Strange Meeting Compassion and Forgiveness Quotes

If there's anyone who will show you compassion and forgive you for your sins, it's Jesus. At least that's what Owen is going for with this image. We don't find out until the end of the poem, but this soldier has been killed by the speaker, and Owen crafts this image to show us his ability to forgive in spite of everything.

It's true that speaker number one doesn't know speaker number two yet, but at least now that they're both dead he no longer sees him as an enemy. All he sees is a fellow man who's totally bummed out so he tries to offer him some comfort.

This is Owen doing the work to show that there is no real difference between these so-called "enemies." They both had hopes and dreams for their lives outside of the war, and now they're both suffering together.

This guy knows that he's talking to the guy who killed him, but he still addresses him as "friend." Not because he's crazy, but because he's forgiven him. He knows that it was because of the awful war that he did it, and in a way, it wasn't his fault.

Speaker number two is offering the ultimate truce. He wants them to rest from the trials and horrors of war. Even though we know that's not really going to be possible in hell, it's really the thought that counts with this one.