WILFRED OWEN WAR POETRY

kylie S.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. smothering
    causing difficulty in breathing especially through lack of fresh air and presence of heat
    ... smothering dreams, he plunges toward me, guttering, choking, drowning: Here, the speaker recalls the torment in dreams.
  2. purgatory
    a temporary state of the dead in Roman Catholic theology
    in some poems, such as "Mental Cases", Owen reveals the soldiers to be suffering in a half light or hell, where they are neither living or dead, and cannot cope with the sin or guilt of the murders they have committed under war.
  3. purgatorial
    serving to purge or rid of sin
  4. writhing
    moving in a twisting or snake-like or wormlike fashion
  5. cud
    food of a ruminant regurgitated to be chewed again
  6. zest
    a tart spicy quality
  7. ardent
    characterized by intense emotion
  8. ecstasy
    a state of elated bliss
  9. fatigue
    temporary loss of strength and energy from hard work
  10. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
  11. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
  12. ghastly
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
  13. haunting
    having a deeply disquieting or disturbing effect
  14. dehumanisation
    the act of degrading people with respect to their best qualities
  15. dehumanise
    deprive of human qualities
  16. authority
    the power or right to give orders or make decisions
  17. glimmer
    a flash of light
  18. tenderness
    warm compassionate feelings
  19. pity
    a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for misfortunes of others
  20. compassion
    a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering
  21. mockery
    showing your contempt by derision
  22. contempt
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
  23. bitter
    causing a sharp and acrid taste experience
  24. contemptuous
    expressing extreme scorn
  25. mournful
    expressing sorrow
  26. stutter
    speak haltingly
  27. monstrous
    distorted and unnatural in shape or size
  28. demented
    affected with madness or insanity
  29. shrill
    having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
  30. fatuous
    devoid of intelligence
  31. futility
    uselessness as a consequence of having no practical result
  32. negate
    make ineffective by counterbalancing the effect of
  33. hunger
    a physiological need for food
  34. frantic
    marked by uncontrolled excitement or emotion
    'shell on frantic shell' is an example of the panicked emotion that was experienced in the dug out in the Sentry, where the men are enduring the constant stress of battle.
  35. panic
    an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
  36. din
    make a resonant sound, like artillery
  37. chatter
    click repeatedly or uncontrollably
  38. fumes
    gases ejected from an engine as waste products
  39. flounder
    move clumsily or struggle to move, as in mud or water
  40. sludge
    any thick, viscous matter
  41. anthem
    a song of devotion or loyalty
  42. doomed
    people who are destined to die soon
    Owen speaks of young men who die before they have the chance to grow old.
  43. mockery
    showing your contempt by derision
  44. sardonic
    disdainfully or ironically humorous
    In S.I.W, Owen sardonically refers to the woman who don't comprehend what the men are going through, and hope they return with a 'safe wound to nurse' - hardly a realistic expectation give the fatalities and injuries suffered.
  45. subvert
    overthrow or destroy completely
  46. subversive
    in opposition to an established system or government
    Owen, in Anthem for Doomed Youth, subverts the usual form of a sonnet, changing a love poem to one that is about mourning and dying.
  47. critical
    of a serious examination and judgment of something
    Owen is critical of those who withhold the truth of war and distort reality.
  48. criticise
    find fault with
    Owen criticizes the politicians and authorities who do not appear to care for the individual soldiers and send them to war to 'die like cattle'
  49. distort
    twist and press out of shape
    Owen wishes to reveal the truth to reveal the distorted lies that propaganda spreads to the young soldiers who sign up for glory and honour
  50. propaganda
    information that is spread to promote some cause
  51. delude
    be dishonest with
  52. cruel
    able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
  53. bitter
    causing a sharp and acrid taste experience
  54. visual
    relating to or using sight
  55. compassionate
    showing or having sympathy for another's suffering
  56. nightmarish
    extremely alarming
  57. realistic
    aware or expressing awareness of things as they are
  58. juxtaposition
    the act of positioning close together
  59. alliteration
    use of the same consonant at the beginning of each word
  60. condemn
    express strong disapproval of
  61. hopeless
    without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success
  62. consonance
    a harmonious state of things and of their properties
  63. assonance
    the repetition of similar vowels in successive words
  64. onomatopoeia
    using words that imitate the sound they denote
  65. mortality
    the quality or state of being subject to death
  66. corporeal
    having material or physical form or substance
  67. formal
    in accord with established conventions and requirements
  68. visceral
    relating to or affecting the internal organs
  69. ironic
    displaying incongruity between what is expected and what is
  70. revolutionary
    markedly new or introducing radical change
  71. subvert
    overthrow or destroy completely
  72. sardonic
    disdainfully or ironically humorous
  73. incredulous
    not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
  74. disenchanted
    disappointed or let down
  75. beauty
    the qualities that give pleasure to the senses
  76. graphic
    written or drawn or engraved
  77. anguish
    extreme distress of body or mind
  78. grief
    intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one
  79. bitterness
    the taste experience when quinine or coffee is taken into the mouth
  80. disdain
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
Created on Thu Feb 21 20:56:44 EST 2013 (updated Sun Nov 24 23:15:41 EST 2013)

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