...Dulce et decorum est is a poem by Wilfred Owen written during world war I, while he was in the trenches. The title is the first part of a quotation by Horace’s Odes: “Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori” that means “It’s sweet and honourable to die for your country” but the whole poem aims at contradicting the title. His style is experimental in fact he uses the free verse. In the first stanza Owen describes the subject, that are the soldiers, through similies such as “Old beggars” and “Hags” because he wants to show us anti-heroic figures, going against the propaganda that encourages young men to go fighting and dying for their country preaching the ideals of nationalism, glory and courage. Owen describes us horrible and degraded scenes of the real life in war and he adds emphasis using allitterations: of the b in the first line Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, of the kn in the second, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, of the m in the fifth, Men marched asleep. Many had lost their bootsof the b again in the sixth of the d But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; In the second stanza he describes us a specific episode, the dead by gas, using another experimental tool, the direct speech, to add phatos. -Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – He uses even the I-figure in the 14th line, because he feels one of the soldiers. The third stanza, where he describes the death of a soldier, is the shortest, but three words are enough to...
Words: 348 - Pages: 2
...Dulce et Decorum Est: Lines 1-8: “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks; Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge” The soldiers in this poem are crippled, mentally and physically overcome by the weight of their experiences in war. There is simile upon simile before we are acquainted with the subjects of this poem. We hear that they’re “like old beggars” and “like hags”. The speaker’s searching for images that the reader can understand, as if he’s convinced that none of his readers will be able to understand how horribly twisted and deformed the bodies of the soldiers have become. “Haunting flares” is associated with a good, warm light but in fact the light is haunting. There is an oh-so-subtle irony in the reference to the soldiers’ “distant rest”. He could be talking about the barracks to which we guess that they’re headed. The “distant rest” to which our soldiers are heading may just be death. Lines 1-4 is a complex sentence. Lines 5-8 underline the horror of the men walking as if they were dead (out of exhaustion). By ending a sentence in the middle of line five, Owen creates a caesura, a formal effect that underscores the tenderness of the poem’s language at this point. Words like “lost” and “limped” and “blood” all roll on our tongues, making the experience of reading the lines even longer and emphasises the alliteration of the letter ‘l’. The blood that has been shed seems to clothe the soldiers now (or at least their feet). This creates...
Words: 772 - Pages: 4
...A poem “Dulce et Decorum est” by Wilfred Owen conveys the horrors of war and uncovers the hidden truths of the past century. The poet’s ability to create effective imagery; his usage of expressive language and poetic techniques and the poem leaves a reader to experience feelings such as pity and guilt. I consider Wilfred Owen a good poet from the very start as he shows ability to captivate the reader into his story by applying and engaging heading. Dulce et Decorum est reveals the hidden truths of the past century’s war, by uncovering the cruelties the soldiers were left to face. The poem is authentic as Wilfred Owen was ‘there’ to experience the atrocities of the First World War. The poem begins with a glimpse at the soldiers’ living conditions and their lifestyle, which provided them with untimely age. The poet then describes a dreadful gas attack that follows along with its horrid outcomes. The poem resumes eventually, the poet confirms the present propaganda to be “the old Lie” – as the glory of war is a myth. Reading this poem, made me realize my own luck and circumstance: I have been fortunate to avoid the Wars and brutalities that were brought on by World War One. The appalling conditions the soldiers were left to face made me appreciate that my own life has not been disturbed. I am devastated by the fact that even today, many innocent people are exposed to such horrors. The poem is started unexpectedly: in the middle of action as if halfway through an incomplete...
Words: 1821 - Pages: 8
...soldiers returned, they would most likely come back both physically and mentally crippled. Wilfred Owen, a soldier and poet, understood the detrimental effects combat had on the soldiers, and tried to change the population’s misleading ideas on war. This was done through the wartime poetry he wrote, including the poem Dulce et Decorum est. Through the use of imagery and diction, Wilfred Owen alters society’s previous beliefs on war and displays the cruel and gruesome reality of living and fighting as a soldier. Owen utilizes imagery in order to describe the horrors of war by explaining the pitiful state of the soldiers. He writes, “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,/ Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge…” (Owen 1-2). This sentence allows the audience to visualize the...
Words: 798 - Pages: 4
...Poem Analysis In the poem “ Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen illustrated many form of suffering that could be found World War I. It is easily understood since, World War I involved a tragic war situation and the poem also has a very exclusive sound to it. A lot of supreme use of imagery, metaphors, and diction, he clearly shows that war is terrible and horrific. The poem takes place on a cold day outside. The poem is telling you about the hard ships that the soldiers went through. The poet is displaying the pain into the readers face. The pain of this piece is the main ingredient. This is something that poet saw and experienced which created serious atmosphere for the poem. The truth involved in it is what makes the poem so powerful. It is written truthfully and from the heart using numerous metaphors and similes as well as other poetical delivery and methods. The tone of the poem seems to be very agile and harsh. A metaphor is the comparison of two unlike things (Oed). The first metaphor can be found in the first line, "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks"(line 1). Beggars on the street that slouch under sacks are usually curled up and are bent or crooked. This metaphor is comparing the soldier to the beggars and reveals that the soldiers are two times as crooked and bent as the beggars because they are really tired. The next metaphor is "coughing like hags"(line 2)....
