An Analysis of Wilfred Owen’s Strange Meeting Essays

An Analysis of Wilfred Owen’s Strange Meeting Analysis of a working manuscript for Wilfred Owens Strange Meeting provides the student with insight into the creative process. Owens original wording coupled with his subsequent revisions illuminate how he may have intended the poem to be understood by the reader. Owens revisions show a determination to accomplish three apparent objectives. First, Owen paid close attention to the connotative meanings inherent in his diction. Equally as important, Owen attempted to refine his language mechanics to enhance the esthetic quality of his work. Finally, there is evidence of a concerted effort to universalize the poem for readers of diverse experience. In contrast to prose writing,†¦show more content†¦If the face displays fears, the reader can assume some attributes of the person and the situation of his death. Fears also brings some life to the image, which may be why the Norton version uses pains, which are not only easier to envision on a corpse, but also attribute different characteristics to the person. If the person felt fear, the reader is less likely to empathize with him. If he felt pain, then the reader may tend to ennoble the person, and understand in a very different way the situation of his death. Later in the same line, the word creatures is replaced by visions. This change brings more humanity to the subject removing the connotation of bestiality, while reinforcing the fact that the person is dead. The appearance of the dead man as a vision brings an unearthly quality to the scene without compromising the humanity of the soldier. Line 14 contains a similar change in wording. Owen substitutes strange for my. The dead soldier is not in actuality the speakers friend, so my is not a good word choice because of its personal nature. My also conveys little in the way of imagery. Str ange, however, reinforces the otherworldly dichotomy of the situation. Another example of connotative meanings at work occurs in line 12, which appears to have originally read Yet no blood pumped here from the upper ground. Owens revisions read reached him, and reached him there. The Norton Anthology