Compare 'A Terre' and 'Wild with all Regrets' by Owen, and how each confront the issue of death - page 1
Keywords: A Terre, Wild With All Regrets, Wilfred Owen, Death, World War I, The Great War, realisation
By Kevin Jimenez on 08/07/2011
Level: A Level (Year 12) / AS Level
Page Number: 1 of 2 pages: 1 2
Compare the poems 'A Terre' and 'Wild with all Regrets' by Wilfred Owen, and how each confront the issue of Death.
‘A Terre’ and ‘Wild with all Regrets’ are very similar poems about an officer’s last thoughts upon his nearing death. Wilfred Owen writes of a powerful realization that often accompanies the sick and dying – a realization of life and its fragility, which in this case is highlighted by the numerous casualties of war.
The deteriorating state of the soldier is a clear focus in both poems, and this is reflected in how Owen has structured his writing. The stanzas gradually become shorter in ‘Wild with all Regrets’ and towards the end of ‘A Terre’, illustrating the sense that this person is fading away. Furthermore, this is also shown through the half-rhyme scheme that Owen has incorporated, using words like “brute” and “brat” for instance – words that are similar yet do not rhyme. This severing of bonds between words may describe the soldier’s detachment of body from mind, particularly as his arms “have mutinied” and are no longer under his control. These techniques force the reader to be conscious of time and how little of it is left.
On the other hand, ‘Wild with all Regrets’ is structured differently to ‘A Terre’. Its iambic rhythm gives the poem an unnatural sense of flow and direction which seems odd considering that the subject of this poem is of a dying man whose thoughts are likely to be anything but straightforward. His mental state is better reflected in ‘A Terre’ which has no fixed structure and suits the style of tone of writing that is more conversational.
Both poems express and communicate a strong willingness to live. In ‘Wild with all Regrets’ the soldier muses, “I’d find another body. Which I shan’t manage now. Unless it’s yours”. Sadly, we gain the impression that he would not hesitate in doing so if only it were possible. In ‘A Terre’, the most emotive passage is perhaps when the soldier says, “Dead men may envy living mites” – a statement that clearly emphasizes the officer’s desperation to live. For this reason, it may be considered that ‘A Terre’ is more emotive in describing death as it involves deeper philosophical thoughts that convey a sense of desperation and almost panic. These somewhat far-fetched ideas that Owen introduces, in such circumstances, are spoken with a heart-warming clarity from a person
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