Words: 803 - Pages: 4
...In the poem “Dulce et Decorum est,” the author Wilfred Owen describes how war is hell. Men are pushed savagely across wildernesses to battle against their greatest fears. During the progressive era of World War I the use of barbaric tools of destruction were used in the midst of the war. Chemical Warfare was introduced and new mechanical demands were developed to destroy men’s hopes of freedom. Men feared each other because of the deeds they would perform to survive. Wilfred Owen transmits in words the emotions that men felt as death rained down upon them. Through Wilfred Owen’s poem, “Dulce et Decorum est,” he argues that men’s ethics had to be destroyed because of the will to conquer and survive, he portrays the logic behind a soldiers’ minds...
Words: 1205 - Pages: 5
...War Sucks the Life out of You Some may think war is honorable and full of glory, but those are the ones who have not seen the grim, graphic violence of their friends dying right in front of them, the ones who have not seen the lonely outcast faces of their follow soldiers while they march along the road, or had the constant stress of keeping a sharp eye out for the enemy. War is never sweet, clean, cheerful, or fine, it’s mostly horrific for the ones who have endured it, which is the capturing theme in the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen. Wilfred Owen stresses this theme by use of a few literary terms such as imagery, many similes, and personification. Scattered throughout the poem, always was imagery; Wilfred frightened and terrified readers with the constant sicking sounds and violent flashes of words imposing graphic images in the reader’s head. While reading, the reader would endure the haunting reflections of World War I from a soldier. Wilfred paints an image in this line; “He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.” (16). When he shows the movement of plunging and the noises...
Words: 709 - Pages: 3
...Analysis and comparison of WW1 poems Frederik Jensen 2.a Comparing the two poems “Dulce et Decorum Est” (1920), by wilfred Owen, and “Who’s for the game?” (1916), by Jessie Pope, is definitely an interesting task. They both share the same subject, World War 1, but offer different purposes and perspectives. The contrast between the two poems is actually quite phenomenal. The two poets were both motivated by the Great War to write poems, because they both had a message that they felt like they needed to deliver, but they used different methods in order successfully carry out their messages. The English poet and soldier, Wilfred Owen, uses rhythmic patterns and grim language to describe the realities of life in war, whereas the journalist, Jessie Pope, gave potential soldiers a more patriotic, emotional, yet misleading image of war. Wilfred Owens poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” is an incredibly powerful poem, with shocking and grim imagery. Formally, the poem is a combination of two sonnets, but the spacing between the two is irregular. The poem also makes use of cross rhyme, which carries out through most of the poem. In the first stanza Owens gives tells the story in first person, giving us an insight in the “soldier experience” during this war. “Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, but limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind” this indicates that the horrors of war became so frequent, so normal that all men went “blind” to them. It was an experience that...
Words: 818 - Pages: 4
...There are many terrible things that war can have within it or do to those involved within it, one of the most terrifying things that have happened is the use of chemical weapons, there are many works of literature that tell of how deadly they are, especially war writings. One such writing is a poem named “Dulce et Decorum Est”, which was written by a man named Wilfred Owen, who had first hand experience with chemical warfare. It was through the harm and fear that it caused the soldiers in the trenches that sparked many debates over what was acceptable to do during war times. The soldiers were the ones in the trenches constantly fearing what horrible thing would be shot at them next. It was as well the realization of what receiving the promise...
Words: 996 - Pages: 4
...Explication of “Dulce et Decorum Est” By: Wilfred Owen Dulce et Decorum Est is a poem written by Wilfred Owen that uses powerful imagery to express an important message. A message that war is not glorious and noble and should not be portrayed this way. The speaker is a soldier in the army who describes the true horrors of the war and how young men believed it was an honor to die for your country. The poem is written in a simple regular rhyme scheme. Owen uses graphic imagery to show what the war was like. The similes and metaphors he uses give you a clear picture to describe the ugliness of the war. The tone is very harsh and he speaks very direct. He uses words that will shock you and leave you with a sick feeling. In the first stanza, the first two lines of the poem are, “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks/Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge”. This represents the men bent over carrying their belongings through the mud. They are being compared to as old beggars & hags, (miserable ugly old women). However, these men were young. In the third and forth lines, “Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs/And towards our distant rest began to trudge”, represents the tired soldiers heading back to camp. In the fifth and six lines, “Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots/But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;” this shows how tired the men were as if they were marching in their sleep. Many have lost their boots and...
