As one of the world’s most renowned war poets of all time, Wilfred Owen is specifically known for representing the voice of the many soldiers who fought during World War I. In his poem, “ The Letter”, Owen is able to successfully depict themes that showcase the true realities of war through his descriptive and authentic writing style. By providing the audience with an insider’s point of view, Owen effectively communicates the harsh and excruciating pain soldiers had to endure on a day-to-day basis. Unfortunately with war comes death, and death in numbers. The reoccurrence of death is showcased in the majority of Owens poems. Douglas Kerr wrote “ Wilfred Owens best- known writing deals with the life and death of soldiers.”(Kerr 518) Owen’s background as a World War I soldier himself proved to be highly beneficial by providing the audience with first-hand experiences that are conveyed and suggested in many of his poems. Moreover, it is imperative to note that the “pity of war” served to be a universal message and point that Owen strived to convey …show more content…
Mark Graves wrote “Regardless of when Owen actually composed it, the poem springs from essentially the same impulse which produced his more well-known works such as “Dulce Et Decorum Est”, namely a need to proffer realistically the futility of war.” (Graves) The claim that Owen is attempting to portray the futility of war in his poem ‘the letter’ is exemplified in the irony of these two particular lines of the poem. The soldier tries to comfort his wife instead of telling her the realities of war, but ironically sooner or later she will find out the realities of war by receiving the news that her husband has died in combat. Owen’s contrast between life and death in these two lines implies that anything can happen in a split second at war. One moment a soldier is alive and functioning and in the amount of time a bullet takes to hit its mark, life can be taken