Meanings of Insensibility
Wilfred Owen did not write a poem titled “Insensibility.” The text you are reading is a modern, fictional poem that explores the psychological impact of war on soldiers. It is not a genuine work of Owen, but it can still be used to illustrate the theme of emotional detachment that he often addressed in his own poems. The poem describes how soldiers numb themselves in order to survive the horrors of combat. It is not a glorification of war; it is a stark portrayal of its dehumanizing consequences. The central idea is the dulling of feeling, the voluntary or involuntary suppression of human connection as a survival mechanism.
Meanings of Stanza -1
Happy are men who yet before they are killed
Can let their veins run cold.
Whom no compassion fleers
Or makes their feet
Sore on the alleys cobbled with their brothers.
The front line withers.
But they are troops who fade, not flowers,
For poets’ tearful fooling:
Men, gaps for filling:
Losses, who might have fought
Longer; but no one bothers.
The opening stanza immediately establishes the poem’s unsettling tone. Owen (in this modern poem) ironic declares happiness for those who can suppress their compassion and emotional response to the horrors around them. The image of “veins run cold” suggests a deliberate emotional shutting down. The phrase “cobbled with their brothers” vividly depicts the brutal reality of war – soldiers walking over the bodies of their comrades. The soldiers are not seen as individuals but as expendable “gaps for filling,” highlighting the dehumanizing aspect of conflict. The final line emphasizes the callous indifference toward these losses.
Meanings of Stanza -2
And some cease feeling
Even themselves or for themselves.
Dullness best solves
The tease and doubt of shelling,
And Chance’s strange arithmetic
Comes simpler than the reckoning of their shilling.
They keep no check on armies’ decimation.
This stanza explores the psychological defense mechanism of emotional detachment. Soldiers “cease feeling” even their own sense of self, illustrating a profound loss of identity. “Dullness” is presented as an solution to the terror of shelling, a way to block out the constant threat of death. The metaphor of “Chance’s strange arithmetic” powerfully conveys the randomness and senselessness of war. The soldiers’ inability to “keep no check on armies’ decimation” underscores their emotional numbness – they no longer register the scale of the losses.
Meanings of Stanza -3
Happy are these who lose imagination:
They have enough to carry with ammunition.
Their spirit drags no pack.
Their old wounds, saved with cold, cannot ache more.
Having seen all things red,
Their eyes are rid of the hurt of the colour of blood forever.
And terror’s first constriction over,
Their hearts remain small drawn.
Their senses in some scorching cautery of battle
Now long since ironed,
Can laugh among the dying, unconcerned.
This stanza is arguably the most disturbing. The poet shockingly declares happiness for those who lose their imagination, suggesting that empathy and creativity are liabilities in war. The image of carrying “ammunition” instead of emotional baggage is stark. The soldiers’ spirits are unburdened, but at a terrible cost. The description of their eyes becoming “rid of the hurt of the colour of blood” depicts a horrifying desensitization to violence. The phrase “hearts remain small drawn” signifies emotional shrinkage, and the ability to “laugh among the dying, unconcerned” is a chilling testament to their psychological trauma. It is not joy, but a terrifying detachment.
Meanings of Stanza -4
Happy the soldier home, with not a notion
How somewhere, every dawn, some men attack,
And many sighs are drained.
Happy the lad whose mind was never trained:
His days are worth forgetting more than not.
He sings along the march
Which we march taciturn, because of dusk,
The long, forlorn, relentless trend
From larger day to larger night.
The poem shifts focus to the aftermath of war. The poet ironic praises the soldier who returns home “with not a notion” of how, every dawn, some men attack somewhere, leaving him unaware of the ongoing conflict. He sings along the march, but we march taciturn because of the dusk that symbolizes our own emotional darkness. The long, forlorn, relentless trend from larger day to larger night describes the gradual erosion of hope and the loss of meaning in everyday life. The analysis emphasizes that the soldier’s happiness masks the profound emptiness that follows combat.
Meanings of Stanza -5
We wise, whose thought besmirches the blood over all our souls,
Blood over all our souls,
The soldier’s world, the world of men, the world of all.
He cannot tell the placidity of old men from his own.
In this stanza, the poet speaks of a collective wisdom that is tarnished by the bloodshed that pervades the world. The soldiers’ sense of connection is compromised by the world’s brutality, and the poet suggests that this world of war has become unrecognizable to the unworldly. The emotional numbness is seen as a necessary shield that protects the soldier from the suffering of others. The poet’s words, “The world of men,” become “the world of all,” indicating the universal effect of war. The poem emphasizes that this emotional detachment, while a defense, also creates a sense of isolation among those who endure it.
Meanings of Stanza -6
Wretched are they, and mean, with a paucity that was never simplicity,
By choice they made themselves immune
To pity and whatever moans in man before the last sea and the hapless stars,
Whatever mourns when many leave these shores,
Whatever shares the eternal reciprocity of tears.
The poem concludes with a harsh condemnation of those who remain emotionally numb. “But cursed are dullards whom no cannon stuns, that they should be as stones” shows how the soldier’s inability to experience genuine emotion has turned them into something static, a monument to the violence that surrounds them. The poet’s use of the word “dullards” emphasizes that the lack of emotional engagement leads to a lack of vitality in the world. The poem paints a vivid picture of how emotional detachment can result in a society that is no longer alive. The final line, “the eternal reciprocity of tears,” indicates that the soldier’s numbness is an irreversible condition that has been forged in a place that does not understand the cost of violence and loss. The poem is not a tribute to war; it is a warning of the lasting psychological damage it can inflict.
Summary of Insensibility
- Theme: Emotional detachment as a survival mechanism.
- Structure: The poem is divided into six stanzas, each building on the idea of emotional numbness.
- Key Imagery: Veins running cold, eyes rid of blood, and laughter among the dying.
- Tone: Unsettling and ironic, showing the loss of humanity among soldiers.
- Overall Message: War forces soldiers to numb themselves, leading to lasting psychological damage.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “Insensibility”
- Irony: The poet ironic declares happiness for those who numb themselves, highlighting the absurdity of finding joy in emotional numbness.
- Imagery: Vivid descriptions such as “veins run cold” and “eyes rid of the hurt of the colour of blood” paint a clear picture of the psychological toll of war.
- Metaphor: “Chance’s strange arithmetic” compares the randomness of battle to unpredictable numbers, illustrating how soldiers cope.
- Allusion: The poem references the broader experience of war and the emotional detachment that soldiers develop.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Insensibility”
- Free Verse: The poem is written in free verse, allowing the poet to emphasize the chaotic nature of war.
- Repetition: Repeated words such as “Happy” reinforce the unsettling tone.
- Symbolism: Symbols such as “veins run cold” and “eyes rid of the colour of blood” convey the emotional numbness that soldiers experience.
- Contrast: The contrast between the emotional detachment and the harsh reality of war highlights the human cost of combat.
Quotes to be Used
Owen often used irony, praising qualities like emotional detachment and loss of imagination that are inherently negative. The following quotations illustrate the theme of emotional detachment that the poet discusses in the modern poem “Insensibility.”
- “Happy are men who yet before they are killed can let their veins run cold.”
- “Dullness is presented as an solution to the terror of shelling.”
- “Happy are these who lose imagination.”
- “Happy the soldier home, with not a notion.”