Melody HsuAnalyzes how and why the contrast between the past and present is explored in “Disabled” by Wilfred OwenDisabled is a poem written by Wilfred Owen during World War I. Owen began expressing his views on war through poetry after witnessing the worst consequences of war on young soldiers. In the poem "Disabled", Owen contrasts the soldiers' past and present in order to present the naivety of young soldiers who abandon their lives for an unpredictable future. By using the soldier in this poem, Owen also seeks to represent all the other young soldiers who participated in the First World War. By presenting references to color, Owen explores the soldier's expectations of the world and reality. Likewise, by connecting the soldier's past and present life to football, Owen presents the consequences experienced by the young soldier. In particular, Owen reflects the soldier's disappointment in life due to the loss of female affection. Owen uses color to emphasize the substantial change between the past and the present. “The bright lamps are budding” is a metaphor Owen uses to describe the life and hope of young men before the war. “Glow” meaning luminosity evokes hope, creating an atmosphere filled with dreams and beliefs. Thus, it is related to "budded" because it symbolizes new life by creating the image of a new plant shoot, showing how the young man had just begun to live his life with ambition. This contradicts the expression "waiting for night" used to describe the soldier after the war. The word "dark" also creates a reference to death, suggesting that the soldier, who was once full of life, is now nothing more than a ghost, neglected and unloved. Additionally, the word "wait" suggests that he has given up...... middle of paper ...... maybe there, while also expressing the feelings of incapacity and weakness felt by young people soldiers. This conflicts with the soldier's expectations before joining the war, as "please his Meg" suggests that he gave up his future thinking that he would become a heroic character and thus become more attractive to women. Owen uses the fact that the soldier volunteered for the war just to please a woman to suggest the pointlessness and ridiculousness of joining the war. This illustrates the ignorance of many young soldiers. In conclusion, Owen brings together the experiences of all the young soldiers who participated in the war into one soldier that the reader can relate to. By depicting references to color, linking the soldier's life to football, reflecting the soldier's lack of feminine affection, Owen successfully conveys his opinion on naive young soldiers and their foolish decisions to enlist.