Greater Love

“Greater Love,” a lyrical ballad written by Wilfred Owen in either 1917 or 1918, draws upon his wartime experiences as an officer in World War I (1914-1918). The poem creates a startling juxtaposition between the clichés of romantic love and the brutal realities of armed warfare, in which patriotic young men are injured or killed in a conflict that the speaker depicts as meaningless. “Greater Love” embodies many of Owen’s key characteristics as a poet: simple and arresting language, bold imagery, and a deep thematic mistrust of jingoism and the idealizing of war. The poem first appeared in the collection Poems, published in 1920. Owen did not live to see the collection’s publication: He was killed in the line of duty on November 4, 1918, a mere week before the armistice was declared and the war came to an end.

Poet Biography

Although later distinguished by his impressive literary gifts, Wilfred Owen was in many ways a young man typical of his generation. He was born on March 18, 1893, in Shropshire, England, the firstborn son of Tom Owen and Harriet Susan Shaw. While by no means wealthy, his family was of respectable social standing and reasonably comfortable.