You may find it helpful to find the entire poem, complete poetry circles on the lines or discuss it with other members of the course before writing.
Please submit your response no later than a week after you complete the lesson on the poem.
Mr. D
We have fallen in the dreams the ever-living
Breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world,
And then smooth out with ivory hands and sigh.
If you were wondering how to term these 3 lines:
In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component. The epigraph may serve as a preface, as a summary, as a counter-example, or to link the work to a wider literary canon, either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional context - you should include your thoughts as to which one Yeats' lines are!
31 comments:
Do you want it handed in or writing on the blog. tim
Post it on the blog so al can read!
A Reflection of William Butler Yeats quoted three lines of Poetry in The Show.
Three quoted lines in poem:
We have fallen in the dreams the ever-living
Breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world,
And then smooth out with ivory hands and sigh.
In ‘The Show’ written by Wilfred Owen, he directly quotes from William Butler Yeats a fellow poet. This signifies immediately a difference from this poem, in comparison to the other poems wrote by Wilfred Owen as this is the only and first time I have seen the use of a quotation. Consideration needs to be taken when analyzing this quote as to the method and purpose of its placement in context to the entire poem’s intended meaning to determine why Owen has used this quotation. The quote is taken from a dramatic poem called ‘The Shadowy Waters’ wrote by William Yeats. The quote has been written in italic font, emphasizing that it is separate from the rest of the poem, and also so that Wilfred Owen can show that this text is not of his own creation possibly. The poets intended meaning in this poem ‘The Show’ is the comparison of the reality of war with that of propaganda that many of those still within the British Isles believed in at the time. With the implementation of contextual historic information propaganda was false information spread by those who wanted to advertise war, usually was thus exaggerated, untrue and false. In ‘The Show’ Owen deliberately shocks the reader using disturbing imagery t get his perspective across. In the poem, of a corpse is described to the reader to portray the image of death that is associated with war, often undermined by media and supporters of the war at the time. Owen uses this image and then at the end of the poem, reveals that this corpse is in fact his own body and this brings the realism of war evermore obvious to the reader, through shock. Similar to most of Wilfred Owens’s poetry he criticizes propaganda through the use of harsh imagery of the war. In analysis of the meaning of the quote I determined that the quote reflects on death and how that the dead could look back at the world reflectively, almost as an over look or even a dream. From the first line’ we have fallen in the dream of the ever living’ I can make many inferences. Firstly the use of the word ‘fallen’, which literally means to fall but in this context, the connotation of this word could be to have unwillingly done something or to unwillingly go somewhere. When someone falls over is not deliberate, therefore could be described also as unwilling. Death, in most incidences is unwilling, as usually a person’s life is taken from them, and this of course links back to the main body of the poem, which reflects heavily on the imagery of death. Secondly the use of the word ‘dreams’ is important. In dreams we tend to look down at things, and visualize events as a sort of overlook, by this I mean that we see everything not just that of a single perspective. The sentence then goes on to say ’dreams of the ever-lasting”, and the inclusion of the phrase ‘ever-lasting’ I believe the use of Christian imagery is used. The denotation of ‘everlasting’ is that something doesn’t run out it is unlimited or in this scenario immortal, the theory that a person can live forever, but the connotation in that the phrase could have Christian origins, could be the reference of the Christian idea of Heaven. Heaven is a theological concept that when a person dies, they rise above to an almost dream land where there the person’ soul lives everlasting. This is where the figure of speech, ‘the everlasting God’ derives from. Consolidating all of this then I believe that the first line of the quotation is saying that the dead have unwillingly been taken to a dream world, that being of heaven where there soul or life lives everlasting, and in the inclusion of the word dream sees the world from an elevated view point, and takes almost an overview of what they see. Linking back to the poet’s intended meaning of ‘The Show’ Wilfred Owens’s emphasis of the uncomfortable imagery of that of the corpse, tells the reader that Owen is seeing the corpse as his body as in a dream. We know he sees the corpse as a dream when he makes constant reference to the fact that he is elevated from a height “My soul looked down from a vague height with Death”. The point in the poem when he tells the reader that he is seeing the corpse as his body as in a dream is when he says “and the fresh-severed head of it, my head.” The use of ‘my’ here tells the reader the corpse is that of his, which of course is a paradox and must mean the visions he describes to use are a dream. The Second Line reinforces the idea of dreams portrayed in the first line, but here more specifically the image of war that is contradictory of propaganda and criticizes this. The use of the word ‘tarnished ‘here enforces this critical view of propaganda and the war quite effectively. If something I tarnished is had been tainted in this example the image propaganda has been tainted with the harsh reality of war and Owens’s critical view of propaganda is seen in the inclusion of this quote in his poem. The word ‘mirror’ also reinforces the fact that the image of the dead corpse in this poem, is something visualised in a dream. The word ‘mirror’ we would associate with a reflection of an image. I therefore think that the second line is reflective of the tainted view of propaganda through the image of the dead corpse visualised in Owens’s dream and again the quote is placed there by Owen to reinforce the point made in the main body of his poem. The third line of the quote is interestingly hard to decipher. After pondering for many hours I kept consistent to the same theory that this line makes the point that the dead or the impact of fatalities to an extent can be used to change the view that is portrayed about the war and propaganda visualised through imagery in the poem. This theory derives mainly through my analysis of the phrase ‘ivory hands’. Ivory is defined as a substance when taken from a dead animal and used to make objects, some of that to be used practically other ornamental, but the fact that something that is dead is used to make something new or change something in the living world, could in this context mean that the dead soldiers of the war could be used as a means to stop the war and thus create change in the image visualised by those as a dream or those which are dead. This is reinforced with the prior word or action of ‘smooth’ or smoothing out, which would metaphorically smooth out all the problems of war., seen in the image of the dream, or the dead. In summary then the first line of the quote is saying that the dead have unwillingly been taken to a dream world, that being of heaven where there soul or life lives everlasting, and in the inclusion of the word dream sees the world from an elevated view point, and takes almost an overview of what they see, the second line of the reinforces the idea of dreams portrayed in the first line, but here more specifically the image of war that is contradictory of propaganda and criticizes this and the third line of the poem says that the dead or the impact of fatalities to an extent can be used to change the view that is portrayed about the war and propaganda visualised through imagery in the poem. In consolidation of all 3 lines I believe the main meaning behind the 3 lines of the quote included by Wilfred Owen in his poem ‘The Show’ are reflective of the tainted view of propaganda through the image of the dead corpse visualised in Owens’s dream and again the quote is placed there by Owen to reinforce the point made in the main body of his poem. In commenting on the possible motivation of Wilfred Owen to implement this quote as an introductory set of liens to his poem, William Butler Yeats was a much respected author who had high popularity which eventually in 1923, after the First World War led to him winning the Nobel piece prize for his works. The inclusion of a quote of his works may have made Wilfred Owens’s argument in ‘The Show’ more justifiable and have made critics of his poems, take more consideration to his views. This is seen through the extensive use of poetic techniques throughout all of his poems, used to show his intelligence to potential critics and make them consider his views and ideas more seriously. Wilfred Owen, as an author was hardly recognisable having not come from such a high class society himself. It was therefore more important to him that his views were considered seriously and I believe the inclusion of this quote from William Butler Yeats was for this very reason. The quote not only supports his ideas but also weights them with more serious consideration than they may have been treated with without the quote.
