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Literary Analysis Of Dulce Et Decorum Est

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In early history, Soldiers going off to fight in war seemed brave and fearless. It was always seen as an honor to serve in your country’s army. However, in Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen, through the depictions of an actual battle, it is shown that those feelings are not actually present during war. The genre of the poem is war. In fact is very much propaganda against war. After the events of World War 1, Owen did not see the necessity of war in witnessing all the suffering it caused. The very title of the poem Dulce et Decorum est can be translated as ,"It is sweet and proper to die for the fatherland." It is now commonly referred to as the old lie because the saying is very old and commonly used but can not really be seen as true. Though the title is titled as such, the meaning of the poem actually argues against the phrase. In the poem, there is nothing fearless or glorious about the soldiers in the war. All of the language that was in the poem has a very negative connotation. The words used like, ”beggars”,”lame”,”blind”,”deaf”,”clumsy,”helpless”,and more show that the men are very discombobulated and are in fact suffering. There is a lot of death and chaos occurring. The phrase is referred to as the old lie because how can one see the horrors of war and still tell people and young children that it is honorable and glorious to fight and die for one’s country. At first glance. one would assume that Owen utilizes Iambic Pentameter in his poem. However, there is no

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