The soldiers enjoying their rest, appear to forget the atrocities which Owen highlights in Dulce et decorum est. However, later on in the poem the soldiers are called to battle and Owen does once again effectively communicate to the reader the horror of war, as with all his poems.
In both Spring Offensive, and Futility the poems are seeped in symbolism, and full of connotative meaning. This technique allows Owen to bring a sense of depth and purpose to the poem, in that the reader has to really explore the poem to extract Owen 's intent.
Through looking at the above range of poems, it become clear that over time Owen 's purpose matured and shifted focus. However, one thing that remained constant in Owens poetry was his prominent style and technique helped to promote each respective purpose. Dulce et decorum est showed the thread of protest against the war, the poem enhanced by Owen 's use of imagery and his stark contrasts. And finally, Futility and Spring Offensive, two poems whose symbolic sub-structure largely illuminated Owen 's purpose, which was that by man attacking or resisting nature, he was going against himself.
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