Regards,
Antony West
Jesus Christ Anthony! Your "paragraph" is three pages in word!
The quotation of William Butler Yeats is present at the begining of Owens, "the show". As maybe an inspiration? as Owen and Yeats were both great poets at the time and Owen felt they had a close connection with their poetry. The quote is taken from Yeats "shadowy waters", and being in italic empiphises that it is not a part of owens poem, but mearly a figure to look up to, and possibly remember. As in "the show" and the passage from "shadowy waters" both have the same meaning. It's what Owen is trying to get through to his readers about war, as a summary of anti- war.
I think that Owens "the show" is pointed at the people at home. I think this because in his other poems he describes what the war is like and everyone at home has heard that before. when owen wrote this poem he was present in scarborogh, and the fact that people were acting normal when hundreds of people were across the channel dying, frustrates him. so i think the point of this poem is to actually get across what war feels and looks like. since war was so patriotic that people at home didnt have a clue what the soldiers were really suffering on the battle feild. A good example of patrotism is in the title, "the show", this is merely a cover up of war, with show meaning battlefeild.
Owen communicates with the reader by using horrific imagery of environmental hell, bodily sickness and humans being seen as less human ( dehumanised). The imagry is darastic if you think of what is being described as a birds-eye view of the battle feild. for example :
"Grey, craterd like the moon with hollow woe,
And pitted with great pocks and scabs of plagues."
This is imagery of bodily sickness, and also what the battlefeild looks like. Owen also uses alot of half rhymes which explicts harsh langueage and tone of voice. Also the fact that he uses Death as a living hell shows that it's always there with the soldiers by their side, as its stated in the 1st stanza and also at the end of the poem. this makes death a meain theme, just like in most of his poems and i think thats what hes trying to show to the people at home.
Amy-rose
Congratulations on being a deity - Jesus Christ Antony! Does this mean if i give you an A you'll let me into heaven?! he he
“The Show” by Wilfred Owen is a departure from his previous works as it features themes and ideas previously unexplored in the anthology we are studying. The first aspect of the poem that I reflected upon was the inclusion of the “maggots” to symbolize or play as a metaphor for the conflict that Owen was in the context of. My understanding of this metaphor arrived from Owen viewing the events from a “height”, and maybe with a clearer understanding and foresightedness which others, Jessie Pope for example, might not have possessed. The negative portrayal of conflict in the poem, “they writhed and shriveled, killed”, substantiates that with this clearer prescience of War, Owen can give an honest representation of the war, and with this imagery, dissuade those who would tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory the old lie: Dulce et Decorum Est. The epigraph derived from William Butler Yeats’ poem, “The Shadowy Waters”, I thought supported the metaphoric aspect of the poem; the pitted great pocks and cabs as craters of shells, “ramped on the rest and ate” them being “killed” instead. The line that led me to this conclusion was the “tarnished mirror of the world”. Although there are many perspectives this can be taking in, I felt it related to the parallel s in the poem; the sad land being described has obviously been destroyed through conflict and is tarnished, relative to the imagery in the poem.
I'll probably need to do some more on it when I get my book back. I couldn't think of more concise points.
Adonis
In the poem "The Show" by Wilfred Owen we see for the first time the use of a quote from another poet.
" We have fallen in the dreams of the ever living
Breath on the tarnished mirror of the world,
and then smooth out with ivory hands and sigh.
These three lines come from another poem called Shadowy Waters written by William Yeats. The quote is used in a poem called the show which is written as if the war were a show being watched from a birds eye perspective. Looking at the quote it seems to have no obvious links to the poem itself although it does refer the "tarnished mirror of the world". This is the line i feel links closest to the poem and reflecting on the line i believe it links to the poem as it refers to looking on at the world as does the poem. It also seems to be linked with playing god. The way the quote seems to speak about smoothing out the world and then sighing as if the smoothing out of the worlds creases has made it all better. I also think this links to religion as it uses the term ever living. This is important as soldiers at the time were all very religious and the believed in heaven and hell and living on in spirit. Though it may also mean that the soldiers will be ever living in peoples memories and thair dreams are that the world is smoothed out or made equal so that no more wars have to be fought. Also looking at Ivory hands i feel this means hands of an immortal or immensely precious person as ivory is a precious material.
