Bent Double Like Old Beggars Analysis

The brutality of war shown in Henry V is matched by the war poets. In Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen conveys the horror of war, but this time from the perspective of a normal soldier going through a horrific experience- a gas attack. In this poem Owen tries to convince us that war is not noble, glamorous or heroic but in fact quite the opposite. He describes the soldiers as “bent double, like old beggars”. This eliminates the stereotype of soldiers being proud, powerful masculine beings and instead showing them as broken, depleted and just slowly staggering on only thinking of survival. The last thing they’re thinking of is patriotism and honouring their nation. Owen presents the soldiers as crippled, weak and their frail exterior reflects their internal feelings of weariness. “bent double like old beggars” is also a simile with compares the marching soldiers to beggars. To start the poem off

with the image of supposedly strong men “bent double” shows us that the soldiers have become two people; the men they were before war and the weak creature that war has made them. The way Owen describes the horrific gas attack lets us know how much he hates war and how the brutality of it permanently scars the mind of soldiers.

The poem suicide in the trenches depicts how the ordinary soldier heads into war with the naivety of youth. Initially he is swept along with crowds who imply that war is honourable and glorious. As the horror of war is revealed his attitude is changed so drastically that the taking of his own life seems the only option left to him. He must have understood that there was no way back and if he had done so would have been deemed a ‘coward’ and so suicide was left. ‘The hell where youth and laughter go’ conjures up an image of evil and a place of punishment. Our view of hell is invariably dark, black and frightening. How Sassoon views war contrasts the publics view of war as they see it as a glorious and patriotic whereas Sassoon knows that its anything but. With the last line of the poem he is trying to tell the public that they are sending their soldiers off to hell that will take all of the “youth and laughter” out of them. Sassoon wants the public to realise that war is not glorious its a depressing punishment and even the boys who survive war, their lives will be destroyed. Sassoon uses this line to convey his hatred towards was and how he feels that the whole notion of it is wrong.

Owen and Sassoon both have the same thoughts towards war and neither of them think its noble, heroic or glamorous and that it shouldn't be portrayed in this way.

Shakespeare also reveals the common mans attitude towards war. The common man is too frightened of death and all that would accompany the lead to it and would seek instead all the familiar things in life that provide safety and comfort, even the trivial things such as a pint of ale with friends- “I would give all my fame for a pot of ale and safety”. This shows us the common men don't share the same love of country and war that Henry shows. They would put a simple pot of ale above war because they don't see it as great or noble and they only want to be alive and safe- thats their priority. Ordinary people know they only have one life, and they are just normal people who value their lives more than heroism and winning war.

In Dulce Et Decorum Est the same hatred towards war is shown by the soldiers. The brutal reality of war is presented when Owen write that the soldiers were “guttering, choking, drowning”, all verbs associated with struggle and death. The words used to describe the gas attack are all strong and powerful which represents the anguish of the victims as well as those who will be scarred by what they have seen. However this barbaric side to war is hidden from the common men at home who tell their children “The old lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori”. This roughly translates to- It is sweet and right to die for your country. Owen is saying that people are falsely telling innocent children that its noble and heroic to die for your country. The common men who haven't witnessed the brutality of warfare comfort themselves with the fact that even though there are innocent people dying, they are dying heroic deaths. In this poem Owen tries to show the common men that fighting for your country is just sending you to unnecessary death of the most inhumane way, and the entire poem is proof of this.

Also the poem Suicide in the trenches shows the common mans thoughts towards war and how deluded what they think is.

Sassoon shows his view of the crowds (the common men) throughout the last stanza, and he uses quite an aggressive and angry tone. When he says “you smug faced crowds with kindling eye” the word “you” includes us all- he's addressing everyone who's reading as one and making us all feel guilty of being “smug faced” when soldiers walk by. This also shows us the the crowd are being falsely patriotic, the common men watching the parade of soldiors are acting like they are contributing to the war effort but they don't actually know what war is like and prey that they never have to know. They are trying to prove that they know and can empathise with what the soldiers have been thorough but they really can’t. The common men don't feel for the soldiers and they are selfishly just thinking about themselves and are glad they are not the ones fighting. Sassoon shows the hypocrisy of the common men because they don't care or feel appriciative of what the soldiers have

done.