“Strange Meeting” was written by the British poet Wilfred Owen. A soldier in the First World War, Owen wrote “Strange Meeting” sometime during 1918 while serving on the Western Front (though the poem was not published until 1919, after Owen had been killed in battle). The poem's speaker, who is also a solider, has descended to “Hell.” There, he meets a soldier from the opposing army—who reveals at the end of the poem that the speaker was the one who killed him. The poem is deeply pessimistic as it reflects on the shared humanity of these two men and the broader horrors of war. Though the poem suggests that human beings aren't going to stop fighting anytime soon, it also calls for such violence to be replaced by reconciliation and solidarity.
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The Full Text of “Strange Meeting”
1It seemed that out of battle I escaped
2Down some profound dull tunnel, long since scooped
3Through granites which titanic wars had groined.
4Yet also there encumbered sleepers groaned,
5Too fast in thought or death to be bestirred.
6Then, as I probed them, one sprang up, and stared
7With piteous recognition in fixed eyes,
8Lifting distressful hands, as if to bless.
9And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall,—
10By his dead smile I knew we stood in Hell.
11With a thousand fears that vision's face was grained;
12Yet no blood reached there from the upper ground,
13And no guns thumped, or down the flues made moan.
14“Strange friend,” I said, “here is no cause to mourn.”
15“None,” said that other, “save the undone years,
16The hopelessness. Whatever hope is yours,
17Was my life also; I went hunting wild
18After the wildest beauty in the world,
19Which lies not calm in eyes, or braided hair,
20But mocks the steady running of the hour,
21And if it grieves, grieves richlier than here.
22For by my glee might many men have laughed,
23And of my weeping something had been left,
24Which must die now. I mean the truth untold,
25The pity of war, the pity war distilled.
26Now men will go content with what we spoiled.
27Or, discontent, boil bloody, and be spilled.
28They will be swift with swiftness of the tigress.
29None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress.
30Courage was mine, and I had mystery;
31Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery:
32To miss the march of this retreating world
33Into vain citadels that are not walled.
34Then, when much blood had clogged their chariot-wheels,
35I would go up and wash them from sweet wells,
36Even with truths that lie too deep for taint.
37I would have poured my spirit without stint
38But not through wounds; not on the cess of war.
39Foreheads of men have bled where no wounds were.
40“I am the enemy you killed, my friend.
41I knew you in this dark: for so you frowned
42Yesterday through me as you jabbed and killed.
43I parried; but my hands were loath and cold.
44Let us sleep now. . . .”
The Full Text of “Strange Meeting”
1It seemed that out of battle I escaped
2Down some profound dull tunnel, long since scooped
3Through granites which titanic wars had groined.
4Yet also there encumbered sleepers groaned,
5Too fast in thought or death to be bestirred.
6Then, as I probed them, one sprang up, and stared
7With piteous recognition in fixed eyes,
8Lifting distressful hands, as if to bless.
9And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall,—
10By his dead smile I knew we stood in Hell.
11With a thousand fears that vision's face was grained;
12Yet no blood reached there from the upper ground,
13And no guns thumped, or down the flues made moan.
14“Strange friend,” I said, “here is no cause to mourn.”
15“None,” said that other, “save the undone years,
16The hopelessness. Whatever hope is yours,
17Was my life also; I went hunting wild
18After the wildest beauty in the world,
19Which lies not calm in eyes, or braided hair,
20But mocks the steady running of the hour,
21And if it grieves, grieves richlier than here.
22For by my glee might many men have laughed,
23And of my weeping something had been left,
24Which must die now. I mean the truth untold,
25The pity of war, the pity war distilled.
26Now men will go content with what we spoiled.
27Or, discontent, boil bloody, and be spilled.
28They will be swift with swiftness of the tigress.
29None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress.
30Courage was mine, and I had mystery;
31Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery:
32To miss the march of this retreating world
33Into vain citadels that are not walled.
34Then, when much blood had clogged their chariot-wheels,
35I would go up and wash them from sweet wells,
36Even with truths that lie too deep for taint.
