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Do these letters home add to your understanding of Wilfred Owen’s poetry?

Thank you so much for this. From the Preface "My subject is War, and the pity of War. "The Poetry is in the pity. "Yet these elegies are to this generation in no sense consolatory. They may be to the next......... " If only! How many next generations must there be?

These letters help me understand my dear silent Grandfather better. I only have a few stories of the war from him. He didn't like to speak of it and sometimes he would sit and cry silently. He was at the front in France, in all that mud and gas, in the Canadian army. It would break his heart to know we are still fighting today.

Interesting and haunting from the beginning to the end

This broke my heart

In answer to your question, yes, the letters (and the connections you have drawn between corresponding passages and poems) have enriched my understanding of Wilfred Owen’s poetry. Thank you so much for this superb lecture, Dr Cox.

I'm Spanish so I didn't know much about Mr. Owen until I saw Terence Davies' film Benediction about the life of Siegfried Sassoon. It was thanks to that film, which piqued my curiosity, that I discovered how beautiful and affecting Owen's poetry was. Thank you for this wonderful video, as always, Dr. Cox, it's such a pleasure to learn from you!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for examining the work of Wilford Owen.

“Octopus” is one of my favorite words used in his letters but not in his published poetry. Favorite may seem too uptempo a word, but it is my favorite because of its implied malevolence, purposefulness, all powerful eight armed suction and gooeyness. We who only have four limbs…how can we escape an eight limbed creature? The mud is being personified as like a demon. 💔 The alliterative, percussive elements add much to the description, as well.

These letters are heartbreaking. I've never read poetry, so I had not heard of him or these writings, but am very grateful for your analysis of them. I think his sign off on that last letter, 'Still, Wilfred and more than Wilfred' is so powerful in his recognizing how much of a terrible thing he has witnessed and will forever be changed by it. So very sad.

Thank you Dr Cox . So heartbreaking . I've read his poetry but never the letters he wrote home. Thank you again.

oh wow! My sweetie! I love Wilfred so much! Thank you.

This was incredibly hard to listen too. I love Owens poetry but have never read the letters. I have now ordered them because I do agree the letters add to my understanding of the poetry. I must add though that it is difficult to read something so personal. I feel unable, all these years later and reading from my armchair at home, to truly do the reading justice. I almost feel voyeuristic, despite being deeply disturbed too. Is that what he might have wanted us to feel. Thank you for this video.

Thank you! I first heard Owen's poetry when I watched the movie Regeneration in 1997. Have loved it since. And these letters are just as impressive.

I studied Wilfred owen's poems for o level in 1976 and still read them. Your talks on his letters and his poems has reignited my enthusiasm to study them further. Thank you so much 🤩

What experiences and what amazing depictions of war! Owens was new to me, so thank you for sharing his gift. Thank you so much for all the choices that you make me hen figuring out what is most meaningful to share with us, it was so meaningful all the way through. This man broke my heart during your lecture but there was a bit of triumph in his words at the end with him finding ways to lead others and honor others… I shed tears many times while you spoke as I am now while thanking you. Thank you.

Tragic yet beautiful. Thanks for introducing me to him. One thing I also thought was he was talking about surviving battle/death at about the same time his mother was at church. The inference being that her prayers saved him.. That time at least.

Octavia, you broke me up with this one. Well done. The "Great" War was an enormous waste, as most wars are. It's almost impossible to take in what WO tells, let alone all the death and suffering that occurred all over the world. Blessed, indeed, are the peace makers. I was watching a KZfaq video last week discussing tactics on the Western Front. One clip showed a train load of young Aussies, healthy, vibrant, beautiful, and full of life and plans, unloading from train cars to march to the front. I had to turn it off and turn away. Will we ever learn? Ukraine tells us we won't, as in this "new" example it only took one side (and a few evil old men) to "take the plunge" and change the lives of hundreds of thousands or millions of innocent people. Do we need war poets? Someone has to tell the truth.

After watching your video on Futility, I ordered a collection of Owen's poems and a biography. I've only read him in anthologies before. Thank you.

The onomatopoeia makes sense to me. Knowing what is coming can make the difference between surviving it or not.

I've never known of this writer, but some of my favorite fiction is set during WW1, so these letters and his poetry help me grasp those characters better. A side question: was this war more violent, were situations more grotesque than prior wars? Is it because of technology available to them that was somewhat new? Descriptions from WW1 strike me like that, compared to earlier wars. Perhaps it's just the wonder availability of media from then.

Fascinating - it seems like Owen's stated raison d'etre almost approaches or preempts the idea of a war correspondent or wartime journalist. I think some interesting comparisons could also be made with similar ideas in the Second World War, of having a responsibility to bear witness and raise awareness of atrocities which are not widely known.

Thank you❤

Really exciting episode for me! Read "Regeneration" by Pat Barker a year or so back which is a fictionalized account of the doctors and patients at Craiglockhart. Really interesting getting some actual real life background on one of the main characters in the (fictional) novel.

Thanks for sharing this :)

Felicidades, es un buen ejemplo. 249 sentadillas son unos HOTBABY.Uno muchas y un buen ejercicio. Se deja ver que hay muy buenos resultados 😍👍 Saludos desde la Cd.. de world 🌹😉💖 los mortalesf abian apreciado tan hermosa mujer.k

What is so disconcerting about your presentation of this tragic subject is your tendency to periodically snicker or giggle. It's so off-putting. It's so inappropriate.