A Response to Futility by Wilfred Owen

02/08/13

Futility by Wilfred Owen

Response Journal

Formal Response 4: Themes/Ideas

The harsh and brutal reality of the World War One frontline is a recurring theme throughout Owen's poems. However, this poem extends past this basic theme and contemplates not only the pointlessness of war, but also the meaning of existence itself. The questioning of the purpose of life was not at all uncommon for the soldiers surrounded by constant death. The impersonal style of the poem allows for it to apply to any soldier. The poem tells the story of the attempt to revive a soldier by means of the sun. The theme is shown through symbolism and personification. The first line, "Move him into the sun" introduces a major symbol in the poem- the sun. The narrator is ordered to move the body of a hurt male into the sun as it always woke him. The sun is characterized as kind and old. The sun represents hope and life. The man always had enough hope when reminded of the life the sun creates to stir awake once again. Line eight touches on the growth of seeds and by doing this reflects simultaneously on the growth of man. The line "clays of a cold star" refers to all creation from the sun, and then more specifically man. The following line describes a living animal, most likely in reference to a human and the life within it. The line succeeding the last asks if "this were the reason the clay grew tall." This is basically asking what is the point of war; did we grow all of our lives only for this? The final two lines present a question of purpose. What made the sun try to create life? In other words, what is life's purpose? The question goes unanswered in the poem but reflects a common questioning of purpose, something every soldier seemed familiar.