Futility Uselessness due to having no practical outcome. A futile act is doing something that will have no effect, no practical outcome. Can you think of any futile acts?
Futility Objective: To understand Owen uses the themes of conflict and nature to convey a sense of despair. To be able to identify relevant quotes and explain how Owen uses the themes of conflict and nature to convey a sense of despair.
Success Criteria AO2 (Higher) Band Band 6 Band 5 Band 4 Band 3 Band 2 Band 1 Criteria * evaluation of writers uses of language and/or structure and/or form and effects on readers *convincing/imaginative interpretation of ideas/themes * analysis of writers uses of language and/or structure and/or form and effects on readers * exploration of ideas/themes * appreciation/consideration of writers uses of language and/or structure and/or form and effects on readers * thoughtful consideration of ideas/themes * explanation of effect(s) of writers uses of language and/or structure and/or form and effects on readers * understanding of ideas/themes/feelings/attitudes * identification of effect(s) of writer s choices of language and/or structure and/or form intended/achieved * awareness of ideas/themes/feelings/attitudes * awareness of writer making choice(s) of language and/or structure and/or form * generalisation(s) about ideas/themes/feelings/attitudes
Success Criteria AO2 (Foundation) Band Band 6 Band 5 Band 4 Band 3 Band 2 Band 1 Criteria * appreciation/consideration of writers uses of language and/or structure and/or form and effects on readers * thoughtful consideration of ideas/themes * explanation of effect(s) of writers uses of language and/or structure and/or form and effects on readers * understanding of ideas/themes/feelings/attitudes * identification of effect(s) of writers choices of language and/or structure and/or form intended/achieved * awareness of ideas/themes/feelings/attitudes * awareness of writer making choice(s) of language and/or structure and/or form * generalisation(s) about ideas/themes/feelings/attitudes * simple identification of method(s) * some range of explicit meanings given * reference to writers method(s) * simple comment on meaning(s)
Keywords futility- uselessness due to having no practical outcome personification- a technique whereby inanimate objects are described as having human characteristics
Futility Waking a dead soldier by placing him in the sun. What power does the sun have over us and our surrounding environment? What can it do? Keywords: futility, personification
Context Wilfred Owen with his friend, Siegfried Sassoon are thought of as the poets who exposed the brutalities of trench warfare in World War I. Owen spent only 4 months fighting and only 5 weeks in the front line, but the shock of the horrors of war was so great that he decided it was his task to expose the Pity of War. Both poets were persuaded to return to the Front after injury. In a letter to his mother Owen wrote: I came out again in order to help these boys; directly, by leading them as well as an officer can; indirectly, by watching their suffering that I may speak of them as well as a pleader can. Owen was killed on 4 November 1918 trying to get his men across the Sambre Canal. The news reached his parents seven days later, on Armistice Day. Despite his views on the waste of war, Owen was awarded the Military Cross in recognition of his courage and leadership.
Click to hear a reading of Futility Try to identify poetic devices used by Owen. What lines show Owen s attitude to war?
What do we learn of the Soldier in the first section? 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. Sun would usually wake him He is a farmer (Crops to be planted) The PERSONIFICATION of the Sun like an old friend or Father figure that used to gently wake him. The kind old sun has been everywhere with him, even in France. He s been fighting in France Now lying dead in the snow
What do we find out about the speaker and his views? 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? Note how the optimism and hopeful tone of the first stanza slowly disperses into anger in the second stanza as the speaker realises resuscitation is futile. The man is dead. See the power of the Sun in nature Shows the Sun s power on a cosmic level Can t understand how reviving a body can be too much of a miracle for the sun clay grew tall Man s growth as a species and an individual person s growth. Why bother? Is it all just futile? Why did the sun bother to wake the earth to begin with if it is all ruined so easily?
Devices Identify these in the poem and comment on their purpose Personal Pronouns Rhetorical Questions Direct Orders Tone (How it changes) Him It is not just The man or The soldier it is more personal than that. By simply using him we feel closer and more sympathetic to the soldier.
Conflict How are consequences of conflict presented in the poem Futility? Remember to use PETER.
How are consequences of conflict presented in the poem Futility? Vivid imagery is used by Owen to describe the consequences of war. its touch awoke him once. Here Owen personifies the sun and hopes its touch can once again revive his wounded comrade. The desire to bring life back to his fallen friend is clear, as is the link between the sun and life which is continued throughout the poem. This highlights the desperation of the situation where the soldier resorts to asking the sun for help, even though the use of past tense for once hints that the speaker knows the sun can t wake him now. Here Owen is painting a negative image of war for the reader by revealing the madness of war and the consequences it can have even on those who survive.
Homework How does Owen feel about conflict and why does the poet feel this way? Write at least one PETER paragraph.
Plenary Read your partner s work. Have they selected relevant quotations to show they understand the tone of the poem? Have they analysed key words used in their quote? Give a WWW and an EBI.