The Dead-Beat is a poem by Wilfred Owen, a British soldier and poet who wrote during World War I. The poem is a reflection on the horrors of war and the futility of death. It follows a soldier who is marching to the front lines, and his thoughts on the futility of his own death. He reflects on the fact that he will soon be dead, and that his death will be meaningless and forgotten. He also reflects on the fact that he will never be able to experience the joys of life again, and that his death will be a waste. The poem ends with the soldier accepting his fate, and marching on to the front lines.
By Wilfred Owen · First published 1918 · Genre: Poetry, War Literature, Modernism