Analysis Of Dulce Et Decorum Est By Ee Cummings

How do our ideas about war shape us as human beings? How do we think about war and how these ideas affect our actions? This essay examines poems by Wilfred Owen, ee cummings and John McCrae. The purpose of this paper is to show you what different authors think about war based on their poems.

In our classroom, we don't want to be in a war. “If I was in a war, I would be so scared I would crap myself” said Ali. On a survey I conducted, 18 out of 24 people said they would rather not be in a war (me being one of the 18). Similarly in Wilfred Owen's poem “Dulce Et Decorum Est” he talks about how the glories of war is a lie. Owen was a soldier, and he watched as his own comrade died right in front of him due to a gas attack. “But someone still was yelling out and stumbling and flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.” (11-12). He watched, unable to help, as his comrade and how war is a horrible place according to him and I wholeheartedly agree.

In ee cumming’s poem, he talks about a certain person named Olaf and uses him as a conscientious objector. Olaf gets first bullied and then tortured just because his ideals suggested that he will not hurt anyone. His rectum got bayonets shoved up it (30-31). A example of war trying to change someone's ideals is when Olaf was getting tortured and he said “There is some s**t I will not eat” (33). He will not change his ideals even though he is being tortured because of it. This poem tells us to never change our ideals and you don't have to lift a single finger to be the bravest person in the