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Essay / The alliformity of war in Owen's Last Laugh
This is in comparison to Owen's other poems, such as SIW, which has five stanzas. The uniformity of the war is manifested there and once again reinforces the idea of regular success of the cannons. Besides the length of each verse, the rigid construction used in each verse is also consistent with the regularity of war and perhaps suggests the pity of war and the unchanging fate of the soldiers. Owen begins the poem with a direct opening statement: “Oh! Jesus Christ! I am touched,” he said; and he died. A clear storyline is created that shows the reader the current situation. Here the soldier can sincerely swear or cry out for help from God2. The use of caesura isolates death and emphasizes it, as well as the period used at the end of the line which demonstrates an ending. Owen shows Death as being very quick and casual in this line, which may