Futility | Wilfred Owen | Poems With Jesus
‘Futility’ is written by Wilfred Owen during World War I. The poem expresses futility and hopelessness of war. The poem presents an image of a fallen soldier in the snow, as his comrades try to move him into the sun in hopes of reviving him. This act becomes a metaphor for futile efforts of better-humanity to counteract ridiculous war and death. The poem juxtaposes the soldier’s past experiences of the sun’s warmth and life-giving qualities with current reality of his lifeless state.
The poet contemplates the idea that the sun, which has the power to awaken seeds and bring life to the earth, is incapable of reviving the soldier. This raises questions about the significance of human actions and aspirations in the face of overwhelming forces – of human nature and mortality. The poem reflects senselessness of war by questioning the purpose of the soldier’s sacrifice and the efforts of those who sent him to battle.
Owen’s simple and stark language adds to the poem’s emotional impact, conveying bleakness of the soldiers’ situation and absurdity of war. Through ‘Futility’, Owen prompts readers to reflect on paradoxes of human existence, the transience of life, self-destruction, and tragedy of conflict.
The poem asks if humanity is so fallen that it might have been better not to happen at all. As such, the poem might be thought upon as confession.
The Poem | Futility | Wilfred Owen
Move him into the sun—
Gently its touch awoke him once,
At home, whispering of fields half-sown.
Always it woke him, even in France,
Until this morning and this snow.
If anything might rouse him now
The kind old sun will know.
Think how it wakes the seeds—
Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.
Are limbs so dear-achieved, are sides
Full-nerved, still warm, too hard to stir?
Was it for this the clay grew tall?
—O what made fatuous sunbeams toil
To break earth’s sleep at all?
For the first Christian communities, almost all of them Jewish, the Benedictus would have been a song of joy, thanking God for His fulfilment of the promise of ages: God has visited his people and redeemed them. The faith of those early Christians is strong as they look back along the road they have travelled since Abraham, and forward to a time of peace, light, salvation [ … ]
The poem presents a spiritual progression from weariness and disconnection to renewed purpose and communion with the divine. Herbert describes a personal journey marked by exhaustion, seeking rest after being drawn away by worldly pleasures. Imagery of travel, with Herbert and his horse both ‘tired, body and mind’, introduces a state of spiritual depletion. The search for respite in an inn, a place of temporary shelter, symbolizes the soul pausing in its pursuit of lasting fulfillment. The moment of pause becomes transformative, as Herbert unexpectedly encounters Christ, described as ‘my dearest Lord’, waiting as a silent presence, ready to offer comfort once the grief brought by pleasures subsides [ … ]
Through these Bible verses, we are called upon to consider the persecution of Christians. Jesus speaks both of his own time, and of the time of the Apostles, and of time to come, including the present day. The persecution of Christians is a live issue at present in the Middle East, through the intolerance of some people and their leaders. In living memory, we recall the oppression and murder of Christians by totalitarian regimes. As we look back through history, we find so many of our saints are martyrs [ … ]