Though I feel the main reason for the inclusion of this quote was for Owens recognition and maybe even a shock tactic. Not many people were taking Owen seriously during the war as we know most of his fame came years after. So maybe he used to quote from Yeats who was a more recogniseable poet to get himself noticed more so than he walready was.
oh crap i didnt put my name on my thing. THE LAST ONE WAS FROM BRADLEY SIMSON the one that starts with "in the poem"
BRADLEY'S ONE NO BODY TRY IT
Tim
We have fallen in the dreams the ever living
Breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world,
And then smooth out with ivory hand and sigh.
The 3 line quote from “The Show” written by W.B.Yeats consists of religious aspects. This is in terms of When Christians dies they believe they go to heaven and they live for ever, that is their main purpose of serving God so it was their dream to get to heaven. The soldiers back then were church goers so they believe by fighting for their country they’ve fallen in the dream the ever living because if they die at war heaven is sure for them.
On the other hand it could also mean that it’s a dream for this soldiers to fight for their country, it’s a dream that all the men would be willing to die doing something they’ll be reminded of and that’s were the “ever living” comes into it.
“Breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world”, this quote suggests that they believed that God is the creator of the world and has the right to remove all the plague placed on the earth. This is where it links to “The Show the word, and fitted with great pocks and scabs of plaques” suggests that when they get to the dreams of the ever living their plagues will disappear and all will be well with them.
It’s just another message for people to know how these soldiers felt when they were at war.
At the start of 'The Show', Wilfred Owen uses a quote from 'Shadowy Waters', a poem by a fellow poet named William Butler Yeats. The quote could be read as though the person in the poem is reading W.B Yeats' 'Shadowy Waters'. However it could be Owens way of opening the poem and introducing us to death. As if it were a voice over in a film of a dead character.
Owen wants to reflect on life as he presents a view on war after death. The description and figurative speech used makes the reader feel as though they are looking down on a small world or insects. Owen presents war in an abstract way compared to the ways he describes the content of war in his other poems. Owen mainly intended to scare the public through the shock tactics he uses in the poem.
Sam Ellis
Keeping it short but sweet :)
The show is the only poem where owen uses lines from another poet maybe because they hold the main meaning to what he is trying to say.
the poem is a reflectiive view of war from death,he uses disgusting images to portray the suffering of the soliers as well as to shock those at home who think its a glories thing.owen talks about how dying is the only great thing for a solider to do, we also notice a feeling of guiltyness because he was the leader and now he has gone to a better place while his men suffer.
mushiko
The 3 quoted lines of poetry i will be reflecting on are the first 3 lines of "The show". I have chosen these as they are a quote from the poem "Shadowy waters" and it is unual for Wilfred Owen to use qouted lines. The lines are as follows;
We have fallen in the dreams the ever-living
Breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world,
And then smooth out with ivory hands and sigh.
In the poem "The show" this can be identified as a qoute as it is portrayed in italic font. This shows that it is a quote as it stands out for the rest. Thius may also show that is important to the rest of the poem Wilfred Owen is making sure that the reader sees it and remembers it. However to understand the qoute you must first know the intended meaning of the poem itself. "The show" is inetended to depict the realism of war from a birds eye view. This can be seen when it states "from a vague height". It is also meant to show how horrific war actually is by relating the soldiers to maggots. From this i can say the first of the three quoted lines which is "We have fallen in the dreams the ever-living" shows that the soldiers are falling, which may be relating to death, and this is happening in the dreams of the living. This could mean that the soldiers that are dying are not being remembered for what they have done. The second line "Breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world," is in relation to when the soldiers die. From this I mean that its a metaphor to show that when the soldiers die they see the world through a mirror which has been damaged by the terror that was the war. This gives them an oppurtunity to reflect on their actions and to see what their leaving behind in the real world. But it also may be showing that when the soldiers die they see themselves in a mirror to witness what they've become. The final line "And then smooth out with ivory hands and sigh" I think shows that even though the war surges on, people are trying to stop it or in some way calm it down. However there is also a sense of futility as evern thought people are trying to make it better, it's not working and this can be shown in the way that they are sighing.
I have a feeling iv got this super wrong but I'v just gone on what I thought they meant...
From Javen
p.s sorry it was so late
The first three lines in the show are like an introductoin for why the soldiers went to the war and what they thought the outcome would be like in their dreams which kind of contrasts with the rest of the poem which shows a soldier going to heaven and seenig war for what it actually is, for example everything dying and in pain. in contrast the first three lines show that the soldiers think they have fallen into the dreams of people at home which are battered and torn and then they succeed and fix them and make them greener,peaceful and hace relief.
