...Why is imagery so important in Wilfred Owen’s poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’? The Imagery used in Wilfred Owen’s ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ is a very important part of the poem; it is a very powerful tool when used correctly, and in Wilfred’s case he uses imagery very well to convey his point. The poem is about a soldiers experiences in the trenches at the Somme during World War One; what the soldiers had to deal with and how it affected them. When you read the poem you get a feeling of the harsh realities of war and what they endured from a currently serving soldier’s point of view. You also get a feeling of his thought on the Latin quote ‘Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori’ (Horace.Odes.3.2), which roughly translates to ‘It is sweet and right to die for your country’, and how opposed he is to the lure of the quote, used to recruit young men into the army. Firstly I will examine and look at what imagery is and why it is used. Once we understand this I will examine how Wilfred Own used imagery in this poem and to what extent. I will look at what the poem is about and what message the writer is trying to get across to the reader, and what use of literary devices are used to help in this. By understanding why and how Wilfred used imagery we will be able to better understand the importance of it in his work. Imagery is important to any poet or writer; imagery is what you see in your mind when you are reading. Imagery to the writer is as colour would be to a painter, it is used to give...
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...of soldiers in the war. World War One is known as “the war to end all wars”[1]. The war cultured “extreme suffering” which inspired many writers. The war also aided the advancement of attitudes towards the emotionality of men. Individual suffering is manipulated to intensify the pain by isolating singular characters. Sacrifices of the men force the reader into an uncomfortable atmosphere. Sebastian Faulks’ Bildungsroman Birdsong highlights the suffering of individual to understate that of the masses. Regeneration, written by Pat Barker in 1991, uses factual occurrences of Sassoon and Owen’s lives in Craiglockhart to detail historic experiences of suffering. The poetry features both pro and anti-war perspectives from historical figures featured within Regeneration. Birdsong emotively persuades readers that individual anguish has detrimental effects on soldier’s lives intensifying their suffering. The texts use third person narrative to create emotive circumstances which manipulate the reader into understanding the suffering as either mass or individual. The writers’ portrayal of individual suffering was the most poignant compared to the subversion of widespread suffering. The texts expose the stigmatization of physical disability as a cause of individual suffering. Historically, the dependence of disabled life reflects the burden faced by soldiers of returning to normality. Wilfred Owen’s poem Disabled explores the first-hand impacts and consequences of war, coupled with the persistent...
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...desensitized and detached to war. Indeed, even horrible experiences of soldiers and survivors become desensitized and the bitter reality becomes like a normal fiction for individuals. For People, being bombarded with information about war doesn’t necessary increases the sympathy and empathy towards it. As a matter of fact, it seems to be that war has become norm, desensitized and inevitable for our nation. From my point of view, war poetry can significantly help readers visualize the conditions and emphasize with the soldiers’ experiences of war. The content, message...
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...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...
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...In this anthology, The War Poems, Wilfred Owen, serves to convey the brutality meaninglessness, destruction and unnecessary loss of life that occurred as a consequence of war; his protest of such horrors is raw and violent. In particular, Owen uses several of his poems as a tribute to the innocent young soldiers who endured disquieting circumstances to suffer the complete suffocation of their mental and physical spirit; that is, they were reduced to a disheartening morbid state. Through the study of both ‘Anthem For Doomed Youth’ and ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est.’ Nonetheless, not all of Owen’s poems focus on the circumstance of soldiers some of his poems condemn those who send the young to war, providing them with “the old lie” that it is honorable to die for one’s country. Ultimately, Owen conveys his admiration of the sacrifice to engage in war, and shows how even ordinary people experience extraordinary circumstances. War’s relentless horror is exposed as Owen’s critical truth in ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est.’ structural manipulation, enhanced through poetic voice, allows Owen to graphically capture the horrific experience of a gas attack and its physical and psychological impact on the ordinary soldier. The appearance of traditional lyrics in full rhyme ‘sacks/backs … sludge/trudge’ is effectively destabilized by varied length, extinguishing conventional iambic pentameter just as traditional form and notions of war as noble and heroic became obsolete in 20th century modern warfare....
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...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...
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...Wilfred Owen Task 1: The Next War The author portrays Death as a personified character who does not cause the soldiers fear or grief. Although death has come in many forms the soldier has accepted that it is everywhere and has become unaffected by it. This is emphasised in the epigraph in the first stanza and further supported in the first line of the second stanza “we’ve walked quite friendly up to Death, sat down and eaten with him, cool and bland”. This highlights the soldier’s acceptance of death and war and how they relate. The soldier has ‘leagued with him’ and so the soldiers laugh as they have killed just like Death has. Anthem for Doomed Youth This poem draws an analogy between the death of the soldiers and a traditional funeral. It is ironically titled an ‘anthem’ which is usually praiseful or celebratory. The author makes a direct comparison between the ‘choirs’ and the wailing of Shells, and prayers to the rapid sounds of machine guns and rifles. The opening line the soldiers are referred to as cattle, which emphasize how insignificant each live is in the war scene. There are no prayers or choirs mourning for the soldiers who are slaughtered on the battlefield. It is only in the last few lines that the author portrays the silent grieving of the families and loved ones at home. The mood of the poem changes as the author then contrasts the emotion felt back home compared to the ‘cattle’ like death of the soldiers who are around other men whose death...
