The nameless young man who dies in this poem is representative of all those who die needlessly in war. the title stresses the negative ideas of uselessness and helplessness. it also sums up the major theme and tone of the poem. the victim is doomed like so many others and owen savagely scorns the idea that such a death can be in any way noble or heroic.
owen captures the sense of despair that is eating away at their hopes of escape, survival or finding some sort of meaning to the whole hideous existence they are forced to endure.
"move him into the sun' - the sun is depicted in positive terms as a gentle giver of life and heat, possible saviour and worker of miracles for the man in the poem.
"at home" - nostalgic reference to 'home' with connotations of peace, safety and release.
"always it woke him" - 'always' shows their desperation and refusal to accept that he is dead
"even in France"-disbelief that even in this hostile place, the sun still had the power to arouse up until now
"the kind old sun will know." - a sense of desperation and futile hope that if anything can save this man, the sun, which has always been 'kind', will know
"wakes the seeds" - metaphorical link between the sun as the harbinger of life itself
"full-nerved - still warm - too hard to stir?" - rhetorical questions pose the eternal agony of 'why?' - refusal to believe the truth that limbs still warm cannot be roused.
"was it for this the clay grew tall?" rhetorical question ^^^^ disgust and bitterness are evident in the spat out phrase 'for this'
"to break earth's sleep at all?" - rhetorical question ^^^^ owen questions the purpose of life itself and asks readers to ponder if it is all for nothing.
i have more detailed notes on specific parts of the poem: futility and waste; imagery; figurative methods; rhyme/rhythm.
just let me know if you want them