The Send Off
By Wilfred Owen
Down the close, darkening lanes they sang their way
To the siding-shed,
And lined the train with faces grimly gay.Their breasts were stuck all white with wreath and spray
As men’s are, dead.Dull porters watched them, and a casual tramp
Stood staring hard,
Sorry to miss them from the upland camp.
Then, unmoved, signals nodded, and a lamp
Winked to the guard.So secretly, like wrongs hushed-up, they went.
They were not ours:
We never heard to which front these were sent.Nor there if they yet mock what women meant
Who gave them flowers.Shall they return to beatings of great bells
In wild trainloads?
A few, a few, too few for drums and yells,
May creep back, silent, to still village wells
Up half-known roads.
Summary of The Send Off
- Popularity of “The Send Off”: This beautiful and short poem, “The Send Off” shows itself as the creative output of a British war poet “Wilfred Owen.” It is because it shows how soldiers depart and what others think of them. Owen composed it when he was returning from Ripon with other soldiers. It first appeared in 1918 but probably was written in August of the previous year. The beautiful voice that interrupts the verses to tell the most important fact about the soldiers that they may not return or may return with a few of them has won popularity for the poem as well as the poet.
- “The Send Off” As a Representative of Soldiering: The poet, who happens to be the speaker of the poem, states how the soldiers look when they board the train. He states that they are singing when the train departs, and it seems that they are all dead. On the other hand, the porters are watching them, while a tramp also stares at them. Meanwhile, the lamps and signals nod the train, and it moves out of the station. They depart secretly without leaving any trace of the front they have been sent to. However, the women who have seen them off show that they were sent by the people. Yet, it is unclear when they will return or even return at all. The poem, then, responds that they may be a few or some, a point which is unclear, but it is clear that they would return to the same routine of drums and yells. However, they will come creeping back due to their injuries.
- Major Themes in “The Send Off”: The departure of soldiers, the transience of life, and mundane routine are major themes of this poem. The first three stanzas comprise the departure of the soldiers to the front through trains. The poet shows that when the trains depart, it is a moving scene with the grim faces of the departing soldiers as well as their families. The white faces of those soldiers show deathly hollowness. However, when they move away, it seems that this is a life that is transient, and it seems that they have never existed. Only a few of them return to the routinized life of the world. Then life goes on as usual, leaving behind this tragedy of the dead soldiers.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Send Off
Wilfred Owen used various literary devices sparingly. He tried to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices are as follows.
- Allusion: It means to use references from society, history, or culture to stress upon the main idea. The poet used an indirect allusion to WWI.
- Alliteration: It means to use initial consonants in successive words. The poem shows the use of consonant sounds, such as /s/ in “stood staring” or /g/ in /grimly gray/ or /w/ in “white with wreath” or /v/ in “village well.s”
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ and /o/ in “Down the close, darkening lanes they sang their way” and the sound of /i/ and /a/ in “Sorry to miss them from the upland camp.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /w/ and /r/ in “Their breasts were stuck all white with wreath and spray” and the sound of /f/ and /s/ in “few, a few, too few for drums and yells.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “And lined the train with faces grimly gay”, “Dull porters watched them, and a casual tramp” and “Sorry to miss them from the upland camp.”
- Simile: It is a figure of speech in which a direct comparison is made between objects. The poet used the simile of wrongs to show the condition of the soldiers.
- Personification: It means to attribute human emotions to inanimate objects. The poet has used the personification of wells that they are still like human beings.
- Rhetorical Question: It means to show or use a question not to elicit an answer but to tress upon the main theme. The poem shows the use of a rhetorical question, such as “Shall they return to beatings of great bells/In wild trainloads?”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as trains, faces, wreath, spray, tramp and lamp to show the ravages of war.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Send Off
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal, poetic, and melodic diction.
- End Rhyme: It means to use verses having matching end words. Wilfred Owen shows the use of end rhyme such as way/gay/spray and shed/dead.
- Rhyme Scheme: This poem shows different rhyme schemes in each stanza, such as ABAAB in the first and second and different in other stanzas.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are six stanzas with a different number of verses in each.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a tragic, perplexing, and worrying tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when talking about the departure and sacrifices of soldiers.
Dull porters watched them, and a casual tramp
Stood staring hard,
Sorry to miss them from the upland camp.
Then, unmoved, signals nodded, and a lamp
Winked to the guard.
