Dulce Et Decorum Est Similes

Owen uses horrid and unpleasant forms of imagery to make the reader realise the reality of war. Instantly from the opening lines, Owen makes an impact on the reader’s impressions about war. “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock Kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge”. Such phrases convey hardship, pitiful conditions and anguish of war. They are supported by detailed visual descriptions such as, “limped on, blood shod”, “floundering like a man on fire or lime”, “guttering, choking, drowning”, “white yes writhing” and “come gargling from the froth corrupted lungs”. These images are striking and appealing to the reader. They illustrate an intolerable and unpleasant scene, additionally exposing the lies of propaganda poster images.

Throughout the poem, Owen makes clear two major tones. Anger and Disgust. To establish this point, the poet says “ Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge” (lines 2 & 3). This reveals how the poet was angry about being in the war because he wasn’t experiencing the romanticism of war he was experiencing suffering of fighting. An additional example is when Owen adds “ But limped on, blood shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots” (lines 6-8). These lines imply Owen’s disgusted tone towards the war because the soldiers were worked to death. However the title has a completely different tone. The translated title states “ It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.” This is a huge contrast to the rest of the poem because all the poet describes is the horror of being in the war, when the title puts a glorified image in your mind that serving is heroic and honorable. For instance, Owen states “ My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, the old Lie: Dulce et decorum

In Dulce, Owen depicts horror as the arduous physical and mental damage the soldiers experienced. The simile, “bent double like old beggars”compares the presumably young men to old and weak

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 his poem "Dulce et Decorum Est," Owen emphasizes the reality and brutality of actual warfare through his use of disturbing connotation and vivid imagery. Wilfred Owen was born in Oswestry,

“Picturing "old beggars under sacks", tell us these men are battle weary, but also gives us a hint that they are scared of what is ahead for them” (Hughes). This critic’s quote shows that Owen used a lot of vivid imagery to portray the soldiers struggles. Owen shares his experience watching one of the other soldiers die. “There was a “thick green light” giving the image of the man drowning in a “green sea,”. Watching this man “[plunging] at me, guttering, choking, drowning,” (Smith).

‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ is another of Wilfred Owen’s poems that conveys inner human conflict, in terms of past doings in World War I. The poem was written in 1917 at Craiglockhart (Owen’s first battle after his rehabilitation due to ‘shellshock’). It portrays an inner change in his approach to war and it’s gruesome environment:

The phrase, “Dulce et decorum est, Pro patria mori,” is the last two lines of Wilfred Owen’s poem, “Dulce Et Decorum Est,” (Line 27-28). That line translates to, “it is sweet and honorable to die for one’s country” (Winkler 177). “The old lie” is the description given of “Dulce et decorum est, Pro patria mori” (Line 27-28). These two lines give the insight needed to understand the poem.

Striking imagery is used by Owen throughout every stanza of this poem, for example, "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge." The graphic descriptions and similes force the reader

Owen’s poem starts with two similes in lines 1-2, “bent double, like old beggars” and coughing like hags.” The soldiers are compared to old beggars who are unable to stand up straight due to their fatigue (bent double,

Owen’s poem, Dulce et Decorum Est, describes his experience as a soldier on the front line of World War I and gives his account of the horrors of chemical warfare and the deaths of his comrades providing a historically accurate portrayal of the details of war in the trenches. Owen’s image of the soldiers reflects the historical testimonies of soldiers’ living conditions in World War I. In the first stanza of his poem, Owen

In the beginning of the poem “Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen tells readers that war is a wonderful sacrifice for one's country. The title of the poem is a Latin phrase used during war, particularly in England. It suggests that the war was to be glorified because the meaning of the phrase is “It is sweet and right.” In other words, it is a great honor to fight and die for a person’s country. As I red more into the poem the author had another opinion that truly stood out.

Dulce Et Decorum Est were quoted at the start of First World War. The words resembles “It is sweet and right”. The poem is written by Wilfred Owen who served as British Lieutenant during First World War. Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen is compelling poem trying to depict the helplessness of soldiers caught in a Gas Chamber. The poet describes the general condition of the men involved in war, their condition after a shock of a gas attack and then describing the effect of it on someone.

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.

Another simile is used to describe the soldiers as “coughing like hags.” Here the simile seems more intense and disturbing than the first one. To be “coughing” implies that one is sick or at least physically troubled – that one is having trouble breathing. In this sense, the second