In the third stanza there are many ways for death to occur as the whole stanza refers to world war one as the use of chemical warfare is mentioned. On line 15 the use of words, ‘dispensing with nobility’, this made me confused as why someone would become more noble by killing someone who you do not even probably know. On line 16 it says, ‘blow gas at him’, this refers to the deadly gases released form the bombs, and you have to blow the gas so that the enemy can suffer from the gases. The problem is the wind controls where the gases will end up going and therefore I am depressed to see again innocent lives being taken by poisonous gases. On line 20 the word ‘bomb’ shows the amount of destruction it embodies as it produces ‘craters’, again I feel sorry for those who lost their live in the world war one as the had to protect themselves from bombs by wearing helmets as shown on line 20. The poet on line 20 creates a feeling that many people died and the poet has been able to do this by putting an alliteration, a repetition which is the repetition of continuous death happening in the war. This stanza makes feel distressed as to see life being taken away by a war in a horrific manner.
In the fourth stanza I felt more disheartened as the stanza is about the usage a nuclear weapon and it’s capability. I felt disheartened because it requires ‘pressing one small switch’, evidence is shown on line 23. By pressing the switch deadly radiation contaminates people and eventually kills them. That is why an ocean is required to separate the enemies and then only one of them will get affected, evidence is on line 24 ‘ocean to separate’. As it mentions ocean I believe that the poet is referring to the cold war where Russia and America had an ocean between them, and that unnecessary tensions were raised.
In the final stanza I felt odd, as thought I am living to face my death. The poet has been able to create this effect by making the last stanza’s structure more different as the last stanza is shorter than the others. Also in the final stanza it does not ask for any requirements to face death. The poet creates a guilty conscience as he blames humanity for me when I finished reading the poem and also it made me thinking that everyone is going to die at one point and that war was unnecessary.
Dulce Et Decorum Est is an anti war poem which goes through the horrors of the first world war. Dulce Et Decorum Est conveys a strong meaning and persuasive argument. Upon my initial reading of this poem I felt overpowered by blood, guts and death. Although my reaction hasn’t changed much through numerous readings, my emotional reaction becomes more intense with each reading. This poem makes me feel like I am right there watching the soldier who cannot fasten his mask fast enough and suffers the full effects of deadly gas. This poem also makes me look beyond the death and question the pain inflicted on the mothers who kissed their sons goodbye as they went to defend their country. I imagine the mother receiving word her son has died and is told how noble and patriotic his death was. In his last moments, the soldier and his family become victims of ‘The old lie’.
The precise word choice, vivid comparisons and graphic imagery are the three major elements that have influenced my reaction to this poem. Through the precise word choice, I could clearly understand what the poet is saying. Words like ‘guttering’, ‘choking’, and ‘drowning’ jumped out at me and made my body shiver. Other words like ‘writhing’ and ‘froth-corrupted’ made me understand just how tragic war is. Not only do these words show how this man is suffering, but also they show precisely the level of pain and torment this man must endure. The fact that the gassed man was ‘flung’ into the wagon convinced me that it is not ‘sweet’ nor ‘fitting to die for one’s country’.
In addition to word choice, the poet’s use of metaphor and similes also influenced my reaction to this poem. In the first line the poet describes the troops as being ‘Bent double, like beggars under sacks’. This simile expresses the condition of the men and reinforces the hopelessness they feel. The poet’s comparison of the dyeing man’s ‘hanging face’ to a ‘devil’s sick of sin’ dramatizes just how corrupt it all seems. The most powerful simile is when the poet compares the sound of the gassed man gurgling blood in is lungs as ‘obscene as cancer’. The most effective metaphor is the ‘vile, incurable sores’ that the poet compares to the troop’s memories. This metaphor illustrates how the troops will never forget this experience. This pain will forever be with them. The poet clears up any misconception that war is noble and convinces me that his beliefs are true. More effectively than metaphors and similes, the graphic imagery that this poem explodes with drastically influenced my reaction to this poem. Some of the images in this poem nearly made me feel uncomfortable.
The image of the troops ‘drunk with fatigue’ and deaf to the ‘gas-shells dropping softly behind’ is a chilling image. As someone yells ‘Gas’ it is an ‘ecstasy of fumbling’ and one is still ‘flound’ring like a man on fire’. Through the ‘thick green light, as under a sea’ the speaker sees the man drowning and describes the ‘gargling from the forth-corrupted lungs’. Each of these images are disturbing to think about, but exposes the reality of war. These images made me feel disgusted at what war is capable of. The poet ties this poem together in the last line. In Latin, the phrase ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ means ‘It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country’.
Both poems agree that war was unnecessary.
Hatim Ismail