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Futility. Wilfred Owen. Futility (noun) pointlessness – a lack of usefulness or effectiveness pointless action - an action that has no use, purpose or effect. The story of the poem. Written in 1918. About this time Owen categorised his poems, FUTILITY coming under the heading "Grief".
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Futility Wilfred Owen
Futility (noun) • pointlessness – a lack of usefulness or effectiveness • pointless action - an action that has no use, purpose or effect
The story of the poem • Written in 1918. About this time Owen categorised his poems, FUTILITY coming under the heading "Grief". • The front line on a bright winter morning. A soldier has recently died though we don't know precisely how or when. Owen appears to have known him and something of his background. • He ponders nature's power to create life, setting it against the futility of death. • The problem Owen faces in Futility is how to reconcile the miracle of creation with the evil of death and waste. • Owen wonders ‘what is the point?’…
Quotes + this shows… • The sun is personified throughout the poem – select lines where this happens. (C)
Language analysisList the connotations of these words… (B) • Gently • Kind • Warm • Cold • Sunbeam
Meaning and Structure (A) • What does the final line of the poem suggest? • The poem has three rhetorical questions at the end. Why? • Why did Owen write this poem?
The poem makes us think about… • Life – how it is created • Nature – how the sun creates all life on earth • Death – how it ultimately makes life futile