Comparing In Flanders Fields 'And Dulce Et Decorum Est'

World War One was a massive event. It affected millions of people from all walks of life, and inspired countless written pieces. Nevertheless, without being there, it is impossible to truly be able to tell what the war is like. Therefore the use of setting is very important in giving the reader an idea of the circumstance. This is not to say that everyone is in agreement over how the war should be displayed. Quite one the contrary, the two Poems “In Flanders Fields” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” use their settings to create two very contrasting images of human conflict.

The Poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” attempts to make war seem as repulsive as possible. The author’s goal is to discourage people from joining the war or any future conflicts by shattering the romantic image people have of the fighting. The setting of this poem helps

create this repulsiveness. There is nothing romantic about “floundering like a man in fire or lime” or drowning under “a sea of green”, or in other words getting ones lungs burnt out by lime gas. Unlike the general publics generally beautiful and heroic perception of war, the soldiers here are undignified, stuck in sludge, and on the brink of exhaustion. They are a big contrast to the heroes the reader may have in mind when thinking of soldiers, and there is nothing beautiful about their desolate location. When reading about this horrible reality, the reader may think twice before wanting to join an armed conflict.

In Contrast to “Dulce et Decorum Est”, The Poem “In Flanders Fields” displays the war zone as a peaceful, almost serene atmosphere.

It does not condemn the war, in fact the poem tells the reader to “Take up the quarrel with the foe”. The setting of this poem plays a very big role in creating this kind of feeling. For example, instead of focusing on any kind of action, the poem puts a lot of focus on nature. It talks about birds; “The larks, still bravely singing, fly”, about flowers and fields; “Though Poppies grow in Flanders fields”, and of sunrise and sunset; “We lived, felt dawn, saw sunsets glow”. The pastoral aspect of nature seen here gives the reader an image of a beautiful field at dawn or dusk, with larks singing above. The fighting and horrors of the war are completely in the background, almost out of mind. When reading about that kind of beauty, one may be a lot more tempted to join the war, because it no longer seems terrible. Unlike “Dulce et Decorum Est”, “In Flanders Fields” has the goal of making the war more enticing for potential recruits. The author uses the setting to make people want to carry the torch, and to carry

on.

World war one was one of the biggest events in human history. Because of this large scale of the war, many people with different views, lifestyles and beliefs were involved. These differences give different perspectives on what any given situation is like. Both poems show the war in a completely different light. They almost seem to be set in two different worlds, even though they describe the same conflict, which goes to show, that to get a more complete picture of any event, one must look at more than one point of view.