by danielle wood 12d
W.B. Yates – 3 lines reflection
Carl
The Show is a poem by Wilfred Owen, the poet that we have studied through the course. The Show is highly similar to the rest of his collection as it has that continuous flow of the focus of death. The show the poem itself excluding the three quoted lines seems to be reflecting on what Owen can see from high up, possibly meaning that he has an overview of everything that is going on or from heaven, therefore, obviously being dead. This we know is impossible, so here we see the imagery of the poem. Much of the poem comments on the land having resemblance of a person “Across its beard”. Clearly, earth cannot have a beard, but here Owen uses similar methods of thinking as groups of people who live closely to the land and believe it to be similar as a person. At the beginning of the poem, we see the first of many differences from the show to the other poems. At the top there are 3 lines of which Owen has quoted from another poet that I know had had a controversial relationship with Owen. The lines are an epigraph which is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document (The show) to show a preface as a summary, counter-example, or a link the work. We find three lines from William Butler Yeats (W.B. Yates) reading; “We have fallen in the dreams the ever-living, Breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world, And then smooth out with ivory hands and sigh”. The fact that Owen has quoted these lines is very different from any other poem, as he hasn’t done so in the others. The lines at first glance seem slightly pointless, however, it turns out that they are in fact lines of paradox. This means that when focusing on them they do have valid meaning. The quote is taken from Yates’ poem “shadowy waters” that is a very dramatic poem written in 1906. Both The Show and the three lines at the beginning have the same theme running through, that we constantly refer to throughout all of his poems, anti-war. So then, I think why have the lines been put at the top of the poem from someone who has such a negative relationship to Owen and his poems? The answer for this I don’t know, however, a few ideas that I have are that it is possibly a form of competitiveness. The lines are in italic and have W.B. Yates after, proving that Owen has not intended this to be a part of his poem ‘The Show’. Also, the lines themselves have no reflection of ‘The Show’, though they are similar once you take a closer look at the poem from Yates. This then means it’s possible that Owen added them so that people would focus on why he put them there, like I am now, instead of what they mean. Another idea is that they may be there as inspiration that he found for his poem. This is possible and a idea that I know others have had when looking at the other posted comments. This though is again quite hard to understand as Owen didn’t get along with Yates, so putting his ideas into his poem would be very strange. Yates, on more than one occasion, spoke about the poems Owen had created so it may be that that was the inspiration, to try and prove a point. I don’t know why the lines are there, nor do most other than Owen and a few others he may have shared his thoughts with, so all I can do is comment on what they mean to me, as I have done above, and how they affect the poem. I believe they do have meaning, and the poem continues on with Owen anti-war views and on this one he uses shock tactics in order for people to understand what he is saying.
Line by line it breaks down so that we can get a better understanding of what it is both Owen and Yates are trying to get across. The first line is; we have fallen in the dreams the ever-living. This line can be broken down so we can see what it is meant. At the start he uses “we”. This indicates that it is more that himself that have done what he is talking about, or agree with him. “Have” indicates that it is a fact. When you say something ‘has’ happened, it is always something that is for sure. He follows with “fallen” which is the past tense for fall. At this point, we see the only use of past tense from the lines. You fall from a height that is reflected in Owens poem. The first line says “the dream”. A dream can here be used in many ways. It could be used in the context of a dream when you sleep. However, this wouldn’t make much sense in the way Owen uses his poems. So then, it could be used as a sample of aspiration or hope. They are both similar, so they do have a link there. It is possible that he is trying to say that we have fallen into someone else’s hopes and aspirations. When I reflect on this, it does have significance, as it could mean the soldiers fighting in war have fallen into what the government of their country wants. Or that the people at home, for example in England have now fallen into the belief that the war is a good thing. Finally he mentions “ever-living” which is a slightly odd word. It could mean something that never dies, therefore, not referring to a particular person, as all people die. It may be again talking about the belief of people, and what their country stands for. The line together I think means that we all have fallen into the aspiration and hope of something that isn’t a person, but an idea that we live by.
The second line is; “breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world”. This line starts with “breathe” which is something that everyone does; again referring to that idea that it is more than one from the first line. To breathe is to inhale and exhale oxygen through the lungs. It is something that comes natural to us, which could be what Yates wants to show us. That it has become natural for us to fall into someone else’s dream. “Tarnished” is when something is discoloured from exposure of air and dirt. “Mirror” is something that reflects as true image of something else. These two together could suggest that in this case, the mirror is not true and is dirty. “World” has many meanings. One though that consists with the ideas from the previous words is that of a mass. It means the whole population of humans. Like in ‘we’ and ‘breathe’ again “world” could be referring to many people. Also, it carries the idea of something natural, like “breathe”, as the world is a natural made place. The line as a whole then I think means that we all breather on an image that is dirty and not the image that the world really is. Without humans, earth is peaceful, but with us on it, we see an untrue image of it with all the wars, and man-made problems.
The final line is; “and then smooths out with ivory hands and sigh”. This line dosent really corresponds with the other two. It stars of by producing an idea. “and then” could mean that it isn’t done yet, though in this case I think he is talking about something that he has seen happen. “Smooth” is something that is free of irregularities and roughness. If we smooth something out, like the line says, this arises the idea that before we done so, it wasn’t free of irregularities, like what the other line suggests the world as we see it has. “Ivory” is a hard substance that is found on the tusks of elephants. Ivory and smooth are an oxymoron as the meaning of them is opposite. Ivory is a hard substance, whilst something smooth is soft. “Hands” is used as the object of roughness, “ivory hands”. Whilst a human can’t have ivory hand literally, we can have rough hands that are hard. Finally, “sigh” is a form of emotion. When you sigh you are usually disheartened and demoralised. This occurs when you do something that you don’t want to, or feel you have to. As a whole then, I think the line means, after we have ruined the earth, with our wars and aspirations of what we want, we have to smooth out the irregularities we have cause.
Sorry it is late sir. :D
Oh ... I thought I would add :D
Overall, the three lines together suggest that what we do is fall into other people dreams and create an image of the world as we think it should be in order to have peace, when clearly that is the complete opposite of what we are doing. Then, when the damage is done, we smooth it other, in a more mental agreement rather than physically smoothing something over, and do the same thing again. Thereby, causing more chaos, and nt learning from our mistakes.
Carl
Above two are from me just to make it clear, I did put my name on them though :D
Carl, keeping it sweet, but not so short :D
The word have is ambiguous as it could mean to hold in mind as W.B. Yeats talks about a lot of mind image. It could also mean to deceive. This could mean he and others could have been deceived by death or obliged by death. This is because death tells people when to die and no one gets a choice. Death has forced them metaphorically within their minds. The words ever living could be an image to what they think hell is. This is because the words ever living could be after death. The reason I believe it is to do with hell is because he uses the word fallen. The word fallen is emphasised, perhaps W.B. Yeats wants to show us it’s against their will as if they were forced by death. The line “We have fallen into the dreams the ever living.” This line is not coherent. Perhaps W.B. Yeats wants us to question what he means.
