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A soldier encounters the enemy he killed in a dream and recognizes his humanity and regret. The poem expresses the horror and futility of war and the need for truth and peace.
Learn about the themes, symbols, and poetic devices of "Strange Meeting," a famous poem by Wilfred Owen that depicts a soldier's encounter with his enemy in Hell. Explore the context, form, and meter of this pessimistic and powerful work that reflects on the horrors of war and the need for reconciliation.
- Summary
- Analysis, Stanza by Stanza
- Historical Background
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Written in the summer of 1918 by Wilfred Owen, ‘Strange Meeting‘ was titled after a quote by Percy Bysshe Shelley from his work ‘The Revolt of Islam‘. In it, a soldier escapes from a battle, only to find that he has escaped into hell and that the enemy that he has killed is welcoming him into hell. Discover more Wilfred Owen poems.
Stanza One
Even at the start of ‘Strange Meeting,’ the poem references war; for Owen, the natural habitat, the natural instincts, of a soldier is war. The start is relatively benign; there is nothing strange about escaping battle down a tunnel (in the First World War, there was a British plot to try and tunnel into German territory, hence the recurring imageryof holes and tunnels).
Stanza Two
The dead, ever prevalent in Owen’s work, crop up in the second stanza of ‘Strange Meeting‘. The words ‘encumbered sleepers’ implies a relatively peaceful passing, however as soon as the soldier passes by them, he awakens one of the sleepers. The use of ‘sleepers’ is also heavily ironicon Owen’s part, given that it is something peaceful, yet however, the peacefulness of the image implied by ‘sleepers’ is undercut in the third stanza.
Stanza Three
It is worth noting that this is perhaps one of the most bloodless poems that Owen wrote. He eschews the in-depth look towards brutalities that most Owen poems usually claim – omitting the description of the injuries, instead, for what was lost. Although the first two lines lend an idea – though there is no gore, the person speaking is terrified – the presence of war is still felt. It is also worth noting that ‘Strange Meeting‘ is one of the most silent that Wilfred Owen wrote; his onomatopoei...
‘Strange Meeting‘ was written in 1918 and stands in the forefront of Owen’s achievements; the quote, ‘I am the enemy you killed, my friend’ is to be found carved on Owen’s memorial in Shrewsbury, and Siegfried Sassoon called it Owen’s ‘pass into immortality’. It is made up of 44 lines in iambic pentameter divided into four stanzasof irregular lengt...
A poem about a soldier's encounter with a dead enemy in hell, questioning the meaning and purpose of war. Learn about the poem's themes, form, context, and expert insights on Poem Analysis.
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Vor 2 Tagen · “Strange Meeting” also delves into the themes of truth and revelation, as the encounter between the speaker and the other soldier leads to profound insights and revelations. Through their dialogue, the soldiers confront the harsh realities of war and that it should not be glorified. This theme underscores the importance of confronting uncomfortable truths and acknowledging the human cost ...
Strange Meeting" is a poem by Wilfred Owen. It deals with the atrocities of World War I. The poem was written sometime in 1918 and was published in 1919 after Owen's death. The poem is narrated by a soldier who goes to the underworld to escape the hell of the battlefield and there he meets the enemy soldier he killed the day before.
Published two years after his death in battle, Wilfred Owen wrote “Strange Meeting” based upon his own war traumas. In this poem, Owen encounters in hell a soldier he killed. He soon learns ...
A soldier encounters the enemy he killed in a dream and laments the futility of war. The poem explores the themes of pity, guilt, and futility in the face of the horrors of war.
