"Anthem for Doomed Youth" was written by British poet Wilfred Owen in 1917, while Owen was in the hospital recovering from injuries and trauma resulting from his military service during World War I. The poem laments the loss of young life in war and describes the sensory horrors of combat. It takes particular issue with the official pomp and ceremony that surrounds war (gestured to by the word "Anthem" in the title), arguing that church bells, prayers, and choirs are inadequate tributes to the realities of war. It is perhaps Owen's second most famous poem, after "Dulce et Decorum Est."
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The Full Text of “Anthem for Doomed Youth”
1What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
2 — Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
3 Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
4Can patter out their hasty orisons.
5No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
6 Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
7The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
8 And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
9What candles may be held to speed them all?
10 Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
11Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
12 The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
13Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
14And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
The Full Text of “Anthem for Doomed Youth”
1What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
2 — Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
3 Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
4Can patter out their hasty orisons.
5No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
6 Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
7The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
8 And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
9What candles may be held to speed them all?
10 Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
11Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
12 The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
13Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
14And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
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“Anthem for Doomed Youth” Summary
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“Anthem for Doomed Youth” Themes
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Nationalism, War, and Waste
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Ritual and Remembrance
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Anthem for Doomed Youth”
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Line 1
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
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Lines 2-4
— Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons. -
Lines 5-7
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; -
Line 8
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
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Lines 9-12
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall; -
Lines 13-14
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
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“Anthem for Doomed Youth” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Anaphora
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Caesura
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Consonance
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End-Stopped Line
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Enjambment
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Personification
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Rhetorical Question
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Sibilance
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Simile
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Metaphor
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“Anthem for Doomed Youth” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Passing-bells
- Patter
- Hasty
- Orisons
- Mockeries
- Demented
- Wailing
- Bugles
- Shires
- Speed
- Pallor
- Pall
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Anthem for Doomed Youth”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Anthem for Doomed Youth” Speaker
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“Anthem for Doomed Youth” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Anthem for Doomed Youth”
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More “Anthem for Doomed Youth” Resources
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External Resources
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Poems in Response to Owen — A BBC show in which three contemporary poets respond to Wilfred Owen's poetry.
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Learn More About War Poetry — A series of podcast documentaries from the University of Oxford about various aspects of World War I poetry, including some excellent material specifically about Wilfred Owen.
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More Poems and Biography — A valuable resource of Owen's other poetry, and a look at his life.
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A Reading by Stephen Fry — Internationally famous actor, comedian,and writer Stephen Fry reads the poem (with a bugle call in the background).
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Bringing WWI to Life — In this clip, director Peter Jackson discusses his recent WWIfilm, They Shall Not Grow Old. Though technology, Jackson brings old war footage to vivid life, restoring a sense of the soldiers as actual people.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Wilfred Owen
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