Analysis Of Dulce Et Decorum Est By Wilfred Owen

The writers of the poems “War is Kind” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” use not only imagery, but irony in their works. Specifically, in “War is Kind”, Stephen Crane states in stanza two, “Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.” From this quote one can note the use of irony in the piece. Crane is comparing a soldier to a battle-god to display how people perceive war from the outside. One would not expect the kingdom of a battle-god to be a field filled with corpses. He uses these contrasting images to reveal to readers that war is not what is perceived by the general public. Many believed that war was glorious, but he uses this line to show the truth about war and what he experienced by incorporating the irony of the perception and reality of war. Wilfred Owen also uses irony in his poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” when he says that “someone still was yelling out and stumbling, and flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.” The title of this poem is “Dulce et decorum est”, meaning “It is sweet and right”. The title is contradicting to the horrific events that are demonstrated throughout the poem. He uses the poem to oppose the opinion that it was sweet and right to die for your country. The man in the poem did not die a glorious death that many believed the men serving in war

This technique serves to emphasize the solemn and serious content. In stanza one, Owen describes the soldiers as they set off towards the army base from the front line. The simile "Bent double, like old beggars"(1) not only says that they are tired, but that they are so tired they have been brought down to the level of beggars who have not slept in a bed for weeks on end. Also, the simile "coughing like hags"(2) helps to depict the soldiers? poor health and depressed state of mind. Owen makes us picture the soldiers as ill, disturbed and utterly exhausted. He shows that this is not the government-projected stereotype of a soldier, in gleaming boots and crisp new uniform, but is the true illustration of the poor mental and physical state of the soldiers. By telling us that many of the platoon are barefoot, Owen gives us an idea of how awful the soldiers? journey already is; it then gets even worse. Owen tells us that the soldiers, although they must have been trained, still do not notice the deadly mustard gas shells being fired at them from behind; such is the extent of their exhaustion.

Wilfred Owen’s poetry effectively conveys his perspectives on human conflict through his experiences during The Great War. Poems such as ‘Futility’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ portray these perceptions through the use of poetic techniques, emphasising such conflicts involving himself, other people and nature. These themes are examined in extreme detail, attempting to shape meaning in relation to Owen’s first-hand encounters whilst fighting on the battlefield.

Wilfred Owen's poem, "Dulce et Decorum Est", uses striking and vivid imagery to convey the horror of gas warfare during World War I. Owen opens the poem with a description of soldiers retreating from battlefield. These men are exhausted as they "marched asleep." (line 6) The agonizing physical state soldiers lived through is grusesome and detailedly depicted by Owen. He explains how they "bent double like old beggars inder sacks/Knock-kneed, coughing like hags" (lines 1-2). Soon, "Gas! GAS!" (line 9) is shouted and the men go into an "ecstasy of fumbling" (line 9) to secure their masks against the green poison trying to invade their lungs. This new chemical warfare introduced in World War I was a deadly enemy that many were not prepared for.

During his recount of a gas attack, Owen uses similes to help convey the desperation he and his comrades faced during World War I. In fact, in his

With the opening stanza, Owen starts off with a simile in line one, “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”. The poet is trying to stem away from the ideal that people believe soldiers are suppose be fresh, strong, and healthy because of how propaganda influenced them to think that way. Through the use of the first line, he shows the true, harsh reality by presenting the boys as filthy beggars and not the strong willed and handsome men they were thought to be. Another simile used to show the harsh reality of World War 1 is, “coughing like hags”, as it “indicates a state of severe fatigue and serious illness” (Benson 43) that the men suffered through in the trench warfare. Finally, Owen uses the simile, “Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud”, to help allude to the “vileness of a disease

In the first stanza, Owen describes a regiment marching through sludge, something not unusual for soldiers at the time. In the second stanza, however, he introduces a new threat, mustard gas. The speaker exclaims: “Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!” (Owen L9). As most of the soldiers are putting on their gas masks, one fails to do so. The speaker is left watching the man struggle: “flound’ring like a man in fire or lime…guttering, choking, drowning.” (Owen L12-16). After watching his fellow soldier succumb to the hellish effects of the gas, the speaker could not erase the images from his memory. In the last stanza, he chastised the people at home who romanticize war and challenged them to think about how admirable it is to watch a man die: “the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin” (Owen L19-20).

Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” makes the reader acutely aware of the impact of war. The speaker’s experiences with war are vivid and terrible. Through the themes of the poem, his language choices, and contrasting the pleasant title preceding the disturbing content of the poem, he brings attention to his views on war while during the midst of one himself. Owen uses symbolism in form and language to illustrate the horrors the speaker and his comrades go through; and the way he describes the soldiers, as though they are distorted and damaged, parallels how the speaker’s mind is violated and haunted by war.

As an anti-war poet, Wilfred Owen uses his literary skills to express his perspective on human conflict and the wastage involved with war, the horrors of war, and its negative effects and outcomes. As a young man involved in the war himself, Owen obtained personal objectivity of the dehumanisation of young people during the war, as well as the false glorification that the world has been influenced to deliver to them. These very ideas can be seen in poems such as 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' and 'Dulce ET Decorum EST Pro Patria Mori'. Owen uses a variety of literary techniques to convey his ideas.

“Dulce et Decorum Est” Owen uses a lot of powerful imagery in this poem. He conveys his thoughts through the use of descriptive language techniques such as: metaphors, alliteration and similes. Metaphors are used to. Alliteration makes the reader remember certain phrases, “Knock kneed”, “men marched” and “GAS! GAS!” these are all examples of alliteration and Owen is trying to hammer in the point. Imagine

<br>Owen uses simile to explain better the situation faced by the men. Simile is often used by poets and is used mainly for description in Dulce Et Decorum Est. The poet provides us with these similes as he has simplified them to a state in which we would understand them. An example of this would be: "flound'ring like a man in fire or lime…" this example makes us aware of the movement which this soldier would use during the gas attack "flound'ring". Another implication this simile has is that the soldier would not be in control of the situation as if a man was on fire he would not be able to put it out simply and this would be similar with the soldier used in the example as this would be an unusually helpless situation for him to be in. Owen does not use simile as much as the previous kinds of imagery.

In Dulce et Decorum Est… Wilfred Owen informs the reader of the physical and emotional torment soldiers go through during and after war. In the opening verse Owen describes the soldiers physical health as they sluggishly make their way through the muddy terrain. Owen makes effective use of similes in lines 1 and 2.

Wilfred Owen exhibits the intense fear of warfare through “Dulce Et Decorum Est”. Owen wakens the memories of the passing of one of his allies. He had succumbed to the excruciating pain of sulfur gas right before Owen’s eyes, leaving him traumatized. “Dulce Et Decorum Est” is an allegory for bound, ill-fated camaraderie. Through the use of oxymora, imagery, and allusion, Owen is able demonstrate core-shaking loss.

The metaphors “the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs” and “vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues” have the same effect as the similes through their unpleasant words; they are there to shock you, and they are so haunting that they amplify the effect of the satirical ending “Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori.”, which means ‘it is sweet and fitting to die for your country’. Owen presents society negatively through this poem because in the poem we see that adults are lying to young men in order to get them to go to war, for example by using the saying “Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori”. By showing us how gruesome the war is, and then by explaining to us that the adults are telling children that it is sweet and fitting to die for your country, Owen is trying to show how society is almost tricking teenagers into wanting to go fight in the war. This obviously presents a negative view on society, but it serves Owen’s purpose of wanting to show the pity of war.

Wilfred Owen is a poet whose journey through life has molded him into a character of testimony and reality. From the early days of his childhood to his experiences in war, Owen has evolved into a poet who provides his altruistic view on life. His use of diction that emphasizes his theme of appearance/and or fate vs reality and the imagery that describes each scene with clarity and connection of Owen’s spirit to his experiences in war, provides not only a peek into his life but his views on what he saw and what makes him unique.