The poem “Futility” by Wilfred Owen, utilizes the personified main subject, “the old king sun,” and its relationship to a soldier, “him,” to question man’s purpose on earth. The king old sun is responsible for waking “him” at home as well as in France. However, “this morning and this snow” it has failed. It might symbolize death, or it might symbolize the unconsciousness of the soldier. A conflict is presented.
“Are limbs so dear-achieved, are sides/ Full-nerved,–still warm,–to hard to stir?” A point is aroused that could take on a couple of meanings. One being that of a body, a fallen soldier in battle, laying motionless on the earth in an endless slumber. The other could describe mankind’s nature. The obstinacy of man to resolve conflicts. Two warring sides, each unyielding, and unable to reach an agreement of peace. “Was it for this clay grew tall?” Man was created from dust. The poem attempts to question the decisions man has taken, regarding the destruction of themselves and the earth. Is man created to fight his fellow men–enemies–at the expense of others? If so, why does the sun bother to shine?
The poem almost places man as a defiant friend to the kind and giving friendship of the old king sun. Instead of appreciating its charm, its significance, its magnitude, man has refused to acknowledge the sun. He has become ungrateful, and the question arises whether the old king sun should even shine at all. The poem goes as far as to portray the sun as foolish. Wasting its time shining its “fatuous sunbeams” on an earth where “the limbs” are too stubborn to end petty conflicts. Nature and the genesis of man are not operating in unison and the speaker questions whether it is worth continuing to try to fix.
Such is true as far as the nature of war is concerned. Many times war can be prevented. Other times it seems inevitable. But has man gone too far in his rage? He has continued to kill men, destroy the earth, and disrespect nature. The speaker of the poem hints at great points that leave readers to think about the role of man on earth as it has been played out. Man was not created for destruction. Man was not created to mistreat nature. Yet is seems to be the center of our existence. The poem uses the king old sun as an example of nature’s vitality to man. All the jobs the sun fulfills, all the things it wakes up, should not be forgotten. Man must realize the extent he has gone to in his time on earth, and attempt to correct himself. Because if the sun stops shining tomorrow, time stands still.
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