Arabic and English War Poetry: A Comparative Study of Wilfred Owen and Abdul Razzaq Abdul Wahid's Selected War Poems

Abstract

Over the ages, and in all nations, war has been a significant topic of analysis. The successive outbreak of wars throughout history make the subject of war part of human life. There is no good war, as well as there is no winner; every side at war has something to lose, and this is a universal truth everywhere. War is war; it is the same ugly war everywhere and every time. However, what makes war different is the pen of the writers and the language that is used to describe this serious subject. Each writer or poet presents war differently according to his or her views, attitudes, or experiences. This study aims to make a comparison between two poets who wrote about war. The Arab poet Abdul Razzaq Abdul Wahid (1930-2015) and the English poet Wilfred Owen (1893-1918). This comparative study explores the similarities and differences between these two poets and their ways of dealing with the subject of war. The study will discuss two poems; "Dulce et Decorum Est" from Owen and "You Terrified the Death" ((روعتم الموت by Abdul Wahid. The paper focuses on using language for both poets and with reference to some theories about structure, content, form, and technique of literary language and poetics.