The second line W.B. Yeats is showing that he and others breathe on a world that is damaged. The word tarnished is ambiguous. This is because it could be from a Christian view. The reason it could be from a Christian view is the person could be saying we are or have destroyed gods work as tarnished means to lose its lustre or discolour due to exposure to air. The words tarnished mirror could mean they have destroyed the smooth surface of the earth. Or from a Christian point of view. It could they have destroyed image created by god. There is no longer a faithful reflection.
In the third line W.B. Yeats says he wishes to smooth out the problems or the earth to make it silky and consistent. The words Ivory hands would mean he wishes to use a hard white substance to smooth it out. This also could be a Christian view could be seen as peaceful and holy. Perhaps W.B. Yeats is saying only a Christian or by following the Christian ways could smooth out the problems of the earth.
The three lines are linked to the show as within the poem Owen says there are cratered holes. In the three lines of W.B. Yeats he says he wishes to smooth out the earth and its problems. Perhaps this is what Owen is saying but in terms of war using the Christian guidelines as Owen was brought up in a strict religion. Owen uses the three lines to signify what he feels about the earth and war. This is because within the poem the earth is presented as broken, damaged and lost its colour, signifying why Owen would use the second line from W.B. Yeats as he uses the word tarnished. The narrator within the poem talks about being with death and watching the battle commence up above. Perhaps Owen is saying that only the dead or dead himself can see the true damage of the earth and society. This signifies the title the show. This could mean as in a play or watching something happen. This shows that Owen thinks death is watching over the war. Owen is saying the war is fake as a show is an act put on. Maybe he feels it is a show to those at home who are making money from the war. From a Christian view the words tarnished mirror would mean you have destroyed god’s image of earth. This is perhaps why Owen has chosen to use these words from W.B. Yeast as he feels god’s earth and the image in which he created it in has been destroyed. This could then be Owen shouting in anger at those at home or perhaps those at the war trying to tell them what has happened to the perfect world. I believe that Owen is sayings those that go to war will go to heel instead of heaven. This is because this could have happened to the narrator.
“And death fell with me, like a deepening moan.”
This is perhaps Owens’s way of saying that he thinks the war is wrong and those who die from war are not likely to got heaven but hell. This is because you have sinned by killing your fellow man and destroying god’s earth. Also In the quote the narrator says he fell with death. This could be to hell. This links to W.B. Yeats as he says we have fallen into the dreams the ever living. The reason this is linked to what Owen is saying is because that he is falling with death. This could be falling into hell which would be the same as the ever living as in the after life in Christian mythology your soul lives on and does not die in heaven and hell.
connor Hoskin Completed article
Sarah Stronell
The show By the wilfred Owen starts of with 3 lines form the poem Shadowy Waters By W.B yates!
I beileve that Owne choose to Use these 3 lines to show the distriuction of the war on peoples dream sand hopes aswell as the world!
The first line (we have fallen into the dreams of the ever-living) i beileve is used to explain how the soldiers are fighting for the dream of war. The eving living dream could be used to describe the glory of war and using wepons, this could be related to the arm and the boy, because the boys/ soliders in the poem believe that the wepons that they use will bring them glory and give them power, however its power thya can not contol. As well as this what they beileve that what they are doing is right and a service to their country. I beileve this relates to the show because i beileve that the dream is the same as what the young boys see and think about the war in the arms and the Boy. In this line it also says about the ever-living, i beileve that this to state the fact that war is ever living and it will never go away because its the dream that gives people the will and passion to fight weather it is right or wrong.
The second line (Breathe on the Tarnished mirror of the world) i believe is used to discribed how thid dream of war and the atually war itself stains the world. This links in with the atually poem itself because the poem decribed the earth as a sad land, weak with the sweats of death. I beiieve that these to Lines are linked because they both explain how corrupted the world has become because of the war and the deaths. The world is tranised by those who have died in vain. The poem also says about a mirror, i also beileve taht where it says about the tarninsed mirror it is saying that the worlds people can not see clearly how bad what they are doing is, and only few people like Owen and Yeats atually see it how it is.
The last line (and then smooth out with ivory hands and sigh) i beileve is used to decride god as he trys and sorts out the problem of war, however in the end he just sighs because he can not make the men for the the dream and glory of war! i beileve that the last line is deciribing god because who else the in whole situation wouldnt have blood on their hands, the the fack the the hands are dicribed as white makes us think of cleaness and innocence!
Mr donovan, my mum got a letter tell her i had miss a peice of work, is it this or some other peice!?
Sarahh x
The Show
What I think was Wilfred Owen’s intended meaning in ‘The Show’ was trying to convey to us, by using extended metaphors and conceit that war isn’t just an amazingly, marvellous ‘show’ where you can participate in and have a splendid time. The government has used TV, radio, and other media devises to persuade people to enlist for the army and by using propagandas glamorised the ideas of war. The quote at beginning of his poem from the book ‘Shadowy Water’ by the Nobel Prize winning Irish dramatist, author and poet who’s most known work is ‘The Celtic Twilight’ W.B. Yeast is a perfect way of describing how people are seeking ways of following the shallow dream of fame and fortune and wanting it so badly that they can’t even look at the world in a realistic way. The dead soldier who sees the battle field sees the illusion of war and what it did to so many and how even more don’t know about this terrible incident because it is being disguised as a show you can join in and receive glory from. The tarnished of the world is the war being disguised as ‘the biggest game ever played’, no one wants a seat in the stand, and they want themselves being part of the show. But war isn’t something you can afford to view in a dreamlike way and Wilfred Owen’s ‘The Show’ is his way of showing you the true gruesome and grotesque nature of war from an audience perspective into the eyes of someone who has actually witnessed it. Also do we get the impression of seeing the image of the war (or how Jessie Pope would say “the show”, who’s for the game?) from above which gives us an aerial view and the impression that the narration is in an omniscient style which means we too can see everything.
sorry that it isn't further developed but to be honest there isn't that much relevant stuff left.
