Wilfred Owen
(1893–1918)

Wilfred Owen is chiefly recognized for poems written during his battle experiences of World War I. Although his works are few and were published posthumously, he gained an immediate and dedicated audience including fellow poets Siegfried Sassoon, W. H. Auden, and C. Day Lewis.

Owen was born in Shropshire, England and developed an interest in poetry as a youth. He enlisted as a soldier and was posted to the Western Front in 1916; by 1917, he suffered from shell-shock and was removed to a war hospital. There Owen met Sassoon, who encouraged Owen's talents. Together, they wrote about their individual experiences, each developing his own style and voice. Owen returned to service in 1918 and was killed in action that same year, one week before the signing of the Armistice. "Dulce et Decorum Est" and "Anthem for Doomed Youth" are two of his best known poems, both illustrating Owen's primary theme of the pity of war.

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