Mental Cases by Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen
Mental Cases
Kai Mather
A purpose
Owen employs imagery and metaphor to deliver a powerful, morbid depiction of World War One.
Written in 1918, ‘mental cases’ explores the spiritual, emotional, and mental damage caused by war. Owen continues to challenge the glorious and brave archetype of the soldier at that time, as he did in "Dulce et decorum est".
There is an abundance of imagery relating to hell and death. The former being where they are, and the later being where they wanted to be. The mental scarring and shock caused by the ‘rucked’ dead scattering the ground created a fear of death as much as it did a fear of the enemy.
In several lines Owen contrasts and compares the soldiers to skeletons and corpses to reflect their mental state and foreshadow their imminent death.
Below is a reading of the poem. In line four of stanza one the word ‘jaws’ is often mistaken for tongues, I don't know which is correct.
Visceral imagery is used throughout the piece to emphasize the gore and pain endured in the trenches. Mud and grit infiltrated wounds, and the dead remains of soldiers were claimed by the mud and grit.
The macabre, symbolic descriptions of the gore also depict the soldier’s view of the battle.
The rhetorical questions in the first stanza also work to capture the reader’s attention and create a thought process early on in the poem.