Joseph Nathan
The epigraph by W.B. Yeats at the beginning of 'The show' acts as an introduction to the idea of the world being corrupted by war, and Owen elaborates on the ideas suggested in the extract. Owen also uses the epigraph to introduce the concept of conceits and structures his poem around the prospect of war being like a sickness and the landscape being the body. Owen continues the style and theme of Yeats's poem, however Yeats wrote the extract in 1900, years before WW1, so its context and the subject of the 3 lines were used to illustrate quite different events, however Owen must have seen some relevance in the lines to have used it to open his poem.
In the first line of the epigraph, Yeats introduces the idea of the speaker, speaking through 1st person (another element adopted by Owen in the poem), having 'fallen'. The word 'fallen' conjures a lot of negative imagery in the audiences mind, and can have many potential meanings. Firstly, in terms of how the epigraph would relate to Owen's poetry and 'The Show', the most obvious possibility that fallen could represent is the soldiers who have been injured or died and have fallen and been abandoned in the battlefield. Secondly, it could represent the soldiers having fallen from God's grace, with war besmirching the soul, an idea previously presented in 'Insensibility'. Yeats was a religious man, similarly to Owen and so it is probable that the similar Christian values are shared between the two poets, and this is why Owen probably used the extract – as the poignant similarities and beliefs between them made Owen feel more compelled to include an extract from Yeats, and Owen must have felt empathy towards Yeats, as though they experienced the same feelings and sense of corruption. Thirdly, again the use of 'fallen' could have some religious connotations, representing the idea of falling from the garden of Eden, another idea scraped by Owen in 'Arms and the boy', and the disgrace and corruption Adam and Eve enforced upon themselves for going against the will of God meant their ejection for the garden and heaven, a belief held by Owen for what will happen to his soul for going against God through fighting in the war.
The concept of dreams in the epigraph is one which Owen could relate to, as he mentions dreams frequently in his poems. Generally when Owen mentions dreams, he is referring to his sleep being haunted by the experiences he has had and the things he has witnessed. The idea of the speaker in the epigraph having fallen into dreams is ambiguous, as it could mean that their existence has entered the dreams of their fellow soldiers or family etc., or it could represent the soldiers falling within the dreams and therefore being forgotten, as most dreams are when you wake up. The epigraph then states 'the ever-living'. This suggests that either the soldiers have fallen into the dreams had by some immortal entity, most probably God, or that the soldiers have fallen into an unconscious state, forever taunted and teased by what they have experienced – and therefore, if this is the case, it presents the idea of soldiers having to spend eternity in hell for their sins of war.
In the second line of the epigraph, it mentions the word 'breathe', an action that is generally related to being warm and calm, but it is also an essential element to life, as you cannot live without breathing. This suggests that the only living entities, mentioned in the first line, are the ones who are breathing. Also, breathing has a lot of connotations with the soul, as though the soul's essence is being extracted through the breathing process, therefore leaving the breather with none or less of a soul – a terrifying prospect to Owen regarding his strong Kelvinistic beliefs. The conceit of the world being a 'tarnished mirror' introduces the structure of 'The Show' – looking at war generally, from a bird-eye perspective. The metaphorical use of the mirror as a conceit for the world is a very traditional and commonly used conceit, and so for the general educated people who would have read Yeats's poetry, the conceit would have been obvious, and they could relate to it quite easily. Owen adopts this idea of using something familiar, in this case the body, to express his meanings about the reality of war, a subject that the majority of the people at home during WW1 were unaware of, due to their high exposure to patriotic poetry, such as that of Jessie Pope.
The prospect of there being a mirror of the world would be quite a positive image, however because the mirror is described as 'tarnished' its meaning is quite the opposite. A mirror has the quality of being reflective, and so if the mirror was tarnished, meaning it was broken or discoloured or filthy, the mirror would be less reflective and more obscure and distorted. This could suggest that nothing is clear in war, the motives and aims are not obvious, the soldiers cannot see an end or cannot reflect on their experiences or emotions or dreams, which is an impression I got in from the poem.
In the final line, it mentions the 'ever-living' being smoothing out the vapour expelled upon the mirror through breathing out. To smooth something out is to free something from unevenness, or in this case, to make the mirror clear. If the mirror of the world was clear, this would allow the soldiers to be able to reflect on everything that has happened, a process that the speaker in 'The Show' encounters as he witnesses with Death the scene of the battlefield. To clear the tarnished mirror of the world, I had the impression of God or the powerful entity smoothing the dark clouds away to reveal a clear, bright sky, and so to smooth the mirror of the world could possibly create the impression that to resolve an event such as war is easy – the subject of which Owen is using 'The Show' as a counter-example, and Owen is putting forth the extract and then using the rest of the poem to contradict the idea that war can be resolved simply.
I also felt that the prospect of the God-like character smoothing out the tarnished mirror and cleaning it up suggests that he is starting again, or whipping away the corruption of war, possibly the entity is the malignant force behind the death of the soldiers if it can cause so much destruction effortlessly. The line ends with the entity sighing, suggesting it is disappointed, possibly remorseful, about the consequence of war on the world of which, if the entity is God, he had created.
Therefore the epigraph contributes to the meaning of 'The Show' through its proposal that war is something other than a physical infliction on soldiers, but a rather more large-scale ailment inflicted upon the whole world. The possible over-simplified sense of resolution of conflict, could possibly have acted as a motivation for Owen to make a statement suggesting the opposite, although Owen could be supporting the extract if it is reflective of the people at home's ignorance or the sense disregard from God.
-David Loveland
Amy-Rose
Can you explore the 3 lines in a little bit more detail (look at diction and figures of speech)?! Also, what its function?
Then resubmit with this included!
