What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
— Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
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;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
In "Anthem For Doomed Youth" Wilfred Owen talks about how soldiers don't get prayers when they die, just getting the sounds of rifles and shells. In the first stanza Owen imply that soldiers that die like cattle saying "What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?" (1). The passing bells being the bells of a church, and cattle being the young men being killed in the war. Owen continues saying that the only thing soldiers get is "the monstrous anger of the guns"(2) and "the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle/Can patter out their hasty orisons." (3-4). Soldiers don't die in battle to the most peaceful sounds, they die to the sounds of more violence. The soldiers don't get a choir either Owen says "Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs/The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells"(6-7) The only choir the soldiers get is the sound of the enemy's shells.
The second stanza really talks about how the soldiers will be remembered. In the first few lines Owen writes "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"(9-11) Obviously there aren't candles on the battlefield. But Owen compares "holy glimmers of goodbyes"(11) to the light of a candle. But in this case the glimmer is the tears of their loved ones when they receive the news. In the next line Owen says "The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall"(12) Pallor means pale and a pall is what is goes over a typically goes over a coffin. So a girls pale complexion is what is covering the soldier. The pale complexion is from the shock of seeing a soldiers dead body. Owen ends saying "Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,/And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds." (13-14) The first line represents the flowers that would be set down on the soldiers grave. And the second line refers the soldiers getting their final rest.
The second stanza really talks about how the soldiers will be remembered. In the first few lines Owen writes "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"(9-11) Obviously there aren't candles on the battlefield. But Owen compares "holy glimmers of goodbyes"(11) to the light of a candle. But in this case the glimmer is the tears of their loved ones when they receive the news. In the next line Owen says "The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall"(12) Pallor means pale and a pall is what is goes over a typically goes over a coffin. So a girls pale complexion is what is covering the soldier. The pale complexion is from the shock of seeing a soldiers dead body. Owen ends saying "Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,/And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds." (13-14) The first line represents the flowers that would be set down on the soldiers grave. And the second line refers the soldiers getting their final rest.
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