The third line explains that dying has again made them important.
But, dying, has made us rarer gifts than gold.
Gold is very rare, so by dying for the country it has made them valuable and unique. Brooke may be trying to signify that not many people die and sacrifice their lives for their country. This in Brooke belief is a very honourable and glourious practice.
The sestet only explains to us how the soldiers dying, bring England a lot of honour and credibility. This again is Brooke’s sole belief.
Honour has come back, as a king, to earth,
And paid his subjects with a royal wage;
Brooke’s belief also is that England should be at war, because that is what she does best.
And nobleness walks in our ways again;
And we have come into our heritage.
The peace that has been present for so long has made her weak. Here it is most likely that Brooke is trying to refer back to the great wars fought way back in the times of King William and King Henry.
By looking at this sonnet, we can come to the obvious conclusion that Brooke was very idealistic about war and had no idea of the horror and suffering involved.
As the war raged on more and more people were sent to war. Wilfred Owen was one of these people who had the opportunity to experience trench warfare firsthand. For this reason, Owen writes about war more seriously and realistically.
The title of this poem means, “It is sweet and fitting”. This is the first part of an old Latin saying, which means, “It is sweet and fitting to die for your country”. Owen clearly disagrees with this by calling it “The old Lie”. The reasons are quite obvious after reading this poem.
Owen aims to show us the horror of war in this poem. He tells us about the death of a soldier, brought about by a gas bomb.
The first stanza explains the condition of the soldiers in the war. The first two lines explain that they were old, fragile and in very bad shape.
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through
sludge,
The words “old beggars under sacks” explains to us that these were not young and fit soldiers, ready for any thing that would be thrown at them. Instead these were old soldiers, probably in there 40s and 50s, with back problems and whatnot. The second line explains them being terribly angry and frustrated.
The second stanza tells us of an atrocious death of one of the soldiers Owen was with, during the war. Owen actually sees the soldier’s death firsthand.
The soldier actually dies a horrifying death, in which he manages to inhale poisonous gas because he was not able to put on his gas mask in time. This shows the level of awareness that you had to have if you were to survive in the war.
The word “ecstasy” in the first line may indicate that the soldiers go into another state of mind to save their lives.
The last line gives strong images of a horrific death. The words “guttering, choking, drowning” describe the way that the soldier has died. The previous two lines explain how he sees the same image of this particular soldier in his dreams, everyday. This perhaps troubles Owen greatly.
The pace of this stanza greatly helps with the mood of panic.
The third and final stanza continues the imagery of the soldier’s horrendous death.
Owen says that you could “watch the white eyes writhing in his face”. This shows the horrific death, which the soldier has died. He has such a ghastly expression on his face.
Many other horrific diseases and vile things have been compared to this death. Some examples are “froth-corrupted lungs”, “Obscene as cancer” and “bitter as the cud of vile”. This soldier’s death is troubling and it is made obvious by comparing them to these things.
The last three lines are what the whole poem is based on. Owen directly addresses us in his message by calling us “My friend”. He explains that we should not encourage future generations to fight in war for glory.
The two poems really contrast and oppose each other greatly. Whereas Brooke writes about war idealistically and with passion, Owen does the complete opposite. Owen’s poem is however more reliable since he has experienced war.