Adonis
Can you continue now that you have your book back – can you focus on the other lines of the epigraph!?
Bradley
If the epigraph has no obvious link – why would Owen include it? Anyway, why should it be obvious – shouldn’t you struggle in acquiring meaning? If poetry was easy we’d call in TV!
You show some focus on the epigraph even if you initially felt it had not obvious connection – WHY did Owen include it? What is its purpose?
Tim
What does the word ‘Tarnished’ and then ending word ‘sigh’ bring to the quote – it feels you think it is an uplifting addition the poem – is that troubling considering the content of the poem?
Can you think about it and resubmit!
Sam
You don’t talk in any detail about the three lines – can you ‘sweeten’ it a little further by reviewing the task and make sure you cover all elements – you’ve covered purpose in your own terms – what about the choices you were given in the description of epigraph and what do the 3 lines mean!!!!!
Mushiko
You tell me that the 3 lines may hold the main meaning to what he is trying to say –
What do the three lines say – in your words and how does this support the poet’s intended meaning?
Is it guilt that the narrator feels – have a rethink about this!
Javan
You’ve gone with what you thought – well done! That was what was required of you – remember don’t search for the answer – work through the reasoning instead.
Can you think further on the last line – you glance over ‘ivory hands’ – whose hands possible and what in regards to the ivory to you have to say? What is the purpose of the epigraph? Review the notes in the task about what they can do and make a decision about how you think Owen intended it!
The first stanza of the poem “The Show” there are three lines which are a quotation from another poem called Shadowy Waters written by a different author called William Butler Yeats.
“We have fallen in the dreams the ever-living
Breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world
And then smooth out with ivory hands and sigh”.
When first looking at the poem and seeing them lines, you question yourself,
Why are these lines here? Do they mean anything?
Wilfred Owen must have used these 3 lines for a reason, when you first look at the lines there is no obvious link to why they are used in the poem.
But if you study the lines more you can see that they do relate in some way to the poem that Owen wrote.
“We have fallen in the dreams the ever-living”. The word fallen mean something to do with a height, e.g. you have to fall from a height.
So this quote links to the view that is created by the poet because we see what is happening from a birds eye view (from above). So the fallen shows the height from where we are watching it from. The quote also seems to be linked with religion, as it says “The ever-living”. This fits in well because most of the soldiers during World War 1 were religious people and came from religious family backgrounds, and they also believed in haven and hell
“Tarnished mirror of the world” relates to Owens own poem because it links to looking upon the world and that’s what the poem is about watching the world from above. But the word tarnished means to detract from or spoil; taint: a tragedy that tarnished our hopes. So the quote must mean that the tarnished mirror is reflecting a wrong picture to the ones watching from above.
The line “And then smooth out with ivory hands and sigh” makes me think that God is smoothing out the world of all its troubles, trying to make it a better place.
I feel that it is God because it says “Ivory hands” and ivory is a precious, rich material, which you don’t normal link to hands.
Sean Firman
The three lined epigraph in ‘The Show’ is taken from ‘Shadowy Waters’, a dramatic poem by W.B.Yeats and is used as a conceit to help explain Owen’s poetry. The three lines are taken out of context and put into a new one to expand Owens message. ‘The Show’ is narrated by a dead soldier and we can therefore assume that the epigraph is also, and is a summary of feelings that all dead soldiers express after death. The line starts; ‘We have fallen in the dreams the ever-living’ this, in Owen’s terms, means the dead soldiers have had an ever lasting effect on our world and can never be undone. Therefore they should last in our dreams for ever as heroes as no one else had to experience what they did. The other lines then follow; ‘Breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world/and then smooth out with ivory hands and sigh.’ These lines are used to explain the actions of the dead soldiers who sign up to then fight for their country so they can ‘smooth out’ the war that is ‘tarnishing’ their ‘world’. ‘Ivory’ is precious and is used to symbolise how we should cherish the soldiers who have spared their lives for ours. When the war ends they ‘sigh’ with relief as their purpose has been accomplished. The Show was written by Owen to show to people the violence they see as entertainment or as ‘shows’, are in fact similar to the war their men are dying in, this therefore shocks the reader in to visualising how soldiers were slaughtered like animals. This paradox was implanted by Owen to shock the readers which then would help them realise the struggle of their soldiers and the simplicity of death, which would then hopefully have an effect on their own assumptions of war as well as others even to this day and age.
David K
Danielle:
Can you refocus your response: you need to address the 3 lines of the epigraph more directly and need to show a more detailed knowledge of the poet’s intended meaning for this poem.
Carl:
Remember Carl – don’t tell the examiner (or me in this case) what we already know about different poetic techniques etc…
There are some section of your response which are waffly – I have noted these on a paper copy and you should see me to address this issue. Your reflection needs to be a developed paragraph – do you thinking in your head not in your writing.
In saying this though, there were some good moments throughout your reflection. Then I thought you really needed to summarise all you’d said in a paragraph to consolidate all your ideas – and, then you did this below your original response any way!
I won’t set you a task to remedy all this – but your next reflection should be more concise and direct, also noting anything else I’ve mentioned – if not, you’ll need to redraft and resubmit.
Connor:
You introduce the idea ‘Christian View’ several times and I’m unsure what you mean – then, as you’ve introduced this idea you develop some evidence – which is in itself a good thing – but as I don’t know what you mean by ‘Christian View’ I can’t follow this thread and as a reader I get lost within your terminology.
There are some interesting ideas within your response, but it’s all a bit crazy to follow. Did you plan your response – as this feels more like a stream of consciousness (ideas straight out of your head) rather than anything organised?
Sarah:
Good to see you briefly introduce your response to the lines before embarking on your reflection.
I have some other things I need you to do so I’m not going to set you a task from this response!
Joseph:
What is the purpose of the epigraph? Why does Owen use it? Refer to the details of the reflection and you’ll see this section you’ve not responded to.
