A New Heaven, Wilfred OwenMariam and Rae

Links to the 10 commandments in ‘Thou shall not kill’ Media portrays war as heavenly via the propaganda

Poem• Seeing we never found gay fairyland

(Though still we crouched by bluebells moon by moon)And missed the tide of Lethe; yet are soonFor that new bridge that leaves old Styx half-spanned;Nor ever unto Mecca caravanned;Nor bugled Asgard, skilled in magic rune;Nor yearned for far Nirvana, the sweet swoon,And from high Paradise are cursed and banned;

-Let's die home, ferry across the Channel! ThusShall we live gods there. Death shall be no sev'rance.Weary cathedrals light new shrines for us.To us, rough knees of boys shall ache with rev'rence.Are not girls' breasts a clear, strong Acropole?-There our own mothers' tears shall heal us whole.

Overview• In ‘A New Heaven’, Owen presents an issue in the first 8 lines, something

which the thought he would achieve, the events that have taken place in order to get them into this situation.

• In the first 8 lines of the poem, Owen talks about how he thought war would have been different, how he thought it was a self realisation journey which he went though in order to gain the full meaning of the war. However, Owen also shows that he thought the war would have been something more than just self realisation. He thought it would have been the gateway of happiness ( “ gay fairyland”) suggesting that he thought fighting for the country would create happiness and free the country.

• The final 6 lines is the response to the first 8 lines. Owen states going home dead in the name of the country so that the younger generation will be inspired to join the war in the name of their country. Owen see’s this as a way of reaching the end of the self realisation journey.

Context• The poem ‘A New Heaven’ was written in September of the

year 1916, which is midway through the goings on of the war, despite how it was thought to be finished by Christmas of the year 1914.

• 1916 was the year in which Owen was going through all of his training for the army and realising that war was not what he thought it would be, or how it was portrayed in the propaganda by officials such as Lord Kitchener etc.

• He realised that going home injured or dead from fighting for the country was the only war to receive the honour of being a soldier, and gain a respectable reputation for himself that would make his family proud.

Themes and IdeasExplorations of word choice

Fantastical/Mythical

Ideas

Fairyland

Links to the idea of heaven and happiness and peace contrasting with the traumas of war.

Magic

Moon

Runes

Links to the idea of escapism, Missing reality? E.g. ‘Styx’ links to Greek mythology.

Demonstrates how a higher power is being used in order to try defeat enemies.

Suggesting war is on-going, destruction can be seen from above.

Religion

Ideas

Cathedral

Links to the idea of heaven and happiness and peace contrasting with the traumas of war.

Gods

Asgard

Mecca

Nirvana

Demonstrates how soldiers think they are equal to God.

Journey of self discovery in order to be one in god’s company.

Wants to be in a higher state of knowledge because knowledge is power.

Appealing to equality- Ironic because involved in war.

Greek God: Religious imagery because Owen is doubting Christianity at this time.

Nature

Ideas

Lethe

Shows the flowing nature of heaven and how relaxing it is in contrast with the trauma’s of war.

Channel

Light

Leaves

Symbolises the path to heaven and how the current, which could be represented as the authority, is pushing them in the direction they should be going.

Represents the fall of soldiers despite how much they developed.

The idea of light inks to the idea of heaven and goodness and gives the impression of hope for the future.

Bluebells

These show how the war isn’t just black and white, and represents the growth and development of the soldiers.

StructureTechniques, evidence

Techniques

•Petrachan Sonnet (14 lines) :Octet; present issue Sixtet; the response to the issue

•Rhyming couplets:Shows unity and brings closure to the

poem. “Acropole, whole”

Language Devices, Quotations, Glossary

Devices• Imagery “ crouched by bluebells”

This imagery was used because it shows a religious front between soldiers and is a symbol of hope and growth in terms of the soldiers development over time

• Personification “ weary Cathedrals”This technique was used to make religion seem more realistic and relatable to the audience.

• Metaphor “ Boys shall ache with rev’rence”Owen incorporated this technique in order to exaggerate the consequences of their wrong doings in the time of war.

• Punctuation “ Let’s die home, ferry across the channel!”A variety of punctuation was used through out the poem in order to create a slower rhythm and make some sentences have more of an impact than others.

• Rhyming couplets “ whole, acropole”These are used in order to suggest unity, bring closure to poem and is typical of English Poets from that era.

GlossaryWord Meaning

Lethe River

Styx A river in the underworld, over which Charon ferried the souls of the dead

Asgard Greek God

Nirvana Buddhist state of enlightenment

Acropole Acropolis, citadel in Athens in which the Parthenon was built