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,” and “Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge”. Owen uses a number of verbs as adjectives such as “…haunting flares…” and “…dropping flares…” The second Stanza is six lines and it also has the rhyming scheme A, B, A, B, C, D….
Throughout the stanza Owen uses graphic detail to emphasise the pain of the soldiers, which creates for the reader a violent image, which is calmed down by the last line, “Of gas- shells dropping softly behind.” The next line is, “Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!” Again this changes the mood, from peaceful to violent. The reader then becomes prepared for some action in the poem. This is a swift build up of description into the untimely demise of one of the soldiers. There are a lot of one word sentences and exclamation marks to show the panic and horror of the soldiers.
The soldier, who is harmed by the gas bomb, is described by Wilfred Owen as a helpless creature through the usage of words such as “floundering”. The polluted air around him is described as “a green sea.” Owen describes the air as a green sea because the gas masks were made of a cheap glass, which was green tinted. He also describes it as the green sea because the dying soldiers movement was previously described as “floundering”, as if he were a small fish swimming in a large sea.
In the penultimate, and shortest stanza, Owen brings about a sense of intimacy as he explains the way in which the soldier plunges at him. “…guttering, choking, drowning.” Owen using repetition in these verbs to persuade the reader that he is desperate to be helped. It is almost as if the sight has now invaded his privacy and he will now be dreaming about this forever.
The last stanza acts as the conclusion to the poem. It describes the gruesome death of one of England’s Soldier using very graphic detail. Owen writes, “if you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from froth-corrupted lungs, Bitter as cud…” In this last stanza it seems as if he is directing this poem to someone. It also seems as if he wants them to go through what he has been through. Owen writes about the phrase “Dulce et…” in the last four lines and writes, “My friend, you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate Glory, The old lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.” This disproves the title “Dulce et Decorum Est”. This last part is aimed at a woman called Jesse Pope who was for the World War 1 and glorified everything to do with it. Jesse Pope passed judgement on men who were scared and refused to go to the war. Wilfred Owen wanted Jesse Pope to go through what the soldiers went through and decide whether she would criticise the people who were afraid of going to war.
“Anthem for Doomed Youth” is a sonnet written by Wilfred Owen. The poem consists of two rhetorical questions and some answers. The poem depicts the comparisons of funerals and death in battle. The first line of the poem, “What passing-bells for those who die as cattle?”, communicates to the reader a melancholic image of soldiers whose deaths were in vain because they were fighting a futile cause. The soldiers in the poem are portrayed as farm animals and make it seem as if a large-scale slaughter is being carried out by the opposing forces, rather than a war. Owens views to war are that it is pointless and it leads to chaos and suffering, he helps to the readers to see this. There is a reference to religion and is similar to a funeral service were church bells are rung. The second line is reply to the first question, “Only the monstrous anger of the guns.” This shows an enraged side of Wilfred Owen. He feels that instead of the soldiers receiving a salute in their honour, they receive the “rifles’ rapid rattle.” The second stanza starts off with a question, “What candles may be held to speed them all?” At funerals, candles are lit for those who die; Owen asks what respects are paid to all of the dead soldiers.
Rupert Brooke was born in 1887 and lived to 1915. He was born into a very well off family. His father was a housemaster at Rugby School, where Rupert attended and was educated before going on to King's College, Cambridge. He was a good student and athlete; he also was very popular and handsome.
“The Soldier” is another sonnet and is about the admiration and appreciation of all the dead soldiers who fought in France for England. Because Rupert Brooke was born in 1887 he did not fight in the war. This poem is on the subject of the requests of the soldiers who die in battle. Rupert Brooke was happy to die for his country in the war, but had never experienced the war. The first line is a question, “If I should die, think only this of me:” In the second half of the first line Rupert Brooke gives an imperative and tells his readers how to think of him. The Soldier is a very patriotic poem and reflects on the glorious aspects of the war, such as the honour and fame. He shows his love for England in the poem and writes, “A body of England’s, breathing English air, washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.” The poem seems to be similar to an epigraph, honouring him and other soldiers that died in the war.
“Anthem For Doomed Youth” is not as explicit as “Dulce et Decorum Est”. “Dulce et Decorum Est” seems to go to greater lengths to graphically produce an image of pain and suffering. In “Dulce et Decorum Est” there is a line which readers would find very disturbing, “If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Bitter as cud”
“Dulce et Decorum Est” has an unorganised layout by having a line 8, 6, 2 layout and then 12. Whereas “Anthem for Doomed
Youth” and the “The Soldier” have deliberately been set up as a sonnet.
“Anthem for Doomed Youth” is constructed up on questions and answers. On the other hand “Dulce et Decorum Est” is just a poem. “The Soldier” has an instruction and how to honour the deceased soldiers.
“Dulce et Decorum Est” is a first hand experience of life on the front lines, in contrast to “The Soldier” which is from Rupert Brooke’s mind as he never fought in the war.
“The Soldier” may have given families of soldiers hope, in contradiction to “Dulce et Decorum Est” which may have caused vast amounts of controversy and hatred towards Wilfred Owen.
In studying the poems and comparing them there is a final conclusion. Wilfred Owens poems have a tendency to be more explicit and striking, while Rupert Brooke glorifies the war and the soldiers who fought in it. This is because Wilfred Owen was strongly against war and felt that people who were supporters of the war should understand what they had to go through.