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...English Homework World War 1 started on 28th July 1914 and ended on 11th November 1918. The war involved many different countries, below is a list of the countries who were involved at some point in fighting, and why they joined the fight: * Austria-Hungary – They initiated World War 1 by declaring war on Serbia. * Belgium – Stayed neutral at first, but joined to offer resistance against German invasion. * Brazil – The only Latin American country to participate. * British Empire – Joined to protect Belgium from invasion. * Bulgaria – Joined to regain land lost in the Serbian war. * China – Wanted recognition from the allies, but didn’t get any. * France and Colonies – In alliance with Russia, due to losing a war to Germany in 1870. * German Empire – In alliance with Austria-Hungary, who initiated the war. * Greece – Were forced by Britain and France. * Italy – In alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. * Japan – To gain recognition and help Britain. * Liberia – To fight against Germany. * Montenegro – To fight the invasion of Serbia. * Ottoman Empire – Wanted their lands back lost in previous wars. * Portugal – Allied with Britain. * Romania – Wanted Transylvania from Austria-Hungary and got it by the end of the war. * Russia – Joined to help Serbia after being invaded. * Serbia – Killed Austria-Hungarian Arch-duke Ferdinand and started the war. * United States of America – Joined due to the sinking...
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...l Wilfred Owens poetry Essay How are Wilfred Owen’s main themes and concerns conveyed through his poetry? Refer to two poems to support your response. Wilfred Owen was a soldier who wrote poems to raise awareness of the reality of war into the public consciousness. Having experienced the harsh impacts of war in first person Wilfred wished to create a negative perception of war “my subject is war and the pity of war”, “the poetry is the pity”. His purpose was to inform, awaken & enlighten the audience about the brutality of war. The focus about the horror of death in war is continued in Owen’s poem “Anthem for Doomed Youth” but it is in a more somber tone, and he shows us a sadder more pitiful image of death in the trenches, compared to Dulce ET Decorum Est.’s pure fury. Anthem for Doomed youth is a sonnet, structured into an octave and a sestet. This divides the poem into its core themes. The first stanza shows a tone of misery & horror which then shifts into a tone of compassion and sympathy in the second stanza. This tonal shift also highlights the different contexts of funerals, one at battle, with no grieving or rituals and one at home, with mourning and respect. Anthem for doomed youth is a poem that attempts to recreate the dehumanizing, wasteful deaths of war in an attempt to shock the audience. Owen explores the reactions of those at home and has genuine sympathy for their grief and helplessness. The lost...
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...Why is imagery so important in Wilfred Owen’s Poem? The statement Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori, means “it is good and fitting to die for one’s country”. Wilfred Owen is arguing against this statement through his poem. Imagery is important for this because it helps portray to the reader or “the friend” the horror of war. The soldiers of the poem are described as “boys” not men, they are not described as heroic, they instead are described as “bent double, like old beggars under sacks”, and as ill, “knock kneed, coughing, marching asleep”. Normally soldiers are displayed as inspirational, as strong, Wilfred’s imagery goes against this. He uses metaphor to convey this using “drunk with fatigue”, invoking a strong image of them exhausted and weak. When the gas actually comes the soldiers do not react with training, but instead are described as fumbling, and just putting their helmets on just in time. The earlier imagery of exhausted and overworked soldiers shows how they are not prepared for the gas, or any danger of war, therefore they are likely to die. This again highlights that they are they’re not the soldiers that the Latin phrase refers to, strong and heading to worthy deaths, they are weak, and ill prepared for death, and their health is not valued, they are there to fight and die. The use of gas instead of conventional or seen enemies, shows the reader the faceless nature or mechanism of death in war. Death can come from anywhere, and it does in the poem, when the...
