In Dulce Et, death has no glory and the men have no sense of dignity.
“The old lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.”
This quote shows that the statement ‘that dying for ones own country’ is a complete lie. Wilfred Owen does this to emphasise how horrible and undignified death really is. Owen wants to show that death has no glory and is undignified. The poet also uses Latin, because the reader will recognise the language used is old fashioned, this will then make the reader feel as though war is now old fashioned and pointless. He uses the contrast of two languages to show the difference of views in the two different time periods.
In comparison, in the Charge, death is shown as honourable and glorious.
“When can their glory fade?”
This poem presents death as quick and without suffering, the poet says that the men who died for their country are glorious and should always be remembered. However, when both poems have been read, the reader sees war as even more futile because the men know that it is almost impossible to achieve victory against so many enemies, so they are in effect going in to the battle to die for no reason. However, the Charge’s poet shows the men as honourable because they did not question the orders.
Both poems show that death is not important. In Dulce Et, death is a hugely regular event and the men have become used to this event.
“Behind the wagon we flung him in.”
The men are so used to seeing people die, that they become immune to it. The word flung emphasises this as it shows the men just throw a body into a wagon without even thinking or caring about the man they are carrying.
In the Charge, the men also think that death is not important.
This is shown in the quote “Noble Six Hundred.” The men do not care about death because they think that they will always be remembered and will always be honoured. Despite knowing that they will be outnumbered in the battle, the men believe that it is their duty to serve for their country and they think that this attitude will gain them glory and respect when they get home. We know that they do get this honour because the poem has been written about the men.
Emotions are portrayed in different ways in the poems. In Dulce Et, the men seem stripped of their emotions and senses. This is shown in the quote “All went lame; all blind.”
The men are so used to the horrific conditions and sights that they begin to become immune to the effects. The men become lame, blind and deaf because of the immense conditions.
The men in Dulce Et lose their emotions, which is shown in the quote “Behind the wagon we flung him in”
Even though, the men are performing the duties of carrying dead bodies, they are seemingly not bothered about the situation. While any human would cringe at just the thought of handling dead bodies, these men just throw the body as though it is not important at all. This method of disposing of dead bodies contains no glory and respect, while we could assume that in the Charge the men’s bodies are treated with high respect and honour, unlike in Dulce Et where the bodies are threw as though they have no real importance.
In comparison, the men in the Charge also become emotionless.
“While horse and hero fell.”
This quote is the only detail we get of death. This shows that the poem is not about horrors of war, instead this poet wants to show war as wonderful and honourable, he does this by showing that the men do not care about death, because it is honourable.
In Dulce Et, the men seem to go through the punishment of sensory deprivation.
“....Deaf even to the hoots….”
Despite the huge sound of a shell crashing on the ground, the men are immune to the sound because the men have gone through so much suffering that they begin to ignore the horrors.
