Dulce et Decorum est - Appreciation Essay

Dulce et Decorum est – Appreciation Essay

By Luke Harris 10R/T

Wilfred Owen was born in Shropshire in 1893. When the war started, he was in France, however, he came back home to enlist. He fought on the Western Front, but in June 1917, was diagnosed with shellshock and taken to Craiglockhart Hospital for treatment. Whilst he was there he met poets, such as Siegfried Sassoon. Craiglockhart hospital was the place where Wilfred Owen wrote his most famous poems, “Dulce et Decorum est” and “Anthem for doomed Youth”

“Dulce et Decorum est” is a poem about soldiers in the front line and their experiences in the war. Wilfred Owen wrote this poem for the people back home, who thought that the soldiers were heroic and were glad to fight and die for King and Country. This, however, was not the case for many of the soldiers. This poem could have been written about many battles, but more probably about 1916, when gas attacks were first tried and tested against the English. I think that this poem is about the Battle of Marne.

In the first section of the poem, Wilfred Owen describes the soldiers at the front line as “Old beggars”. He is telling us that these men are so tired that they do not know what they are doing. They march on, because they are told to. Wilfred Owen describes these men as “Drunk with Fatigue”. The first and second stanzas are relatively long, and then there is a short, sharp dramatic sentence, followed by another long paragraph.

The short paragraph in the middle really stands out to the reader:

“In all my dreams before my helpless ...

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The short paragraph in the middle really stands out to the reader:

“In all my dreams before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.”

Because of the powerful, emotive language used, and the fact that it is isolated from the rest of the poem, this sentence grabs the attention of the reader. I think the layout of “Dulce et Decorum est” is purposefully set out as it is, as it represents the struggle that the soldier has to face. The first two paragraphs are of similar length, and represent the organised troops going off to war. The short stanza in the middle represents the fact that something can go wrong so suddenly, but they have to keep going no matter what, which is shown by the final paragraph, which is long and flowing.

Also, the 'b' and 'd' sounds are soft and could be showing the slow panting of the soldiers as they trudged through the thick mud. There are also strong lines used in the rest of the poem.

“And watch the eyes writhing in his face,

His face hanging, like a devil's sick of sin”

Owen uses extremely strong and slightly hyperbolical imagery to show how pitiful the war actually was. The 'w' sounds in the first line of this quotation are quite similar to the screaming sounds that the dying soldier might be producing as the gas eats away at his body, whilst the onomatopoeic 's' sounds in the second line of this extract could be referring to the hissing of the gas shells. Another effect of these particular consonants is to show the bitterness that Owen feels because of the shame of the War and how completely pointless it is.

At the end of Dulce et Decorum est, Owen addresses the reader at a personal level; “My friend.” From this, we can see that he is trying to reach across to the reader, and portray his point of view. The finale to Dulce Et Decorum Est reads: “Dulce Et Decorum Est pro patria mori.” This means, to die for King and Country is to be proud. Nevertheless, before Wilfred Owen says this, he describes that line as “the old lie.” As a front-line soldier he was very aware of the difference between conditions as they were and as they were portrayed at home.

The rhyming structure for this poem is; ABAB CDCD.

My personal response to this poem is that the Great War was useless. This poem also makes me sad and angry. No-one should suffer the horror that happened in the war. It is also quite ironic that Wilfred Owen died in the war, one week before the Armistice.

By Luke Harris10R/T

Peer Reviews

Here's what a star student thought of this essay

sydneyhopcroft

1st of Mar 2012

Quality of writing

The Quality of Written Communication is average. Where the candidate has tried to experiment with more complex punctuation points like semi-colons and colons thuogh, are erroneous. For example, a semi-colon is not required here: "The rhyming structure for the poem is; ABAB CDCD". There is also evidence of comma splice and a poor grammtical understanding, but on the plus side there is a sound understanding of appropriate terminology and spelling of said terminology, though limited use of correct punctuation can restrict the answers potency as the candidate will find it hard to express themselves properly if they do not use punctuation, grammar and spelling efficiently. A simple proof-read and spell-check would correct this.

Level of analysis

The Level of Analysis here is wholly representative of a middle B candidate. There are moments where the analysis is very good, although these are sparodic. Quite frequently, there are points that are made and not fully explored. For instance: "The first and second stanzas are relatively long, and then there is a short, sharp dramatic sentence, followed by another long paragraph" - this commentary is unnecessary as it makes no analysis until later on in the response, so it would be more time-economic and serve the structure well if the candidate only mentioned the structure of the stanzas (as they do later on, again rendering this statement superfluous) "ABAB CDCD" (although, the candidate should not leave the rhyme scheme there - they should continue until a loop is made and because no loop is made in 'Dulce et Decorum est', they need to write out the full scheme. Other analytical points made are slightly erroneous - the comment on assonance which speaks about the /w/ sound particularly, as the line they quote is "And watch the eyes writhing in his face", where there is actually only one /w/ sound. Things like these must be noted in a good, strong essay - small errors liket his are easy to make an if much analysis is hung off erroneous details, there are very few marks that can be gained from it.

Response to question

The question here asks candidates to analyse and appreciate the effect of Wilfred Owen's most famous poem, 'Dulce et Decorum est'. The response to this question is slightly buried beneath an ambiguous structure, but nonetheless there is plenty of in-depth analysis of the poem. The structure is very important in analytical essays, and it would be best to devote each paragraph to a specific point and that specific point alone, with a consistent commentary on effect on the reader. The answer is consistently focused on the poetic devices and techniques Owen uses to create the harsh reality of the frontline, ranging from analysis of the rhyme scheme to the imagery Owen's language conveys, and although the introductory paragraphy is a little lengthy it seamlessly segues into the analysis. This is a promising start to the essay as it shows examiner there is an adept hand writing the answer here; a candidate who knows how to write a good introduction.

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