by the pitiful closing repetition of 'Why don't
they come?'). The stanza has him waiting for
others to do things for him, he 'spends a few
sick years', 'takes whatever pity' others choose
to offer him he is passed over by the women's
attentions, as he bemoans the cold and hopes that
someone will put him to bed. 'Tonight he noticed
how the women's eyes/Passed from him to the
strong men that were whole' (L.43
L.44)Repeating what the soldier has lost, this
time in his attractiveness to the opposite sex.
'Whole' implying that he is incomplete, less than
a man.
Now, he will spend a few sick years in
Institutes,And do what things the rules consider
wise,And take whatever pity they may
dole.To-night he noticed how the womens
eyesPassed from him to the strong men that were
whole.How cold and late it is! Why don't they
comeAnd put him into bed? Why don't they come?
Repetition shows how dependent he is on them
and has to wait for the orderlies/nurses
Exclamation for emphasis
9
(No Transcript)
10
Disabled by Wilfred Owen example essay! I think
that in the poem Disabled, Wilfred Owen is
trying to convey the real tragedy of war. Many
people think only of those killed but reading the
poem you remember that many people who were not
killed in the war could still have suffered a lot
more. In the poem Owen focuses on one young man,
a single victim of war. It shows the effect the
war has on the young man's life, when on
returning from the war he has been maimed
"legless, sewn short at elbow Owen writes the
poem with style. He uses the recruits
contrasting memories and new views to create the
war victim's true feelings "About this time town
used to swing so gay", "He thought be better join
in" - he wonders why. "Voices of boys rang
saddening like a hymn. Where is the
Explanation?
11
The poem also illustrates how his lifestyle
changed dramatically. He was once a great
athlete, popular with the girls but now he is in
a wheelchair, "they touch him like a queer
disease", and he notices how "their eyes pass
from him to the strong men that were whole".
Explanation? An artist was once eager to paint
him but "Now he is old, his back will never
brace hes lost his colour very far from home".
He was quite obviously attracted to joining for
all the wrong reasons "It was after the football,
when hed drunk a peg", " Someone had said hed
look a God in kilts", "to please his Meg". All
these reasons were encouraged by official
recruiting propaganda "Smiling they wrote his
lie, aged nineteen years".
12
When he departed for war he was treated like a
hero but peoples' reactions were different on his
arrival home, "Some cheered him home, but not as
crowds cheer goals". Only one person thanked him.
The war took away everything in this young man's
life and Now he will spend a few sick years in
Institutes".
13
Essay

• Think of a poem about an incident that changed a
  persons life forever. Show how the poet
  contrasts life for the subject of the poem before
  and after the incident.

14
Remember!

• POINT make it!
• EVIDENCE prove it!
• EXPLANATION tell me WHY you make this point

15
Think of a poem about an incident that changed a
persons life forever. Show how the poet
contrasts life for the subject of the poem before
and after the incident.
Disabled by Wilfred Owen is a poem about a
young man who is disabled during the First World
War and shows how his life changes for the worst
afterwards. Before the war he is a fit young
athlete, popular with the girls and good looking.
Afterwards he is confined to a wheelchair,
dependent on nurses to care for him at their
convenience and ignored by the girls and other
people.
16
At the beginning of the poem we see the young man
in a wheelchair, waiting for dark, shivering and
listening to the sounds of boys playing he
remembers the things he used to be able to do and
his lifestyle before the war. OR At the
beginning of the poem we see the young man sat
in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark shivering
and listening to the sounds of boys playing
something he used to be able to do before his
injuries.
17
He is not named in the poem and this emphasises
the fact that there are so many of these crippled
soldiers. The use of adjectives such as 'dark',
'grey' , and 'shivered' shows the isolation of
the wounded soldier. It strikes a strong
comparison to the warmth of the second verse.
18
Point Before his injuries, the soldier used to
go down town and enjoy himself with his friends.
Evidence When down Town which used to swing so
gay he would watch the girls who would glance
lovelier as the air grew dim but now he
remembers that he has since thrown away his
knees which implies it was a foolish thing he
did and that as a result he will never again feel
how slim girls' waists are, or how warm their
subtle hands Explanation As a result of his
becoming crippled he is now ignored by the girls
as if he has some queer disease and begins to
remember the reasons why he joined the Army in
the first place. (This links to the next
paragraph about why he joined vanity, drunk and
wanting to please his girlfriend Meg)