To compare the ways in which these poems display the horrors of war. I have selected three poems, The Soldier, by Rupert Brooke, Dulce et Decorum Est, and Anthem for Doomed Youth, both written by Wilfred Owen.

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Julius Atuona                                                                                                                                               22/09/02

Poetry Coursework

Compare how these poems show the horrors of World War 1.

To compare the ways in which these poems display the horrors of war. I have selected three poems, “The Soldier”, by Rupert Brooke, “Dulce et Decorum Est”, and “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, both written by Wilfred Owen. I chose “Anthem for Doomed Youth” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” because they are very similar and show the horrors of the war. On the other hand, I chose “The Soldier” because it is a complete contrast and is about the remembrance of the soldiers, who are portrayed as heroes.

Wilfred Edward Salter Owen was born on March 18, 1893. He was abroad teaching until he visited a hospital for the wounded, he then decided to return to England in 1915 and enlisted. Owen was injured in March 1917 and was sent home. By august 1917 he was considered fit for duty and he then returned to the front lines. Just seven days before the Armistice he was shot dead by a German machine gun attacker. Owen was only twenty-five years old.

The title “Dulce et Decorum Est” is part of a Latin saying, Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori, which means it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. But using this title it makes the poem seem as if it is going to glorify the war and all the people who fought for England in it. Owen writes from experience and from within a group of soldiers. He shows this by using inclusive words like “we”. Owen writes, “we cursed through the sludge”. He also uses the word “our” and writes, “And towards our distant rest began to trudge”.

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Through his arrangement of words and similes, Owen is able to give us a vivid image of the soldiers’ suffering. He also shows the courage of the soldiers by writing, “Men marched asleep”. Many had lost their boots, but limped on, blood-shod”. The first stanza has eight lines and follows the rhyming scheme of A, B, A, B through out the poem. Owen uses this stanza as a tool to build-up the story and is able to set the scene for the reader. Owen uses many similes in this poem and writes, “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,” ...

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