Disabled

By Wilfred Owen
He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark,
And shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,
Legless, sewn short at elbow. Through the park
Voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn,
Voices of play and pleasure after day,
Till gathering sleep had mothered them from him.

* * * * *

About this time Town used to swing so gay

When glow-lamps budded in the light-blue trees,
And girls glanced lovelier as the air grew dim,—
In the old times, before he threw away his knees.
Now he will never feel again how slim
Girls' waists are, or how warm their subtle hands,
All of them touch him like some queer disease.

* * * * *

There was an artist silly for his face,

For it was younger than his youth, last year.
Now, he is old; his back will never brace;
He's lost his colour very far from here,
Poured it down shell-holes till the veins ran dry,
And half his lifetime lapsed in the hot race
And leap of purple spurted from his thigh.

* * * * *

One time he liked a blood-smear down his leg,

After the matches carried shoulder-high.
It was after football, when he'd drunk a peg,
He thought he'd better join. He wonders why.
Someone had said he'd look a god in kilts.
That's why; and maybe, too, to please his Meg,
Aye, that was it, to please the giddy jilts,
He asked to join. He didn't have to beg;
Smiling they wrote his lie: aged nineteen years.
Germans he scarcely thought of, all their guilt,
And Austria's, did not move him. And no fears
Of Fear came yet. He thought of jewelled hilts
 For daggers in plaid socks; of smart salutes;
And care of arms; and leave; and pay arrears;
Esprit de corps; and hints for young recruits.
And soon, he was drafted out with drums and cheers.

* * * * *

Some cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer Goal.

Only a solemn man who brought him fruits
Thanked him; and then inquired about his soul.

* * * * *

Now, he will spend a few sick years in institutes,

And do what things the rules consider wise,
And take whatever pity they may dole.
Tonight he noticed how the women's eyes
Passed from him to the strong men that were whole.
How cold and late it is! Why don't they come
And put him into bed? Why don't they come?

How does the poet vividly portray the physical and emotional impact of war on the
soldier in the poem?
The poet, Wilfred Owen portrays the emotional and physical impact that war has had on the
soldiers through the use of vivid visual imagery and strong-horrific symbolism..The poet
describes the struggles faced by a soldier who has been impaired by the terrifying and
unfortunate realities of war. The poem highlights the emotional and societal struggles faced by a
soldier who had been disabled through war. This analysis examines how the poet emphasizes the
emotional and physical pain felt by a war-ridden soldier.

Owen vividly shows the destruction imposed by the war on the soldier.Firstly, the line “He sat in a
wheeled chair,” is extremely powerful as it truly shows the physical impact war has had on the soldier,
bindening him to a wheelchair for the rest of his numbered days . Secondly,the poet uses the phrase
“Legless, sewn short at elbow.” to directly describe the mutilation caused by the war. The word
“legless” highlights that the soldier's limbs had to be amputated due to damage caused in the war.
The horrific use of the word “sewn short at elbow” tells us that the legs were amputated at the
knee(referred to as elbow)- and stitched shut preventing the soldier from ever leading a normal
day to day life ever again. Secondly, the poet employs a metaphor in the line “And a leap of purple
spurted from his thigh.”. The phrase “leap of purple” is being metaphorically compared to a stream of
blood gushing out from the poor soldier’s thigh. This not only reiterates the severely tantalising realities
of war but also the extent to which the soldier had been crippled, laying down his life for his country.
Additionally, to convey the everlasting physical impact the war has had on the soldier, Owen uses the line
“Now, he is old; his back will never brace;” to show that war had stolen the very right of movement that
every human being should have . The poet continues by highlighing how these physical impairments
severely affected the emotional well being of the soldier as he got older

Owen also strongly appeals to his readers the emotional toll that war has had on this particular soldier.
Firstly, the use of contrasting ideas show the nature of societal change to this battle hardened soldier.
These lines in the second stanza “In the old times, before he threw away his knees. Now he will never
again feel how slim Girls' waists are” describe the change in the attitude of other people due to his
impairments. The soldier feels forgotten and regretful after sacrificing so much. The contrasting tone in
these lines highlight the change in attention that the soldier received, before the war-before his knees were
lost he would gain quite some attention from young females who simply overlooked him as he returned-
almost as though he were a forgotten hero.The soldier’s deep sense of loss is shown through contrasts
between the past and present . Furthermore the poet highlights that the soldier felt tricked and deceived
after being persuaded into listing towards the war effort.This is evident through the phrase “Someone had
said he'd look like a god in kilts./That's why; and maybe, too, to please his Meg,” which shows that he
had been tricked into fighting an extremely bloody war against the Austrians and Germans not only by
other people but his own mind, fighting for glorification and representation at the tender age of nineteen.
Additionally, the poet uses this stanza “Some cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer Goal.
/Only a solemn man who brought him fruits/Thanked him; and then inquired about his soul.” to explain
Although some “thanked him”, only a few actually appreciated his sacrifices towards the war effort. After
all this man had sacrificed his future for the nation. The poet adds to this idea by emphasizing the time
that the soldier lost while at war. The phrase “And half his lifetime lapsed in the hot race” metaphorically
compares war to a “hot race”. The word “hot” highlighting the atmosphere of war, tense and filled with
bloodshed while “race” suggests the fast paced action of battle. Despite this the poet on behalf of the
soldier emphasizes just how many of his youthful years were lost on the battlefield. Lastly, the lines
“Why don't they come/And put him into bed? Why don't they come?” highlight the isolation felt by the
soldier as he spends some of his final years alone and neglected in “institutes” as Owen describes it,
highlighting a clear disconnection from family and relatives.

In conclusion, the poem Disabled powerfully conveys the themes of physical and emotional detachment
experienced by a soldier after returning from war. It gives readers a clear sense of the isolation, loss, and
rejection faced by those who survive battle, only to live a future marked by invisibility and neglect.