Words: 857 - Pages: 4
...Jeff Liao English 1 H 2 September 2011 Dulce et Decorum Est The poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” let readers visualize the scenes of war, it shows how painful and frighten is to die for your own country. Owen used lots of strong and ugly word like “yelling, stumbling, choking, drowning…etc.” to let the reader illustrate how vile and inhumane it actually is. Owen use “Dulce et Decorum Est” as a title, it is a Latin phrase which means “it is sweet and honorable to die for your country”. It give readers a false sense of the poem, it makes them think that this poem is definitely about a heroic guy did something great in the war, like sacrifice himself for the country. At the end, Owen continues his poem by ending that the title is a lie. In this poem, the speaker describe the scenes in the battlefield, he want the readers to image it. The poem start off with a simile “like old beggars under sacks”, which compare men to beggars. There are tons of imagery in hear, like “From gargling blood to cancer-like sores, we've got it all’, describe that soldier's body breaks down completely. There aren’t too many allusions here, but there is a good one, in line 20 “devil” is always about bad stuff. The poem is rhyme in (ababcdcdefef). In stanza1, the speaker describes that the soldiers are like old beggars, crawling over dead bodies on the ground, tries to get through enemies defense. Until almost the end for the day, the soldiers turn away from the lights and noise, and head back to where...
Words: 661 - Pages: 3
...1. Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, The reader is introduced to the horror of war in the first lines of the poem as Owen depicts the poor physical condition of the men.They are facing huge challenges and that they were not the men that they were at first because they were young men who were highly motivated. We cursed through sludge suggests to us how the soldier are off to war this shows that they are cursed and the word sludge suggests to us that they are off to fight in horrendous conditions. Additionally, at the end it shows us that rather being glories young men they turn into this horrible creature because they are being described as old beggars and hags and it shows that they are old before their time and they have got no control over their lives. They can’t walk properly and this tells us that they are very weak because it clearly shows that they are not prepared for it and that they were just brainwashed to go to war to fight for their country which was sweet and glory. Moreover, the soldiers are coughing like an old sick ugly women and this clearly defines how they are feeling and are compared to weak and old. This simile demonstrates how dirty and unhealthy the soldiers appear. The comparison to ‘old beggars’ Coughing like hags is a simile and they are compared to these old ugly women...
Words: 2417 - Pages: 10
...A Must Have: Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” Dear Mr. Kennedy, I recently learned that you are getting ready to start your preparations for the next edition of An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. There will have to be many tough decisions made on selections of literature that should be in the next edition. I would like to offer you a suggestion on a piece that I find very interesting and should be used in the next edition. That is a poem by Wilfred Owen “Dulce et Decorum Est.” I consider myself to be a bit of a war buff, and this poem gives you the feeling that you are there in the trenches with the men. Wilfred Owen is able to give you a first person point of view of war through his poem. Owen uses great visual imagery on what life is like during trench warfare to help you feel like you are there beside him during the horrors of war. I beg of you to include Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” in the next edition! Throughout the poem Owen uses visual imagery to get his message of the horrors of war through. In An Introduction, to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing you define visual imagery as “Often this experience is a sight . . .” (751). When reading “Dulce et Decorum Est” Owen gives the ability to visualize what is going on constantly throughout the poem. Owen is able to use visual imagery to show you the shape the men are in during the battle and what chaos goes on during a gas attack. Owen also uses visual imagery about the nightmares he deals with after...
Words: 827 - Pages: 4
...great literary work, becoming an influential poet and providing some of the best war poems to the masses. Wilfred Owens style plays an instrumental part in what makes him a great poet. The most accurate way I can describe Owen’s writing is that he lends you his senses and allows the moment to speak for itself. He lets the factual account he paints in vivid imagery to evoke the response he intends from his audience. Dulce et Decorum est, one of his widely known poems, details the death of a fellow soldier at the hands of chemical warfare. The vivid detail he gives is written poetically describing the drowning of this soldier in the sea of mustard gas. It's imagery that needs no explanation and Owens knows that. He offers only his eyes and ears, giving the readers the facts of the situation. This allows the raw emotions of the moment to speak for themselves leaving the reader with an untainted version of the event. Another example of his choice to let the war speak for itself is when describing the conditions in the first stanza of Dulce et Decorum Est. “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs, And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.” He gives imagery of the horrible...
Words: 1086 - Pages: 5
...I have chosen this text type, because it gives reasons why Wilfred Owen had a strong opinion on the first world war. My purpose of this text is to show the connections of Wilfred Owen's life to his poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’. I am going to communicate my ideas in this text by analysing Owen's life and his poem supporting my ideas with evidence out of Owen's poetry. I intend to engage my audience by showing them what the purpose of Owen's poetry was. Wilfred Owen does have a strong opinion on the topic World War One as he has experienced the war situation as a soldier in front row. His personal war experience had a big influence on his style, language and also the topics of his poetry. His past as a soldier in front row makes his writing style more...
Words: 571 - Pages: 3
