Dulce Et Decorum Est Response

Towards the middle of this month, a compilation of poems compiled into a book titled Century Poems was published and made open to the people of London; one of the featured poems was found to be written by Wilfred Owen, a former soldier who served at the age of twenty-four and died in battle at the age of twenty-five on the last week of the war.

According to Will Stanford, Owen was said to have thought that fighting for his country was an honor. However, one of his poems, “Dulce Et Decorum Est,” reveal his change of thought soon after his deployment into the trenches of the Western Front..

Wilfred Gibson, who also wrote the poem “Back” featured in Century Poems, said that the title is Latin for “it is sweet and right,” a common expression used in the army insinuating that fighting and dying for the country was an honor. Gibson said that the actual poem is a reply to its own title.

“Dulce Et Decorum Est” details soldiers dying and being consumed by poison gas, a lethal weapon commonly used during the war.

Owen ends the poem with “The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori,” asserting his thoughts on the patriotic words.

One of the men behind the book of poetry that brought light to Owen’s works is Siegfried Sassoon. Sassoon is known for his war literature, but he had also served during the war and, like Owen, shares much of his experience through writing. Sassoon had actually met with Owen, the former sharing his views on the war to Owen.

“Wilfred listened to my rambles about the war, so I thought to listen to his own once it was all over,” Sassoon said. “But he had died before I could meet him again. So instead, I wanted the world to hear his words through the poems he

made.”

Sassoon had served in the Battle of Passchendaela that began on July 31, 1917 and lead by General Douglas Haig. According to Sassoon, many lives were claimed during this battle not by the enemy, but rather by the heavy rainfall that filled the trenches with mud, drowning the soldiers.

The casualties in the Battle of Passchendaela incited the creation of the poem “Mud and Rain,” also available in Century Poems, from Sassoon, recounting the horrendous experience he went through with his fellow soldiers as well as his thoughts during the time.

In the same year Britain was near bankrupt and Russia had left the war due to a revolution, creating an all time low in morale. During this time frame, Sassoon wrote another poem, “Suicide in the Trenches,” as casualties on the front ramped up.

Despite their similar outlooks of the war, Sassoon differentiates his and Owen’s works and said, “My works are similar to Wilfred. Granted I’m able to write more, and that some of my worldviews may have rubbed off on him, but there are more writers

The aforementioned letter was shared by Owen’s mother. Dating January 16, 1917, the contents of the letter detail Owen’s first experiences at the Western Front and, like his other works, speak of his misery at the time.

Unrest and discontent among soldiers grew within the trenches especially since many died... Sassoon wrote the poem “Suicide in the Trenches” as a response to all the deaths due to nuances in plans and commands.

When asked what the purpose of Century Poems was, Sassoon said, “Simply speaking, it’s just a way to make poems created about the war accessible, especially those written by soldiers like Owen. But I suppose if you look at the common theme of them all, it also resounds with the feelings of all those who served in the war.”

A synopsis of the works and authors included in Century Poems include: “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats, “Dead Man’s Dump” by Rupert Brooke, “The Happy Warrior” by Herbert Read, “Aftermath” by Sassoon himself, as well as many others. Needless to say, many of the featured poems share Owen and Sassoon’s views on the war.

“The poems may be surreal to those who hadn’t served in the war, but their words vividly recall the brutality during those days,” said Rudeus Greyrat, a veteran of the Great War. “They’re realer than the propaganda circulated during the war.”