David L:
Does it appear the theme is the same as Yeats’ original or as it is removed from its original context it difficult to ascertain. Poetic excepts can be deconstructed away from the whole poem, but they must also been seen as part of this ‘whole’.
You introduce 3 arguments in support of your discussion on the word, ‘fallen’ – what about morally? What morals do you think may Owen think have declined? (This may also link into your discussion about the ‘sins of war’ you continue with later).
An interesting tract with considered points – please post a response for the questions above!
The words are from a poem by William Butler Yates called "The Shadowy Waters".
The three lines are present at the beginning of Owen's poem, "The Show". It could be interpreted as a connotation towards death, as "we have fallen in the dreams of the ever-living" suggests that the dead soldiers wish they were still alive, and the use of "fallen" suggests that they were in hell instead of heaven.
"Breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world" is a conceit which suggests that the mirror is a reflection of the world, and it is tarnished because of the war and the state it has left the world in. Saying "breathe" suggests that they want to wipe it clean and get rid of all the mess that the war has caused. "Breathe" also relates to death, as the ever-living are able to breathe, but the dead soldiers cannot.
"And then smooth out with ivory hands and sigh" relates to God's hands, and that he has the power to solve the problems and create peace and unity. "Ivory" reflects purity and innocence, which is how the world was before the war began, and that is how everyone wants it to be.
I think Owen used this quote at the start of "The Show" because it is a contrast to the poem. "The Show" represents soldiers as worms which is dehumanising, and it uses many negative similies to descirbe the battlefield. There are also many images of hell, both environmantal and bodily, which contrasts the Yates quote because he relates war to God, and he uses much less negative images.
The Show - By Sameerah
We have fallen in the dreams the ever-living
Breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world,
And then smooth out with ivory hands and sigh.
Are taken from a poem written by William Butler Yeats and are used for the introduction of Wilfred’s Owen Poem, ‘The Show’.
‘The show’ is one of the many poems written by Wilfred Owen, focusing on war time life during World War One and the effects on the soldiers lives.
‘We have fallen in the dreams the ever-living’, could mean that the soldiers that are dead or dying, are falling metaphorical in the dreams of the living at home of loved ones remembering them in addition the second part of the quote can be argued to have been put at the beginning of Wilfred Owens poem ‘The Show’ to help Wilfred Owen introduce his poem ‘The Show’ rather then supporting it. My soul looked down from a vague height with Death, is taken from the opening of ‘the show’, presenting the idea of the someone looking down on the landscape of war, from a ‘vague’ height and ‘ Breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world’ links in to this with the idea of that the mirror of the world representing the battlefields, are tarnished with ‘blood’, due to all the bloodshed in the war and also can be argued that breathe being ‘tarnished’ may mean that the soldiers conscience is know filled with guilt of murder, they’ve had to commit of being in the war. This can be supported by understanding many of Owens other poems in which he expresses the suffering the soldiers had to endure.
by christian view I meant that perhaps W.B.Yeats was religous as was a lot of people in those times. I felt that he was saying in a christian view that they have or are destyoying the earth god has created by the war. This is because from a chrisrian view they beleive they should take care of gods earth and not to destroy it
sorry if I caused confusion didin't mean to
connor write back if you don't understand
1) I think Owen continues the theme of the landscape and the world being metaphoric for the anatomy of war and war's consequence, which is presented in the epigraph of 'The Show'. Yeats initially suggests the idea of the 'tarnished mirror of the world', which introduces the concept of comparing the world as being something more personal, like a mirror, of which audiences can associate with and somewhat understand the unimaginable experience of war. Owen adopts this method of describing the landscape of war in familiar terms for the oblivious audience at home through comparing it like a sickened face – 'pitted with great pocks and scabs of plagues'. One of Owen's sole aims through his poetry was to communicate the horrific reality of war to the ignorant people at home, who's views were numbed by the abundance of patriotic poetry and propaganda, and therefore he would have been exploring other poet's techniques and using them accordingly to best communicate his intended meaning – and to have used Yeats's poetry as an epigraph, he would have admired and been influenced by Yeats's style and metaphoric techniques within 'The Show'.
2) As well as 'fallen' referring to soldiers falling in combat and from God's grace, fallen could also refer to how the soldiers have fallen morally. Owen himself was a devout Christian, so he had a strong belief in heaven and hell – and before the war he strictly obeyed the ten commandments in fear of going to hell. War however forced soldiers against the bible and the 5th commandment 'thou shall not murder', and so Owen went against his religious values, and therefore War caused him to fall from his own moral standards. So Owen must have used the poem as an epigraph for 'The Show' as he could associate with Yeats's concept of having 'fallen', and morally is a likely interprettation of the term.
-David L
The epigraph is from 'The Shadowy Waters' by W.B Yeats. In my opinion the three lines act as a preface for 'The Show' as they reflect what the narrator had experienced/felt.
The line "We have fallen in the dreams the ever-living" could mean that although the soldier is dead, he still lives on in peoples dreams and is therefore "ever-living".
However, used with the following lines , "...the ever living breathe on the tarnished mirror of the world, and then smooth out with ivory hands and sigh" it could be that the soldier is comparing the damage done to the world by the war as breathing on a mirror, and wishes (dreams) that the damage could be undone as easily as just wiping the mirror with your hands; possibly in this case the poet is referring to Gods hands.
This introduces the poem as throughout it Owen shows how easily the damaging impacts of war can be overlooked or erased; for example "For gloom's last dregs these long strung creatures crept,/ And vanished out of dawn down hidden holes." and "I saw their bitten backs curve, loop and straighten./ I watched those agonies curl, lift and flatten."
It also introduces the context of the poem as Owen focuses a lot on environmental hell, personifying the landscape and dehumanising the soldiers.
Lauren Doyle
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