Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through
sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.
How are the soldiers described in the first stanza?
In what ways do these adjectives convey Owens’s view of the experience of soldiers during World War I?
their described as tired, old, men who have suffered, and are traumatized of still what lays ahead of their journey.
Right. Remember, though, that these are young men who have quickly grown old in battle.
is this better they are
Crippled, mentally and physically overcome by the weight of their experiences in war.