Owen Sheers: Poetry Literary Elements

Most of the poems have been written from first person's point of view and Owen Sheers has shared his own life experiences in his poems e.g. Trees, Not Yet My Mother, but a few poems have been written from vantage point e.g. Mametz Woods.

The poems have been written in free verse and irregular meter.

The metaphor of 'trees' has been employed for children and the 'breeze' is a metaphor for destruction. The metaphor of "setting" has been used for death while the metaphor of "rising" has been used for life. In the poem "Mametz Wood", the metaphor of 'a wounded human body' has been used for the earth after the battle, the metaphor of "broken mosaic" has been used for the bones of the soldiers while the simile of 'crushed bird's egg' has been used for the tampered skull, the simile of' paper notes' has been used for the broken bones and the simile of 'nesting birds' has been used for the soldiers. In the poem "The Farrier", the simile of a car mechanic has been used for the farrier.

The examples of Alliteration in "Mametz Wood" are 'For years afterwards the farmers found them', 'broken bird's egg', 'plate of a shoulder blade'. There are repetitions of 'f', 'b' and 'l' sounds respectively. In the poem "Not Yet My Mother", the examples of alliteration are 'hat hid your hair' and 'held horse by the halter', There is a repetition of 'h' sound in both lines.
The examples of assonance in "Mametz Wood" are 'turning up under plough blades' and 'wound working a foreign body'. There are repetitions of 'u' and 'o' sounds respectively. In the poem "Not Yet My Mother", the example of assonance is 'tight riding hat hid your hair'. There is a repetition of 'i' sound.

In the poem "Mametz Wood", the irony is that the memorials which are created in remembrance of soldiers do not depict the actual horrors of war. Another irony is that the boots are more durable than the lives of soldiers who wear them.

The poem "Mametz Wood" is an Anti-war poem but most of the poems of Owen sheers are nature poems which have autobiographical streaks in them.

In the poem "Mametz Wood", the setting is mametz, a village in Northern France IN 1916, whose nearby woodland was the site of a bloody battle in world war I

In the poem "Trees", the tone of the poet is optimistic but in "Mametz Wood", the tone is lamenting, sorrowful. The tone of the poet is yearning, resilient and mournful in other poems.

In "Mametz Wood", the protagonist is a soldier.

In "Mametz Wood", the major conflict is the damage done to humanity during WWI.

In the poem "Mametz Wood", the climax comes, when the farmers find the body parts of soldiers in the woods.

The setting of sun in the poem "Mametz Wood" foreshadows the death of children while the rising of sun foreshadows the birth.

In the poem "Mametz wood", the understatement is the pathetic condition of the soldiers and the futility of war. In the poem "Marking Time", there is an understatement that scars may fade away but their marks remind us of all the good or bad memories.

Allusions to nature, World War I, family, woods and horses have been employed by the poet.

In the poem "Trees", 'house' has been used as a synecdoche for family. The 'farrier' in the poem "The Farrier" is an example of metonymy which stands for all the working craftsmen

In "Mametz Wood, the earth and war have been personified.

The hyperbole has been used in the poem "Mametz Wood", when the poet says that earth stands sentinel. The earth has been described as a guard of everything which is present on its surface. In the poem "Marking Time", the hyperbole has been employed when the poet says that the marks on a woman's back are like carved trees.

An example of onomatopoeia is 'nods' in the poem "Trees".