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Essay / Wilfred Owen's "Storm" and the Symbolism of Turmoil
For the ancient Greeks, the concept of love was divided into six different categories: in particular, eros represented the idea of passion and of sexual desire. While current societies tend to glorify this variety of romantic love, Greek culture viewed eros as something potentially dangerous; such intense ardor becomes man's downfall, his weakness and his madness. For the main character in Owen's "Storm," it is this power of unrequited love that creates a pervasive sense of unrest throughout the verse. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayA main aspect of this article's approach is its manipulation of pathetic fallacies to convey the speaker's feelings about the object of his affections. By comparing this person to the titular “storm,” Owen simultaneously expresses his own feelings of inferiority and inadequacy. For example, the very beginning speaks of a beauty that is “like a cloud with sparkling lightning”; it is a beauty that is as fascinating as it is dangerous, and immediately brings to mind the horror of being struck. In the speaker's case, being attracted to someone who could also be a source of harm is disconcerting and triggers the inner struggle that is preserved throughout the following stanzas. Again, the personification extends to the speaker's cloud-like "shadow" of the lover, almost as if stalking him, and their reaction is evident: "I have trembled and I was worried like a tree. The discomfort caused is so great that the character trembles, but it is unclear whether this discomfort is due to awe, fear, or anxiety—this ambiguity further reinforces the speaker's confused mentality. Whatever the case, the character is "bent" before the force of this storm: although he is struggling with his internalized disorder, he knows that there is an inescapable power that the subject exercises over him, a " brilliant danger” towards which he is madly attracted. It is this same feeling that continues in the second stanza: the character's hesitant acceptance of his infatuation. It is his duty to “tempt that face to let loose its lightning bolt” – this metaphor exists as a final sentence, a fully formed sentence that constitutes a very brutal confession to the reader. Despite the likelihood of unknown negative consequences, there is a willingness to at least try. However, the characteristic feeling of disturbance and agitation persists. Not only is the lover so unforgettable and so dangerous that these qualities are immortalized in this metaphorical storm, but he is “more beautiful than love,” too good to be true. As such, Owen's desire for someone so unattainable throws his heart into desperate longing, only further complicating the chaotic nature of the poem. In this simile here we learn that not only are they in love with someone beautiful to a fatal point, but the implication is that this love may be unrequited. Owen's penchant for classical allusions is used to develop this point, referring to the Greek gods who will "laugh from on high." Knowing that they are in love with someone who doesn't even know they exist is such a humiliating experience for the character that they can see a higher power tormenting them for it - but it is clear to the reader that this is created in the mind of the speaker. This disorder imposes itself on the speaker himself, a feeling of shame and internalized madness that the silence and difference of the lover have inflicted. For the character of Owen, the anguish of love is threefold: the previous quatrains dealt with the.