Descriptive language is used throughout the poem to evoke specific responses to the reader. In the opening of the poem, Owen aims to show the unco-ordination and awkwardness of the soldiers in the war, and how much they do not belong there. He describes the soldiers as "bent double, like old beggars under sacks", "knock-kneed", "limping on", "all lame, all blind", being "drunk with fatigue" and "deaf". All these descriptions of the soldiers show the reader the suffering they had to endure and the hardships that they had to face. This is backed up by the description that "men marched asleep". This description of the soldiers, of how they "limped on, blood shod" gives the reader an impression that they can no longer comprehend what is going on around them, that they are "blind" and "deaf" to the world.
Metaphors are used to illustrate more vividly the descriptions used in the poem. This is evident in the description of the soldiers as "old beggars under sacks". This not only says that they are tired, but that they are so tired they have been brought down to the level of beggars who have not slept in a bed for weeks on end. In the description "his hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin" Owen compares the gas victim's face to the devil seeming corrupted and baneful. A metaphor even more effective is one that compares "...vile, incurable sores..." with the memories of the troops. It not only tells the reader how the troops will never forget the experience, but also how they are frightening tales, ones that will the troops will never be able to tell without remembering the extremely painful experience. These comparisons illustrate the point so vividly that they increase the effectiveness of the poem. The most important means of developing the effectiveness of the poem is the graphic imagery. They evoke such emotions so as to cause people to become sick.
The tone of the whole poem is sinister and gloomy, like a ghost story. This casts a solemn and eerie atmosphere to the poem, achieving a serious effect. The atmosphere and mood of the poem is important to the effect the poem has on the reader, as it tells the reader what to feel while they are reading the poem. There is also a nightmarish, dreamlike quality to the words of the poem, such as "dim", "misty panes", "thick green light" and "smothering dreams". This gives the reader information about Owen. Owen must have suffered such nightmares over events from the war. This tells the reader that soldiers who survived the war not only suffered physical injuries, but also psychological ones, suffering from dreams that plagued them years after the war had ended.
The pace of the poem is slow and heavy, punctuating every word. The slow speed of the poem is caused by words such as "knock-kneed', "fatigue", "floundering", "misty panes", "smothering" and "writhing", all of which slow down the poem as they cannot be said quickly. This is a particularly effective technique as the whole impact of the poem depends on how much the reader is able to take in, and how effectively the images presented by the poem can be interpreted by the reader. The slowness of the poem allows stronger feelings to be evoked from the reader.
The rhythm of "Dulce et Deorum est" is non existent. The poem is written in such a way that when read, sounds conversational. This stresses the eerie quality to the poem as no usual conversation expresses such horror or such solemness. This lack of rhythm or musicality in the lines of the poem stresses the seriousness of "Dulce et Decorum est" as the poem is not a piece of rhythm or music, but a work expressing the deep feelings and disgust Owen feels about the war.
Alliteration and assonance are used throughout the poem to stress certain words and to more strongly project certain images. "Bent, Beggars", "knock-kneed", "men marched", "watch, white", and "drunk, deaf" are all words which bring strong images. Stressing these words allow these words to be noticed and have a much more profound effect on the reader. This same effect is also caused by the rhyming that is evident throughout the poem, such as the words "boots, hoots", "blind, behind", "fumbling, stumbling", "time, lime", "in, sin" and "face and pace". The repetition of certain words also stresses the importance of particular images within the poem. The word "drowning" is repeated twice to imprint on the reader's mind the effect the gas had on the soldier.
The language used also helps to give a stronger impact on the reader by involving the use of one of the reader's five senses. In "Dulce et decorum est", onomatopoeia is used to enhance the effect of the poem, by involving the reader's sense of hearing. Words such as "guttering", "gargling" and "choking" are used to emphasise the horrific sounds of a man dying from gas, as the sounds of the words can be likened to what they are describing.
The reader's attention does not wander throughout the poem because of Owen's consistent imagery. By the end of the poem, the reader can fully appreciate the irony between the truth of what happens in the trenches and the Lie being told at home. It is this attention to form and imagery that makes the poem effective.