DISABLED
WILFRED OWEN (18 March 1893 - 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier. He was one
of the leading poets of the First World War. He was noted for his anger at the cruelty and waste of war
and his pity for its victim.The poem “Disabled” is written about a soldier who has been injured in the
war. It poignantly portrays the physical and psychological trauma suffered by a young man enlisted to
fight for Britain in World War I. The poem focuses on an injured soldier in the aftermath of that very
same war. Still quite young, the man feels old and depends on others for virtually everything, having
lost his legs and parts of his arms in battle. Reflecting on his decision to go to war, the poem shows the
horror of the conflict and suggests that many young men didn't know what they were getting
themselves into when they first enlisted. The poem was first published in 1920; Owen, however, didn't
live to see this, as he was killed in action one week before the war ended.
The title “Disabled” is a metonym which replaces the wholeness of his identity. The opening pronoun
“he” shows that this soldier is anonymous in many ways. This could be Wilfred Owen’s way of
universalising the experience of many others and how they are treated and considered by the society
for which they have lost everything.
Verse one reveals that he is confined to a wheelchair and lives in a hospital. There is a very ugly
atmosphere of misery and tragedy in this verse, created by the colours and sounds mentioned. He sits
in his wheelchair, waiting for the evening to fall. The use of the gerund ‘waiting for dark’ suggests a
sense of hopelessness and despair. This has connotations that there is no light, so there is no hope, and
all he has left to do now is to wait for death so that his suffering will come to an end. Darkness
suggests he wants to hide his maimed body in the dark. Furthermore, he wants to sleep eternally in the
darkness; die and escape his life of unhappiness. The caesuras used in the first stanza give the effect of
a long wait for the night. The dark is a metaphor for death, Owen describes this man’s life as so useless
and futile that death seems like a relief from the monotony of life. He shivers in his horrible grey
hospital uniform, which -like him - doesn't have any legs and stops at the elbow. “He sat in a wheeled
chair, waiting for dark”, “And shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,” The verb ‘shivered’ and the
sibilants add a sense of vulnerability and weakness to the man. The word ‘ghastly’ echoes ‘ghostly’
and conveys that he is lacking life. The colour "grey" is mentioned too, which also creates a sad,
miserable and bleak atmosphere and reflects the monotonous, boring life he has.
Owen shocks the reader with the word ‘legless.’ It is a brutal truth. The young man is objectified as the
poet describes his suit as ‘sewn short at elbow.’ The reader is forced to picture his injuries. The colour
grey is very often used as imagery for death in literature. The fact that he has no legs and one arm
show how dependent he is on others, this dehumanises his character. The young man’s situation is
contrasted with the boys playing. The anaphora of ‘voices’ suggest they prey on his mind.The use of
auditory imagery as he hears the voices ‘saddening like a hymn’ and the simile reinforces the idea of
death-in-life. He perceives it as a funeral dirge.
The poet uses contrast to make the created atmosphere even stronger by describing the happy life of
boys playing outside. "Voices of play and pleasures after day" is a very sad phrase, as the man is not
able to do anything by himself, yet is forced to listen to voices of playing children until the night time
comes and kids have to go home to their families, where they are safe. This also contrasts between
their physical exertion and his inability to move. Personification is also found in the last line of verse
one, "Till gathering sleep had mothered them from him". Sleep is personified as his mother,
1
WILFRED OWEN (18 March 1893 - 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier. He was one
of the leading poets of the First World War. He was noted for his anger at the cruelty and waste of war
and his pity for its victim.The poem “Disabled” is written about a soldier who has been injured in the
war. It poignantly portrays the physical and psychological trauma suffered by a young man enlisted to
fight for Britain in World War I. The poem focuses on an injured soldier in the aftermath of that very
same war. Still quite young, the man feels old and depends on others for virtually everything, having
lost his legs and parts of his arms in battle. Reflecting on his decision to go to war, the poem shows the
horror of the conflict and suggests that many young men didn't know what they were getting
themselves into when they first enlisted. The poem was first published in 1920; Owen, however, didn't
live to see this, as he was killed in action one week before the war ended.
The title “Disabled” is a metonym which replaces the wholeness of his identity. The opening pronoun
“he” shows that this soldier is anonymous in many ways. This could be Wilfred Owen’s way of
universalising the experience of many others and how they are treated and considered by the society
for which they have lost everything.
Verse one reveals that he is confined to a wheelchair and lives in a hospital. There is a very ugly
atmosphere of misery and tragedy in this verse, created by the colours and sounds mentioned. He sits
in his wheelchair, waiting for the evening to fall. The use of the gerund ‘waiting for dark’ suggests a
sense of hopelessness and despair. This has connotations that there is no light, so there is no hope, and
all he has left to do now is to wait for death so that his suffering will come to an end. Darkness
suggests he wants to hide his maimed body in the dark. Furthermore, he wants to sleep eternally in the
darkness; die and escape his life of unhappiness. The caesuras used in the first stanza give the effect of
a long wait for the night. The dark is a metaphor for death, Owen describes this man’s life as so useless
and futile that death seems like a relief from the monotony of life. He shivers in his horrible grey
hospital uniform, which -like him - doesn't have any legs and stops at the elbow. “He sat in a wheeled
chair, waiting for dark”, “And shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,” The verb ‘shivered’ and the
sibilants add a sense of vulnerability and weakness to the man. The word ‘ghastly’ echoes ‘ghostly’
and conveys that he is lacking life. The colour "grey" is mentioned too, which also creates a sad,
miserable and bleak atmosphere and reflects the monotonous, boring life he has.
Owen shocks the reader with the word ‘legless.’ It is a brutal truth. The young man is objectified as the
poet describes his suit as ‘sewn short at elbow.’ The reader is forced to picture his injuries. The colour
grey is very often used as imagery for death in literature. The fact that he has no legs and one arm
show how dependent he is on others, this dehumanises his character. The young man’s situation is
contrasted with the boys playing. The anaphora of ‘voices’ suggest they prey on his mind.The use of
auditory imagery as he hears the voices ‘saddening like a hymn’ and the simile reinforces the idea of
death-in-life. He perceives it as a funeral dirge.
The poet uses contrast to make the created atmosphere even stronger by describing the happy life of
boys playing outside. "Voices of play and pleasures after day" is a very sad phrase, as the man is not
able to do anything by himself, yet is forced to listen to voices of playing children until the night time
comes and kids have to go home to their families, where they are safe. This also contrasts between
their physical exertion and his inability to move. Personification is also found in the last line of verse
one, "Till gathering sleep had mothered them from him". Sleep is personified as his mother,
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