37I would have poured my spirit without stint
38But not through wounds; not on the cess of war.
39Foreheads of men have bled where no wounds were.
40“I am the enemy you killed, my friend.
41I knew you in this dark: for so you frowned
42Yesterday through me as you jabbed and killed.
43I parried; but my hands were loath and cold.
44Let us sleep now. . . .”
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“Strange Meeting” Summary
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“Strange Meeting” Themes
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The Horrors of War
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Reconciliation and Solidarity
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Strange Meeting”
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Lines 1-3
It seemed that out of battle I escaped
Down some profound dull tunnel, long since scooped
Through granites which titanic wars had groined. -
Lines 4-8
Yet also there encumbered sleepers groaned,
Too fast in thought or death to be bestirred.
Then, as I probed them, one sprang up, and stared
With piteous recognition in fixed eyes,
Lifting distressful hands, as if to bless. -
Lines 9-10
And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall,—
By his dead smile I knew we stood in Hell. -
Lines 11-13
With a thousand fears that vision's face was grained;
Yet no blood reached there from the upper ground,
And no guns thumped, or down the flues made moan. -
Lines 14-17
“Strange friend,” I said, “here is no cause to mourn.”
“None,” said that other, “save the undone years,
The hopelessness.
Whatever hope is yours,
Was my life also; -
Lines 17-21
I went hunting wild
After the wildest beauty in the world,
Which lies not calm in eyes, or braided hair,
But mocks the steady running of the hour,
And if it grieves, grieves richlier than here. -
Lines 22-25
For by my glee might many men have laughed,
And of my weeping something had been left,
Which must die now. I mean the truth untold,
The pity of war, the pity war distilled. -
Lines 26-29
Now men will go content with what we spoiled.
Or, discontent, boil bloody, and be spilled.
They will be swift with swiftness of the tigress.
None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress. -
Lines 30-33
Courage was mine, and I had mystery;
Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery:
To miss the march of this retreating world
Into vain citadels that are not walled. -
Lines 34-36
Then, when much blood had clogged their chariot-wheels,
I would go up and wash them from sweet wells,
Even with truths that lie too deep for taint. -
Lines 37-39
I would have poured my spirit without stint
But not through wounds; not on the cess of war.
Foreheads of men have bled where no wounds were. -
Lines 40-44
“I am the enemy you killed, my friend.
I knew you in this dark: for so you frowned
Yesterday through me as you jabbed and killed.
I parried; but my hands were loath and cold.
Let us sleep now. . . .”
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“Strange Meeting” Symbols
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The Tunnel
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Blood
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Citadels
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Chariot-Wheels
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Sweet Wells/Water
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“Strange Meeting” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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End-Stopped Line
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Enjambment
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Caesura
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Simile
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Parallelism
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Diacope
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Apostrophe
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Personification
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Synecdoche
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Consonance
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Allusion
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Metaphor
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“Strange Meeting” 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.
- Profound
- Dull
- Granites
- Groined
- Encumbered
- Fast
- Bestirred
- Probed
- Piteous
- Distressful
- Sullen
- Vision
- Grained
- Upper ground
- Flues
- Running
- Richlier
- Distilled
- Spoiled
- Tigress
- Progress
- Citadels
- Cess
- Parried
- Loath
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Strange Meeting”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Strange Meeting” Speaker
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“Strange Meeting” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Strange Meeting”
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More “Strange Meeting” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poetry of World War I — A list of poems written about and during World War I, broken down by year, from the Poetry Foundation.
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World War I — A detailed timeline for the First World War, put together by the BBC.
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"Strange Meeting" Read Aloud — Alex Jennings reads Owen's poem in its entirety.
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Benjamin Britten's "Strange Meeting" — A performance of the British composer Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem," which includes a musical adaptation of Owen's "Strange Meeting."
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The Life of Wilfred Owen — A detailed biography of Owen from the Poetry Foundation.
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The Rear Guard — Siegfreid Sasoon's poem, "The Rear Guard," which influenced Owen's "Strange Meeting."
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Wilfred Owen
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