Down the close, darkeng lan they sang their way / To the sidg-shed, / And led the tra wh fac grimly gay. / Their breasts were stuck all whe wh wreath and spray
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THE SEND-OFFWILED OWENTRACK 10 ON POEMS BY WILED OWEN THE POEM WAS WRTEN AT RIPON, WHERE THERE WAS A HUGE ARMY MP. THE TROOPS HAVE JT E OM A SENDG-OFF CEREMONY – CHEERG CROWDS, BELLS, DMS, FLOWERS GIVEN BY… READ MORE JAN. 1, 19181 VIEWER23.4K VIEWS6 CONTRIBUTORSTHE SEND-OFF LYRICSDOWN THE CLOSE, DARKENG LAN THEY SANG THEIR WAYTO THE SIDG-SHED,AND LED THE TRA WH FAC GRIMLY GAY.THEIR BREASTS WERE STUCK ALL WHE WH WREATH AND SPRAYAS MEN'S ARE, AD.DULL PORTERS WATCHED THEM, AND A SUAL TRAMPSTOOD STARG HARD,SORRY TO MISS THEM OM THE UPLAND MP.THEN, UNMOVED, SIGNALS NODD, AND A LAMPWKED TO THE GUARD.SO SECRETLY, LIKE WRONGS HHED-UP, THEY WENT.THEY WERE NOT OURS:WE NEVER HEARD TO WHICH ONT THE WERE SENT.NOR THERE IF THEY YET MOCK WHAT WOMEN MEANTWHO GAVE THEM FLOWERS.SHALL THEY RETURN TO BEATGS OF GREAT BELLSIN WILD TRALOADS?A FEW, A FEW, TOO FEW FOR DMS AND YELLS,MAY CREEP BACK, SILENT, TO STILL VILLAGE WELLS,UP HALF-KNOWN ROADS.2EMBEDCANCELHOW TO FORMAT LYRICS:TYPE OUT ALL LYRICS, EVEN REPEATG SONG PARTS LIKE THE CHOSLYRICS SHOULD BE BROKEN DOWN TO DIVIDUAL LUSE SECTN HEARS ABOVE DIFFERENT SONG PARTS LIKE [VERSE], [CHOS], ETC.USE ALICS (<I>LYRIC</I>) AND BOLD (<B>LYRIC</B>) TO DISTGUISH BETWEEN DIFFERENT VOLISTS THE SAME SONG PARTIF YOU DON’T UNRSTAND A LYRIC, E [?]TO LEARN MORE, CHECK OUT OUR TRANSCRIPTN GUI OR VIS OUR TRANSCRIBERS FOMABOUT
* faces grimly gay *
And led the tra wh fac grimly gay. Another oxymoron is ed as the tras members, ie the soldiers are said to look grimly gay.
Why is the poem lled ‘The Send Off’? Who is walkg to down the “darkeng lan”? Where have they jt been possibly? What is a sidg-shed? Why are the soldiers walkg there? What vered their chts and why? Why do they look like ad men? Why are the men’s fac “grimly gay”? Who “stood starg… * faces grimly gay *
Owen’s referenc to ‘led the tra wh fac grimly gay’ shows that even their happs is tempered by the ong misery of what awas them; though they do not know yet, their liv are gog to be short and full of pa, and Owen sheds light on this by forhadowg this reactn. IDown the ep, darkeng lan they sang their wayTo the wag tra, And filled s doors wh fac grimly gay, And heads & shoulrs whe wh wreath & spray, As men’s are, sla. Take the first three l of the poem: the soldiers are sgg, implyg happs, but their fac are ‘grimly gay’, htg at the worry and uncertaty lurkg jt beneath the surface.
Down the close, darkeng lan they sang their way To the sidg-shed, And led the tra wh fac grimly gay. Why are the men’s fac “grimly gay”? This oxymoron suggts that the men are pretendg to be happy – “gay” – but are actually que “grim”; they probably know that they will die and yet they have to pretend durg the send-off that everythg is gog to be fe.