The Old Lie: Poem Analysis

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To illustrate “The old lie: Dulce et decorum est/pro patria mori”(Owen Dulce et Decorum Est 27-28). Owen uses sound devices and simile. To illustrate “The old lie: Dulce et decorum est/pro patria mori” (Owen Dulce et Decorum Est 27-28). Owen uses the sound devices repetition and alliteration. First, Owen uses repetition to imitate the sound of a soldier choking. Owen uses the repetition of the suffix –ing to illustrate the feeling that soldier has. The repetition of the –ing “He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning” (Owen Dulce et Decorum Est 17). Imitates the feeling of choking or dying, because the –ing closes the reader or narrator’s throat. Owen chose this sound device to give the audience a chance to experience exactly what the …show more content…

Owen uses simile. First, Owen uses simile to represent pain. He shows the terrible state of the soldiers by stating, “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks; /knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge” (1-2). This simile shows how the once young and vivacious soldiers have been completely destroyed by the war. Not only on the inside, but on the outside. They aren’t even in their uniforms because they have been physically destroyed. They are mentally tired, and physically sick and injured. They are struggling to get back to the trenches and they are desperate for rest. Owen uses this simile to show that life in the war isn’t all what it seems; fighting for your country requires a lot of guts. Next, Owen uses simile to illustrate the sickening of sin. He shows the devil being sick of sin, “His hanging face, like a devils sick of sin” (20). If a devil is sick of sin, it must be truly awful. A devil is a lover of sin. A devil is basically the lead sinner, and the ultimate supporter of sin. If he is sick of the sins, then this soldier’s face must be hanging, face pulled back and bones poking out. Owen uses this simile to show the pain and grief the soldiers are going through in order to fight for their country. To illustrate “The old lie: Dulce et decorum et/pro patria mori” (Owen Dulce et Decorum Est 27-28). Owen uses sound devices and

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