On My Songs by Wilfred Owen

Throughout both classical and contemporary literature, the concept of religion is often posited
as the single constant which we, as humans, can count on amidst the turmoil of life. However,
Wilfred Owen turns this idea on its head by portraying religion as one of the main issues that
contributes to his inner conflict. His poem On My Songs skillfully conveys this standpoint with
the use of several poetic techniques, such as metaphor, diction and assonance. Firstly, it is
important to note that Owen wrote this poem in 1913, a year before the outbreak of World War I.
It was during this period that he was being trained as a priest in a vicarage. Despite these
circumstances, Owen found himself losing his faith as he increasingly felt more and more out of
place in this religious setting as shown in line 10, where he describes himself as a motherless
child, singing his frightened self to sleep." The word motherless is used metaphorically,
almost in a self-pitying way, as this experience represented the first time that Owen found
himself away from home for an extended period of time. At the vicarage, writing poems as well
as practicing other similar art forms was discouraged, which left Owen in a moral quandary. In
line 9, he speaks of his own weird reveries - abnormal daydreams which he thought were out
of place in the environment which he was in, and reinforcing the central theme of inner turmoil
and confusion. The assonance in the next line - low crooning of a motherless child - suggests
a deep and depressed mood, perhaps an indication of his mental state at the time. In the first
line of the poem, Owen alludes to unseen poets who have previously been able to answer his
woe. In fact, it is almost as if their works of literature were written with the intention to echo his
own souls cry, and as a result easing the flow of his dumb tears. This line holds a double
meaning, with dumb not only referring to the sense of childishness which he associated with
crying, as well as dumb, wordless tears. This sense of personal communication is reinforced
with the phrase many and many a time, have answered me, almost as if he had posed a direct
question to the poets. He pays homage to these poets with the use of a capitalised p - a sign
of respect - as well as an allusion to Coleridges famous Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Additionally, Owen uses conscious archaisms throughout the poem, such as in line 12: if thou
shouldst lie..., and refers to the poetry of those who he admires as language sweet as sobs. A
paradox exists within this simile, which serves to emphasise the inner turmoil that he felt.
However, Owen also notes that despite the frequent instances where poetry was able to calm
his inner turmoil, there also existed times where not one verse could resonate with his
confusion. Although the poetry held meaning, the meaning did not echo with his thoughts: not
one verse that throbs, throbs with my heart. The use of the word throbs suggests some sort of
pain, whether physical, emotional or spiritual, while his description of his brain as fraught hints
at how he felt overloaded and distressed with all of the issues on his mind. It was at these times,
where he was unable to find solace in the words of other poets, that Owen experimented with
putting pen to paper and writing his own poetry - Tis then I voice mine own weird reveries. He
then goes on to suggest to the reader that there is a possibility that s/he may find him or herself
in a Sick Room, or a similar situation. The phrase Sick Room carries connotations of
disease, whether it be emotional or physical sickness. We can conclude that the Sick Room
exists as a metaphor for the vicarage where he lived at the time. Owen states that if such a
situation were to occur, he hopes that his poetry would be able to do for the reader what so
many poets before him were able to do for himself, and temporarily give them peace from inner

turmoil - Listen; my voice may haply lend thee ease. However, a certain element of doubt is
contained within the last line, in the words may haply. This shows that Owen was still
unconfident in his own ability as a poet, as On My Songs represented the first poem of his that
was published. In conclusion, we can see that Wilfred Owen is able to depict his inner turmoil in
his poem On My Songs in a variety of different ways, by utilising poetic techniques such as
metaphor, diction and simile. He not only skillfully conveys the confusion he felt around the
subject of faith and religion by referencing the times where by reading poetry he was able to
lessen his angst, but also ends the poem by suggesting that his own poetry may potentially
relieve other people in similar situations.