Which poem contains the line "the wasted young" describing casualties?

• A. Afternoons
• B. Mametz Wood
• C. Dulce et Decorum Est
• D. Ozymandias

Answer: (B)

Recognising a line that names casualties relies on noticing how a poem treats loss and the cost of war in vivid, precise imagery. In Mametz Wood, the line the line “the wasted young” directly labels those who died as young lives squandered by conflict. That stark phrase captures the poem’s meditation on the Somme’s aftermath and how memory lingers over the bodies of young soldiers, turning their deaths into a visible, emotional truth rather than just numbers. This makes Mametz Wood the best fit for that line.

The other poems approach different ideas: Afternoons reflects on aging and changing family life; Dulce et Decorum Est shows graphic war horror but doesn’t contain that exact line; Ozymandias centers on the futility of rulers and the erosion of power.