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...“Dulce et Decorum Est” present Wilfred Owen’s thoughts and feelings towards the war? Wilfred Owen was born in Oswestry on 18th March 1893. After school, he became a teaching assistant and in 1913 went to France for two years to work as a language tutor. In 1915 he returned to England to enlist in the army and was commissioned into the Manchester Regiment. After spending the remainder of the year training in England, he left for the western front early in January 1917. He was diagnosed with shellshock after experiencing heavy fighting and was evacuated to England to recover at Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh in June. Anthem for Doomed Youth and Dulce et Decorum est were written in 1917, during Owen’s time at Craiglockhart. Here, he was able to write some of his best work. He also met the poet Siegfried Sassoon here, who was already a well-established poet. Sassoon agreed to look over Owen's poems, gave him encouragement and introduced him to literary figures such as Robert Graves. Owen conveys his feelings towards the war through the many poems he wrote, especially while being treated at Craiglockhart. His poems give the reader a sense of what it was like to be a militant during conflict. His poetry is characterised by powerful descriptions of the conditions faced by soldiers in the trenches. His poems are sometimes violent and realistic, challenging earlier poetry which communicated a pro-war message. His first-hand experience of war is one reason why there was such...
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...Wilfred Owen, like many other men, joined the war mainly because he was persuaded by this everlasting façade of war. Owen felt he was targeted by the propaganda of the media and the government to be enlisted into the army. The patriotic soldiers, like Owen, had been told that they would be home by Christmas; that war would be like an adventure- a passage to becoming a well-known, respected hero. Owen had his youth taken away from him, leaving only the bitterness of the war and the memories of home behind. Owen was one of the most well-known anti-war poets, unfortunately he died a week before the Great War had ended and his poetry had never been published until after his death. Owen’s poetry challenged the earlier poetry where poets would only write about the glory of fighting for one’s country. This patriotic view was deeply permeated into previous British literary heritage. Owen’s view would have been seen as controversial and due to censorship, his opinions would be very much suppressed. It was a tragedy that he was unable to find closure or recognition in his lifetime. However, after a century, Owens’ poetry lives on as a constant reminder of the sacrifice given by millions of soldiers and the true reality and horrors faced by the soldiers. Perhaps, through his poetry Owen was able to express his feelings of isolation and lack of belonging at war. His constant references to life at home convey his emotions of the need for safety and a sense of belonging and how these can only...
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...Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke both share the similar themes within their poems, which are war and death. Although there is unconformity within their views due to their backgrounds and experiences. Brooke was very idealistic, which makes sense when he never actually got to fight in the war as he died shortly before where as Owen went through the genuine experience. Two poems that highlight these two contrasts are ‘The Solider’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum est’. In ‘The Solider’, Rupert Brooke illustrates how a soldier is reflecting on the possible death going away to war may bring. Although from his opinion his death if so was to happen shouldn’t be mourned and his death will be a tribute to his England. When compared to Wilfred Owen’s ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ the views are far from similar. Brooke states dying for your country is honourable where as Owen interprets dying for your country is not all glory and honour and more pain and suffering. Both poets desire different forms to present their poems. ‘The Solider’ is a sonnet which suits Brookes type of poems as he romantises the theme of war ‘The Solider’ is very much as well a love poem to his idealized England. Where as Owen opts for the more simple 8. 8. 11, Owen doesn’t seem to have a solid form as Brookes does. They both share the rhyming pattern of ABABCDCD which allow their poems to flow and create rhythm. The structure ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ can be broken down into three parts, an outsiders description and recollection...
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...Describe at least one important technique used in EACH test. Explain why this technique was important in each text. In the poem Anthem for Doomed Youth, by Wilfred Owen, various language techniques are used, these are important because they help portray the writers key themes. The poem is in the form of a sonnet, it is split between two parts. In both stanzas, Owen focuses on two key themes. The first theme is the horror of war and the terrible conditions facing the soldiers, in contrast, the second theme is the meaningless and lack of religion in response to such horror as seen during the war. Owen uses extremely strong and powerful imagery throughout his poem. In the very first line he asks, ‘What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?’, the connotation implies that in war, millions die with the same significance as cattle which justifies the lack of sounding from the bells. The manner of their deaths is being compared to the mass slaughter of the animals. Owen in appalled by the inhumane deaths these young men experienced. He feels as if they are nameless and faceless - losing their identities in the chaos of war. The use of this simile is important because it helps Owen to create a sense of what is recognized as the helplessness and inhumane treatment the soldiers received. In the second line of his poem he uses personification. Owen describes the ‘monstrous anger of the guns’, giving the guns a powerful, negative connotation. By doing so, the anger is misplaced...
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...society for their bravery. While this is positive because they courageously risk their lives to protect others, the trauma soldiers face is rarely addressed. Often the stories one is told will not be used to incite fear, but to encourage a person to enlist, similar to the many others soldiers who have patriotically fought before them. In Luigi Pirandello’s War and Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est, they criticize society’s use of patriotism as a means to manipulate people into suffering in service of their country. The author’s take different approaches to conveying this message, resulting in the texts having different tones. Patriotism as a rationale may convince a person to do something, but it is not enough...
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