Poetry Lovers' Page
Biography

About Wilfred Owen

Wilfred Owen wrote nearly all of his important poems in a span of fifteen months, between August 1917 and September 1918. He was killed seven days before the war ended. Only five of his poems appeared in print during his lifetime.

Read full biography →

British & American Poets

Poetry Lovers' Page
Support This Site

Recent Illustrations

Browse all illustrations →

Seasonal Spotlight

Seated jewel-adorned queen in embroidered robes counting necklaces before a human skull at her feet, in a sumptuous gilded interior. Memorial Day Poems 14 poems

Most Illustrated Poems

Browse all illustrations →

Owen Poem Collections

More by Wilfred Owen

  1. Dulce et Decorum Est
  2. Anthem for Doomed Youth
  3. Strange Meeting
  4. Futility
  5. Disabled
  6. Exposure
  7. Mental Cases
  8. Spring Offensive

Browse by Theme

All themes »

Explore

You May Also Enjoy

Random Poem

You are here: Home » British/American Poets » Wilfred Owen » The Last Laugh


Wilfred Owen

Wilfred Owen

The Last Laugh

‘O Jesus Christ! I’m hit,’ he said; and died.
Whether he vainly cursed or prayed indeed,
The Bullets chirped—In vain, vain, vain!
Machine-guns chuckled,—Tut-tut! Tut-tut!
And the Big Gun guffawed.
Another sighed,—‘O Mother,—Mother,—Dad!’
Then smiled at nothing, childlike, being dead.
And the lofty Shrapnel-cloud
Leisurely gestured,—Fool!
And the splinters spat, and tittered.
‘My Love!’ one moaned. Love-languid seemed his mood,
Till slowly lowered, his whole face kissed the mud.
And the Bayonets’ long teeth grinned;
Rabbles of Shells hooted and groaned;
And the Gas hissed.
Enjoying this poem? Support Poetry Lovers' Page

Read Next

Miners Next in War Poems The Next War Previous in War Poems The Burial Rudyard Kipling Explores similar themes
A Analysis  Q FAQ 

From the Same Collection

Thematically Related

Browse by Theme

Related Poets

  • John Keats — influence (Owen modeled his early verse on Keats and made a pilgrimage to Teignmouth; the Romantic sensory style persists even in his war poems)
  • Alfred Lord Tennyson — thematic (Owen's trench realism is often contrasted with Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade as opposing visions of war poetry)
  • William Ernest Henley — thematic (Both wrote poems about suffering and endurance; Henley's Invictus and Owen's war poems share a concern with human resilience)
  • Rudyard Kipling — Fellow WWI poet whose work addresses the same conflict and generation

More by Wilfred Owen

  1. Dulce et Decorum Est
  2. Anthem for Doomed Youth
  3. Strange Meeting
  4. Futility
  5. Disabled

See something wrong on this page? Let us know.

x
By using our website, you agree to our cookie policy.