The first paragraph in both poems sets the scene for what is about to come, “We'd found an old Boche dug-out”. Nothing particularly eventful happens in these paragraphs but they are needed as they help the reader picture what it would be like to be where the reader is so they can imagine what is happening more vividly. Owen often describes seemingly insignificant things which help build up this mental picture in the readers mind. Only when the reader is truly immersed in the setting of the poem does Owen hit them with the actual event.
Each poem puts across its key messages in different ways. In Dulce et Decorum est, Owen sends across the message directly at the end of the poem, telling them how the old saying “dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” is an “old lie”. In The Sentry, which has the same overall message as Dulce et Decorum est (demythologising war), doesn’t make it as obvious that this is what it is trying to say. Even so, it is still fairly obvious that Owen is trying to demonstrate how horrible war actually is with this gruesome account of a terrible event.
In Dulce et Decorum est, Owen engages the reader so they can empathise with the speaker is feeling after witnessing such a horrible event. In the last stanza Owen often uses the word “you” to address the reader as well as saying “my friend” which makes the poem seem more personal and as though he is directly talking to the speaker. Owen does so that the reader truly knows that the saying “dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” really is a lie and should not be told to children. In The Sentry Owen doesn’t once engage the reader and throughout the poem only speaks about the event, re-telling it as an account rather than actually talking directly to the reader.
Owen uses a lot of powerful language to portray the emotions portrayed by the reader. In both poems the speaker is clearly disturbed and troubled by what he has seen as they both recall how they have terrible dreams featuring the man who was injured. In The Sentry, Owen describes how the man’s eyes “Watch my dreams still” which promotes a disturbing image of the soldier’s disfigured eyes watching the speaker as he is trying to sleep. In Dulce et Decorum est, Owen also states that the man who is gassed still haunts his dreams saying “He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning” which again promotes some powerful images.
Both poems are very similar in that they both portray a horrible account of the effects of war, both the physical wounds on the person who is injured and the mental scarring of those who witnessed the event. In doing so the poems help get across the message that it is not “sweet and fitting to die for your country” but not necessarily that war should be avoided completely. Owen wasn’t against war as such, as he himself fought in one himself, but more against people dying needlessly in large numbers.
Overall I think that Owen did a very good job in demythologising war as he uses powerful imagery to show how dreadful war really is. Most of what Owen is writing about probably wouldn’t be relevant nowadays since so few people are actually dying in wars but that doesn’t mean his points are not valid. Owen’s argument may not be relevant but it is still very powerful and meaningful.
