(Wilfred Owen) --- Compare "Mental Cases" and "Disabled" and explain the differing feelings which Owen expresses and what your reactions to them are.

Both "Mental Cases" and "Disabled" are anti-war poems evoking vivid and sometimes shocking emotions. Owen shows a less pleasant side to "The Great War" in his typical fashion. "Disabled" paints a vivid picture of a young man's misfortune and shows the contrast between his old life - full of hope - and his new life, in which he has no hope. "Mental Cases", on the other hand, outlines the mental effects of the war, with …

…evoke strong emotions from the reader. One can empathise with the mentally damaged men in the second poem and with the physically disabled man in former, although to a lesser extent. One is made more aware of the effects of war by both poems and becomes less complacent. Owen has achieved his aim in raising ones awareness of the negative effects of war in a very powerful and evocative manner. [essay written by Jonathan Kenton]