In the poem Dulce et Decorum Est Owen effectively discusses the true sadness and horror about war

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Sharon Maj

How does Owen explore horror of war?

In the poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ Owen effectively discusses the true sadness and horror about war, of young men ushered by the home-front, in particular the women and the church to go to war to achieve honour and recognition. However the men who go to war become mentally and physically disabled from the violence and inhumane nature of war through the great loss of life. The young soldiers receive no honour from war and there was a great lack of recognition for them. The soldiers became dependent on the community at home after becoming disabled and before growing and experiencing independence, losing all quality of life.

In the poem 'Dulce Et Decorum Est', Owen explores the concept of the mental trauma suffered by the soldiers using first person “ In all my dreams before my helpless sight” to emphasize the extensive amount of mental trauma the soldiers suffered during war. The word choice of 'dreams' highlights the irony in this quote where even a scene as horrifying as this, is still incomparable to other encounters that he would qualify as nightmares.  This idea is further explored in the inclusive language “If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come… from the froth-corrupted lungs” the inclusive language and truncated sentence shocks the readers with horrifying depiction of a gas attack. The tone of reflection and horror emphasises the traumatic experience of the soldier and how he will always be haunted by it.

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Owen further explores the horrors of war in 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' where he describes the soldiers experiences with such confronting images that it shocks and horrifies the readers, for example “ Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues” the truncated sentence is used effectively to highlight and describe the horrifying image of the soldiers appearance after being gassed at war. The commas in the truncated sentence slow down the pace of the poem to make the readers fully grasp and imagine the sight. Owen has also used hyperbole “ Men marched asleep. ...

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