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Analysis Of Wilfred Owen 's Poem ' Dulce Est Decorum Est

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Wilfred Owen 's work has a recognisable purpose of portraying the destructive capacity of war, and its ultimate futility. Owen himself identified, as a soldier and his career, as a war poet were his ability to communicate his purpose successfully to the reader through his writing style, technique and use of vivid visual imagery in his poetry. The ideas of loss and betrayal are the main focus of Owen’s poetry by using of many poetic techniques. In Owen’s poem Dulce Est Decorum Est (Dulce) he describes these vivid images of soldiers who suffered from poisonous gas and shell shock. Whereas, in Futility he exposes the fact that many soldiers were sacrificed for the pointlessness of the war. Lastly, the poem Disabled conveys the aftermath of the war and how the destruction of the war had changed the lives of soldiers. Hence, Owen’s ideas of war are a powerful human conflict in order for the whole world to know how worthless fighting in a war is, and world needs peace.

The titles of Owen’s poems highlight the historical and political context of the war. The title Dulce inaugurates the notion of war being “sweet and honorable”. However, through the repetition of the title as a closing statement, the composer highlights the façade of war and its delicious nature. Owen reveals that war, in actuality is about death and sacrifice. The description of the soldier drowning in the blood of his “froth corrupted lungs” “coughing like hags” certainly negates this, the simile and negative

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