In the poem A Terre by Wilfred Owen and in the book All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque one of the main themes is the limited life span and meaning that life is the main value. The book is about war, and in the poem, the main character is the soldier repeating the theme of the book, and in whose case medals and other awards are meaningless if he loses his life on the battlefield.
The theme of youth is raised in the poem and in the book. The book contains such phrases as “But young? That is long ago. We are old folk” emphasizing the end of youth and carelessness with the outbreak of war (Remarque, 1930, p. 18). The poem also contains the lines “A short life and a merry one, my brick! We used to say we’d hate to live dead old, — yet now…” referring to the days of youth (Owen & Blunden, 1965). Previously, life did not have such a value, but further, the character says, “O Life, Life, let me breathe” referring to the continuation of life in a careless form (Owen & Blunden, 1965). In addition, this shows that both authors also use figurative expressions to convey ideas.
The book is referring to death in a more dramatic and negative way. At the same time in the poem, the characters examine it from different angles stating, “I shall be better off with plants”. Thus, the authors have different views and approaches to the theme. Owen uses many emotionally-charged words, calls and exclamations to support the atmosphere and the dramatic theme, while in the book the narration is more monotonous in terms of language but with the use of events to showcase the theme.
There is a similarity between the book and the poem in the style of the development of events, as they proceed gradually. For example, in a poem, the theme is first presented, and later the hero’s thoughts about death are developed. At the same time, the storyline and the variety of ideas are more traced in the book.
The book uses the foreshadowing technique, where events in the present tense give clues about what will happen in the book in the future. The poem lacks this method since nothing predicts further events. At the same time, the author of the poem uses anaphora starting the line with the repeated word “Less”, and this element is missing in the book (Owen & Blunden, 1965). This further enhances the achievement of the goal of conveying the atmosphere and meaning of the transience of life. In this case, there is a difference both in the approach of the authors and in the type of work, since the poem allows only a limited amount of information to be contained.
Both authors successfully use flashbacks in parts where the characters recall the past while being in the time span of now. This allows the story to be conveyed through the narration of the characters, which adds more emotionality. Additionally, this creates an atmosphere and allows the reader to understand the background of what is happening. This emphasizes that the characters previously did not value life, and with the beginning of military events, it acquired a special meaning.
Moreover, there is a similarity in that both authors tell the story without adding their own points of view. They exclusively narrate events without adding personal bias. The difference is that in the book most of the story comes from the third person narration style, while in the poem from the first person, which makes it more emotionally fulfilled.
Both authors convey the atmosphere by immersing the reader in it. One element from the mix of literary devices used in both works is personification. Death and life have human actions or characteristics when the characters refer to them. The characters talk to them discussing the value of life acquired over time and the desire to extend it. This personifies death and life as the same participants in actions as if they were people.
In conclusion, the poem and book mention and address a similar theme of sacrificing life for the soldier. However, the authors consider it from different angles. The presentation style is also different as the book is more dramatic with the use of realistic examples, which enable the reader to empathize with the characters. The set of literary elements used by the author coincides in some aspects, and in some, it differs significantly due to the different types of works and the presentation of the authors.
References
Owen, W., & Blunden, E. (1965). The collected poems of Wilfred Owen (Vol. 210). New Directions Publishing. Web.
Remarque, E. M. (1930). All quiet on the Western front. Ballantine Books. Z-Library. Web.