Owen's terrific use of diction brings this poem to life -- imagery, a very important factor in poetry, is prevalent all throught his writings in 'Dolce et Decorum est.' His tone - depression, lack of hope, and, of course, sadness, reveals his message without writing pages of verse; he accomplishes his message very quickly in the poem, and makes the audience feel like they are actually experiencing what the narrator is going through.
Essay: The irony in the poem Dulce it Decorum Est is that it is not sweet and fitting to die for
one’s country when you have actually experienced war. Owen is describing how psychologically
and physically exhausting W.W.I was for the soldiers that had to endure such a cruel ordeal and
not how patriotic and honorable it was .
In the first stanza Owen describes how the soldiers are trudging back to camp from battle.
We see the soldiers, fatigued and wounded, returning to base camp:
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards are distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots...
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.
The way Owen describes the trudge back to camp allows the reader to open their minds to the
events that are occurring. This allows them to see the cruel reality that the war was for the
soldiers. I believe Owen’s use of these images are aimed at discouraging the mere thought of
war.
In the second stanza Owen is describing a gas attack on the soldiers as they are trudging
back to camp. Owen describes the soldiers fumbling to get their mask fastened, all but one, a
lone soldier. He is struggling to get his mask on but doesn’t get it fastened quick enough and
suffers from the full effects of deadly gas:
Gas! Gas! Quick boys!-An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
The way Owen describes a comrade watching as a lone soldier is struggling to get his mask
fastened awakens the minds of the readers to see the psychological effect that this had on the
soldiers. Making the reader see that war is cruel and unjust.
In the third stanza Owen is describing the dead soldier. This allows the reader to view war
in its full affect:
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick sin;
If you could hear at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,-
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
The way Owen description of the image of the lone soldier dying awakens the minds of the
people who read the poem to the reality of war as being a terrifying way for young people to die,
and that idea of patriotism and honor is the cause of such revolting circumstance.
Wilfred Owen’s thoroughly criticizes the idea of war being a sweet and glorious way to
die for one’s country. It is presented through a series of images which are designed to destroy the
notion of war being patriotic and honorable. His graphic detail reveals war as the hideous thing it
is.
Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen
This poem deals with an experience of a soldier during an attack in World War One.
The theme of the poem is the horror of war. This runs predominantly through the poem and is one of the main contributing aspects to the feeling given to the reader. Lines such as "Gas! Gas! Quick boys" shows the horror of World War One. Another line such as "Behind the wagon that we flung him in" portrays the horrible treatment to the dead during the climax of war. All these factors and similar ones contribute to the theme ‘The Horror of War’. The poet really captures the reader with his brilliant theme when he writes, "Under a sea of green, I saw him drowning". This is yet another horrific thought, although a captivating one.
The poem is in four stanzas and four corresponding sections. The first deals with the extreme conditions of the exhausted soldiers and is couched in exaggerated terms. "All went lame: all blind" indicating the strength of Owen’s feelings rather than the misery of the men. These horrific images really take away from the glory of war. The second stanza deals with a gas attack and the cruel death of a soldier, literally drowning in his own blood, unable to get his gas mask on in time. The third stanza, consisting of only two lines, emphasises the personal reaction of the poet to these circumstances-it indicates a nightmare from his experiences. His nightmare shows his guilt due to his inability to help his comrade, "before my helpless sight". In the fourth stanza the poet is asking the poetess to consider the futility of war by writing "The Old Lie: Dulce et decorum est / Pro patria mori ".
The mood of the poem is sadness. Sadness is too weak a word to describe the poem but is still the general emotion that comes to heart. The thoughts of WW1 and the horrors of trench warfare come into mind when reading "Dulce et Decorum Est" . The fact that this poet has experienced the war at first hand really makes you think how real this poem is. The reality comes to mind of a lifeless body being flung in a wagon; the fact that this man has nightmares about a death he witnessed contributes to the theme and mood alike. Flashbacks were a huge problem for ex-service men and really shows that the poet is dealing with the sad aspects of war, before and after.
The horrible descriptions of post-war effects are disturbing. Take these few lines and realise the non-glorious side to war: "And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin: If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues".
These lines are like having your heart ripped out of you as punishment for all the things you take for granted. This poem really shows what men in history have sacrificed to enable us to live the way we do. Phrases such as "the froth corrupted lungs" really makes you think you’re lucky you’re able to breathe, let alone do anything else.
This poem to me represents the fragility of life, basically how feeble we are. Every single word written on these pages and in Dulce Est Decorum Est shows how war is a horrific thing.
