Anthem for Doomed Youth - an analysis of the poem's title

After five days of being deprived of a useful internet connection, I'm here to update everyone and offer some further revision tips. Please accept my apologies!

So - why is the poem called 'Anthem for Doomed Youth'?

An 'anthem' is typically a celebratory song; something that inspires others and raises positive emotions. However, the poem is in no way celebratory, instead asking the question 'what happens after the dead are gone?'

It is a very negative poem and Wilfred Owen has chosen these words very specifically.

There are two trains of thought here:

1. 'Anthem' connotates celebration and emotion - what Owen is trying to do is show us that by writing a dedicated poem to the fallen soldiers, HE is trying to inspire us to think positively about them and remember the positive act they have done (as in dying for their country). Nobody remembers the dead, as shown in the line 'what candles shall be held to speed them all?' By creating a poem with the title 'anthem', Owen is celebrating the dead in his own way.

OR

2. Owen is being sarcastic - like Read and 'The Happy Warrior'. 'Anthem' connotes celebration and Owen is trying to hammer home the fact that NOBODY celebrates the dead, even at a funeral. By choosing the noun 'anthem', he is trying to remind us that nobody remembers the soldiers after they are gone, even though we should always be thinking of them.