Spring Offensive Commentary by Samridh

Through his last poem spring offensive, Wilfred Owen relates the story of the battle between Germany and the allies during World War II. This particular poem is complex and riveting as he uses each stanza along with an irregular rhyme scheme to represent a different part of the battle. Moreover, the use of nature helps justify the setting of the poem and conveys the intended message to the reader and the varying figures of speech used make the poem all the more interesting.

At the beginning, Owen conveys the sense of the setting through the use of nature. Everything seems to be calm in the first paragraph and the repetition of ease in ‘were at ease’ and ‘lying easily’ shows how relaxed the soldiers were. However the ‘stark, blank sky’ indicates that this was just the calm before the storm and there was a war to come. This introduces the juxtaposition between peace and war as well. The first stanza ends with ‘end of the world’ which provides an unsettling image, however the ‘summer oozed into their veins’ immediately in the next stanza brings back the reassurances of peace and calm. Owen uses this juxtaposition to portray the uncertainties of war. With the ‘long grass swirled’ and the simile used for the summer, nature itself seems to be on the side of the soldiers. The setting gives the feeling that nothing could go wrong and a war seemed hardly imminent. Once again, however with ‘fearfully flashed the sky’s mysterious glass’ Owen seems to be foreshadowing the war and that something will go wrong as nature begins to show unsettling signs. The first two stanzas thus provide a calm and collected feel, assuring the reader that nothing can go wrong when suddenly a small hint of a future war is dropped, which is used to make the poem all the more interesting.

Once again, with the next paragraph the ‘warm field’ and ‘buttercups’ show that it is spring time, and nature is thriving. New life is coming to form with the ‘little brambles.’ This brings out the irony of the title of the poem ‘spring offensive’ as spring time is a time of rebirth and new life, whereas the war was soon about to take away lives. A sense of tension is then built up with the ‘sorrowing hands’ which ‘breathe like trees unstirred.’ This is the tension which eats at the mind of every soldier before they know they will be going to war. Suddenly things begin to change in their minds and they become tense in order to prepare for war. This sudden change is reflected in the smooth transition between the next paragraph. The previous ‘May breeze’ has changed into a ‘cold gust’ which is unsettling to the soul. A repetition of ‘No’ shows the negative connotations of what was to come as well. This serves a dual purpose however as at the same time the swiftness of the German attack is portrayed as they made no noise and were like silent assassins. One second all seemed to be well, nature was serene and the soldiers were rested. The next second enemy soldiers were creeping up the hill in a swift movement, ready to attack. The sibilance used in ‘The sun, like a friend with whom their love is done’ also shows how nature has switched sides and from being calm has now gone against the soldiers once the attack begins. However it is attacking with greater force than when it was helping the soldiers, showing the formidability of the German attack. The fact that this passage contains of one extremely long sentence also shows how swift the war was and that suddenly there was a swift and complete change in the surroundings.  

The transition from peace has now shifted to full fledged war in the next stanza. The pathetic fallacy of ‘the whole sky burned’ shows how blood was in the air. Additionally, the alliteration in ‘herb and heather’ suggests that the soldiers tore down everything in their path that stood between them and their enemy. The ‘soft sudden cups Opened in thousands for their blood’ signifies the incoming of death and casualties. Soldiers were being hurt with bullets and blood was in the air. Once again two long sentences are used in this stanza which show the continuity and swiftness of the war. Here, there is also a change in the tone and diction to a gorier one. The repetition of ‘and’ is used to show the different effects of the war on nature and the soldiers in one continuous fashion. Moreover, the change of the ‘green slopes’ which later ‘chasmed and steepened sheer to infinite space’ makes the ground seem to open up and consume the lives of many and take them into the void. The serene nature is converted to portray what hell would look like through the ‘hot blast’ and ‘fury of hell’s upsurge.’ As hundreds fell to their death the setting seemed to be like in hell.

However religion comes in here at this point in the poem as ‘Some say God caught them even before they fell’ shows that superstition dictated that these soldiers were doing a good deed by sacrificing their lives to end the war. This could be questioned to be just a sham, or for the people justifying their violent actions of going to war. The last stanza continues this chain of thought as it questions the actions of the people. The contradiction in ‘superhuman inhumanities’ shows the controversy around the topic and the argument whether the soldiers were doing good or bad deeds. This is further justified with the ‘long-famous glories’ juxtaposed with ‘immemorial shames.’ The two contradictory natures of the actions of war give an unsettling feeling towards the end of the poem as the result can be looked at as both heroic and a dastardly act. However what is not questioned is that by the end of this offensive the war had ended and peace was once more prevalent. The last line leaves the readers with the question ‘why speak they not of comrades that went under?’ which highlights the survivors guilt.

Throughout the poem Wilfred Owen uses nature to describe what was happening in the war and develop the setting of the poem. There is a transition from peace to war and back to unsettled peace again. The poem however questions the humanities of a war and committing such horrific acts through the numerous questions and juxtapositions through the end which also get the reader thinking about the horrors of war, the devils game.