Arms and the Boy Trivia

Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge

Never one for good timing, Wilfred Owen was killed just a week before World War I ended. (Source.)

One of the twentieth century's most important poets, William Butler Yeats, was very critical of Owen, and of a number of other war poets. He said of Owen: "I consider [Owen] unworthy of the poets' corner of a country newspaper… He is all blood, dirt & sucked sugar stick." Classy, Yeats. Real classy. (Source.)

Owen was friends with Siegfried Sassoon, another famous World War I poet. Through him, he met other famous literary figures like Robert Graves and H.G. Wells. We guess he was in good company in the writing department. (Source.)

Sure, he may have dissed the war in his poetry, but when it came to soldiering, the dude wasn't too shabby. He was even awarded the Military Cross in 1918. (Source.)