Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher who pushed back against the narratives of progress and the rationalistic ordering of society in nineteenth century Europe, seeing these along with the societal traditions as hypocritical and repressive. In “On Truth and Lying in a Non-Moral Sense”, Nietzsche strongly critiques the idea of rationality and classification in a... Continue Reading →
The Reader’s Replacement of the Author
The French structuralist writer Roland Barthes wrote a short essay called “The Death of the Author” in 1967. In it, he argues that writing is the destruction of every voice, and that while this has not been recognized before, writers are now starting to take this into account and critics should focus on the reader... Continue Reading →
The Kilt God is Cast Down
Wilfried Owen’s poem “Disabled” follows a soldier who has lost his legs during the war and is now alone and isolated. The poem uses images of color and temperature to show how the soldier changed before and after the war. The many colors and heat represent his innocence and vivacity, but after joining the military... Continue Reading →
The Mocking Romanticization of the Doomed Cattle
Wilfried Owen wrote many poems in the First World War, with one of the most famous being “Anthem for Doomed Youth”. Written in 1917 when he was recovering from injuries in the hospital, it depicts the dark destiny of young men fighting in the war to die. It is a warning against romanticizing the war,... Continue Reading →