Attitudes to War in Dulce et Decorum est and Drummer Hodge.

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Attitudes to War in Dulce et Decorum est and Drummer Hodge.

Life wasn't easy for soldiers in the war as Wilfred Owen and Thomas

Hardy express strongly in their legendary poems 'Dulce et Decorum est'

and 'Drummer Hodge'. Peter Porter writes about the situation people

may find themselves in when in, his poem 'Your Attention Please', he

describes an announcement concerning a nuclear Rocket Strike.

Wilfred Owen died at the age of 25 and was killed seven days before

the end of World War 1. He is regarded as one of the most well-known

war poets of the 20th Century, having written an astonishing 110

poems. Under the influence of Romantic, early 19th Century poets such

as Wordsworth, Keats and Shelley, Owen produced 'Dulce Et Decorum Est'

which revealed the truth behind war, the grief and suffering caused.

Wilfred Owen wanted to dismiss the idea of romance as a motivation to

fight in the war; young men believed that fighting in the war would

make them heroes and that girls would be passionate about them. Of

course many men didn't have an option in the matter: wives and

girlfriends chose not to stay with their man if they didn't fight in

the war, so men were forced to join up. The fact that their partner

wouldn't stick by them was one reason but if they didn't join the

whole society would look down on them with disgrace: they weren't men

if they didn't fight for their country.

"Dulce Et Decorum Est" speaks about the severe drowsiness of the

soldiers on their way back from the front line and the sudden panic

caused when the soldiers are hit unexpectedly with a gas attack. The

poem begins with a simile, "Bent double, like old beggars under

sacks". This indicates the extent of the load the men had to carry

with...

... middle of paper ...

...uses similes

such as "like a man in fire or lime" where the man is in pain and is

struggling to stay alive. Alliteration is used in both Owen and

Hardy's poems. Most of Dulce et Decorum est is written in the 1st

person perspective but many times it changes to 3rd person. When it's

in 1st person it gives us the feeling of reality and truth behind the

poem.

In conclusion, war brings a great deal of pain and suffering so it

shouldn't be under-estimated. Wilfred Owen, Thomas Hardy and Peter

Porter all bring across the reality behind war and the torture it

brings with it. Personally my favourite out of the three is "Dulce et

Decorum est" as I know it's a true account of what happened in the war

because Wilfred Owen was a soldier and died in action. I thought this

poem contained a lot of discomfort and misery making it more out of

the ordinary and authentic.

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