Pink Mist Coursework

Dylan Adlard

Write a detailed critical appreciation of your chosen extract from Pink

Mist, arguing how far and in what ways Sheers presentation of the
effects of war here is characteristic of the poem as a whole.

Owen Sheers Pink Mist as a poem vividly asserts that warfare inflicts deep
emotional scars on non-combatants, and both emotional and physical scars on
the soldiers themselves. This extract taken from Arthurs Story depicts the
moment Arthur is drawn to birds eggs he collected when a child, as soon as he
returns from Afghanistan for R+R. Through this experience, the extract
foregrounds some of the foremost emotional consequences experienced by the
soldiers portrayed in the text, being corruption of youth, psychological trauma,
loss of faith and loss of hope.

Soldiers youths, and the extent to which they have been corrupted by war, is a
recurring theme in Pink Mist as a whole, but is also a very prominent theme in
the extract. The twelve eggscollected that spring are symbolic of Arthurs
previous youthfulness from which he has been painfully disjointed. The
oxymoronic image of each one, though empty, was full gives an almost
enigmatic quality, which contrasts with the traumatic experiences of the adult
world of warfare, where Taff was blown off the wall and broke [his] back in the
fallwhen one of your mates hasnt just bought it, but goes in a flashAn RPG
stuck in the gut. Furthermore, the upbeat dactylic rhythm of the touch of the
wind, the taste of the raineach was a moment alone, again produces a sense of
vitality, indicating that Arthur seems to experience a form of exhilaration as he
reminisces about the collecting of the eggs back in his childhood. The regularity
of the harmonious rhyming couplet of rain and again, as well as the pleasant
acoustic of the assonance of taste and rain, makes childhood seem deeply
positive. This theme has also been established elsewhere in the text when Hads
was high-jumping for top spot a record-beating Fosbury Flop that left his legs
behind. The fact that the reference to school sports is made to describe a tragic
war incident, again accentuates the stark, and sometimes immediate, corruption
of young soldiers youths. This theme is found not only in Pink Mist, but also in
other war poetry, such as Wilfred Owens Dulce et Decorum est when young men
became like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags.

The corruption of youth of many soldiers could be a result from another

prominent theme in the whole text: psychological trauma. This is shockingly
depicted in this extract through the portrayal of Arthurs flashback, revealing
horrors that Arthur has witnessed and which now haunt him. However, he is not
the only character in the poem who experiences severe psychological trauma,
and in fact Taff suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, as he is broken by
war and mentally tortured by the anger, the dreams, the dead, and ultimately
cannot escape memories which continually pain him. The only ellipsis in the
extract indicates Arthurs speechlessness as he recollects the traumatising
experience of the two burning guys, puppets of flame. Also, the discomfort of
the flashback is amplified by the use of caesura and end stopping, creating a
staccato, jagged effect, and one that is most uncomfortable to read. The way the
one burning soldier is depicted as trying to stub himself out, then fell, indicates
that Sheers could be metaphorically comparing him to a used cigarette. This
enhances the notion that soldiers are expendable, and can be simply put out,
thus further dehumanising him, and highlighting his dispensable status.
Additionally, the two words, no chance produce the idea that Arthurs
psychological trauma is inescapable, its monosyllabic structure creating a
percussive impact, enhanced by its spondaic metrical arrangement. Finally, the
varied line lengths near the end of the extract create a sense of irregularity and
contribute to the idea that this recollection is painful and somewhat chaotic for
Arthur. Furthermore, Hads, although severely physically crippled, has also been
presented as a victim of mental trauma, and too seems to have disturbing
dreams as he swings into bed and tenses for it an IED explosion.

A less prominent theme in the extract, and the text as a whole, but one that
carries great significance is that of loss of faith. As Arthurs traumatic memory
progresses in this passage, Sheers choice of imagery implies that war may cause
a loss of faith in God. The imagery of a flaming cross may symbolically suggest
war destroys faith, and could enhance the notion that others of a higher position
are sacrificing soldiers. Earlier in the text, we see another example of this theme
emerging, as Taff also believes that there is no one watching. Loss of faith as a
result of conflict is also a prominent theme in many other artistic responses to
war, such as Sgt Elias kneeling cross-like stance in Oliver Stones Platoon when
he died, which is similar to the American soldiers position in Pink Mist when he
too died. As well as this, Wilfred Owens poem Exposure, where love of God
seems dying obviously explores the same relationship war sometimes has with a
diminishing belief of God.

The fourth, and final, major theme of the extract is the clear loss of hope Arthur
experiences. However, this stanza is not alone in the poem and elsewhere in the
text there are moments where loss of hope is depicted, page four being an
example where a full circle suggests that there is, and never will be an escape
from the horrific tragedy the three soldiers have experienced, and that was
itnothing where my legs had been or in my future either, found earlier in the
text. This theme in the extract is depicted through the pale blue shards of the
herons egg scattered inside the drawer, like a broken promise, which also
possibly suggests a loss of future. The last three lines of the extract contain no
rhyme and irregular rhythm, presenting a significant lack of lyrical beauty, which
further conveys this sense of bleak destruction. The harsh and jagged words,
shards, scattered and broken deliver a sense of devastation, heightened by
the discomforting sibilance in two of the words. As well as this, the diminuendo
of the three diminishing line lengths in the clause enhances this notion; forming
a sense of diminution of, in Arthurs case, hope. With the exception of Gwen, who
cannot move on from the death of Arthur, the poem concludes with a general
feeling of optimism, thus contrasting with the extract, and Arthur himself
hopesthat people will remember what those three letters meanwho want to
play war?

In conclusion, this extract and Pink Mist as a whole provides the reader with a
powerful idea of the major consequences soldiers experience when participating
in such a traumatic war. It is a very modern poem, in that it focuses largely on
the psychological effects of war, rather than focusing predominantly on physical
effects like many other war poems written in the aftermath of both World Wars.
Sheers explores how corruption of youth, psychological trauma, loss of faith and
loss of hope are caused and how they affect the lives of combatants and those
closest to them, therefore corresponding with the overall message of the poem.

Total words: 1184

Words without quotations: 1008