Verse, mostly MSS, including ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and ‘Mental Cases’, [Jun-Aug 1915]-Sep 1918
Comprises:
- OEF 291-5 ‘The Women and the Slain’ (cont.), [Jun-Aug 1915; revised Nov-Dec 1917] (CPF 126). Includes 3 drafts. 291-2 a TS entitled ‘Ballad of Kings and Christs’. 293-4 a MS draft entitled ‘The Women & the Slain’. 295 a MS draft with two stanzas entitled ‘Women’ and ‘Slain’.
- OEF 296 ‘Mourn for the nights to come’, [Nov-Dec 1917] (CPF 127)
- OEF 297 ‘Hospital Barge’, dated ‘Dec. 8. 1917’ (CPF 129)
- OEF 298 ‘At a Calvary’, [1917-18] (CPF 137). Transcript by Susan Owen.
- OEF 299-315 ‘The Wrestlers’, Jul 1917 (CPF 138). Includes three drafts (299-302; 303-307; 308-9) and two fair copies (310-313; 314-315), all MSS.
- OEF 316-18 ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, Oct 1917 (316-317 dated ‘Oct. 8. 1917’) (CPF 144. Includes a rough draft (316-317) and a lightly amended fair copy (318).
- OEF 319-320 ‘A Tear Song’, [drafted Nov 1917-Jan 1918; revised Jan-March 1918] (CPF 145). Includes a rough draft (319) and a fair copy (320).
- OEF 321 ‘The Last Laugh’, [Spring 1918] (CPF 162)
- OEF 322-327 ‘The Dead-Beat’, [Aug 1917-May 1918] 322 dated ‘Oct. 1917; 324 dated Sept. 1917 (CPF 146). Contains five fair copies (322; 323; 324; 326; 327) and one drafts (325). See also 505-6.
- OEF 328-30 ‘Insensibility’, [Oct 1917-Jan 1918] (CPF 147)
- OEF 331 ‘The Show’, Nov 1917 (CPF 152)
- OEF 332 ‘Mental Cases’, May 1918 (CPF 163). One leaf of rough working. See also 404.
- OEF 333-4 ‘The End’, [late 1916] (CPF 154)
- OEF 335-6 ‘S.I.W.’, 1917 (CPF 155). See also 402-3.
- OEF 337-8 ‘The Chances’, 1917 (CPF 164)
- OEF 339-42 ‘A Terre’, Dec 1917 (CPF 168)
- OEF 343-4 ‘Soldier’s Dream’, Oct 1917 (CPF 170). Includes two drafts.
- OEF 345-6 ‘Elegy in April and September’, [April-May 1918] (CPF 173)
- OEF 347 ‘Smile, Smile, Smile’, Sep 1918 (CPF 176). Written on verso of letter from Murray McClymont. Includes envelope addressed by McClymont, dated 12 Sep 1918.
- OEF 348 List of titles: ‘Disabled & Other Poems’, May 1918 (CPF Appendix B, p. 548)
- OEF 400-1 ‘Futility’, May 1918 (CPF 153). This is a facsimile of the now lost Hewland MSS. Includes two early drafts, entitled ‘Frustration’ and ‘Move him into the Sun’ consecutively.
- OEF 402-3 ‘S.I.W.’, Sep 1917 (CPF 155). This is a facsimile of the now lost Hewland MSS.
- OEF 404 ‘Mental Cases’, [May-Jul 1918] (CPF 163). This is a facsimile of the now lost Hewland MSS.
- OEF 405 ‘Points to note about my sonnets’, n.d. Prose comments on his own Work. Includes on the verso suggested titles for a selection of poems for publication.
- OEF 406-7 ‘B.O.P Stories for Magazines’ [1915-16]. Rough working on short stories.
- OEF 408 ‘Books read at Scarborough’, dated ‘Dec. 1917’. List of book titles, with a list of new vocabulary on verso.
- OEF 409 ‘Projects’, dated ‘May 5 1918’. List of planned future projects.
There are no manuscripts numbered 349-399.
Dates
- Creation: [Jun-Aug 1915]-Sep 1918
Extent
1 box
Language of Materials
- English
Conditions Governing Access
To ensure its availability to future readers, access to this item is restricted, and readers are asked to work from reproductions and published descriptions as far as possible. To apply to see the original, please send a message to specialcollections.enquiries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk, outlining the subject of your research, the importance of this item to that research, and the resources you have already consulted. Please also tell us about the timeframe for your project, if any, and when you hope to visit.
Shelfmark
MS. 12282/4
Former reference:
OEF 291-409
Existence and Location of Copies
Researchers should first consult the digital versions available on the World War I Poetry Digital Archive and Jon Stallworthy's edition of Wilfred Owen: The Complete Poems and Fragments (London, 1983; revised 2013).
Repository Details
Part of the Bodleian Libraries Repository
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG United Kingdom
specialcollections.enquiries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk