Figurative Language In Dulce Et Decorum Est

The poem Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen reveals the horrifying reality of the battlefiled. The poem is about Owen’s warimte experience which causes him to realise the old lie, Dulce et Decorum Est , which is interpreted as ‘it is sweet and fitting to die for your country’. With the use of literary devices, Owen shows that war is not glorious, it is traumatic and wasteful of human lives. His choice of figurative language such as simile, sound techniques and diction choices, help illutrate the theme of the horrors of war.

Owen uses various figurative language techniques to describe the harsh reality of the battlefield through his eyes. After a gas attack a soldier is left“ Flound’ring like a man in fire or lime”. This simile compares the victim to a drowning man, with the word ‘floudering’.

However, instead of drowning in water, the soldier is compared to a man drowning in lime - a chemical that burns the skin. This comparison illustrates how the soldier is waving his arms frantically as if he is drowning in this painful chemical. This simile creates a stimulating and vivid image of the excruciating pain and the tortuous mental aspect of this situation. The technique also induces a sense of pathos in the reader as the soldiers are forced to merely stand by and watch their friend die, as they can do nothing to help. He also uses the figurative language technique of simile to reveal and develop the horrors of the battlefield. When the soldiers are returning home they are “...like old beggars under sacks”. This illustrates that the soldier’s shoulders are hunched and bent double from the weight of the military equipment they are carrying. In the battlefield, it is not only the enemy that kills the soldiers, but also their own mental and physical conditions such as shell shock, and disease. While these men are supposed to be at their prime, the battlefield has reduced them to ‘beggars under sacks’. This reveals the poet’s intention which is to show the gruesome reality of the battlefield. He recreates the image of the horrors of death in war and the contrast to propaganda efforts made by others: Dulce deCorum Est.

Moreover, Owen’s use of sound techniques not only shows the horros of the battlefield, but also how the macbre horrors they have witnessed linger in the soldier’s minds forever. Through the evoacative use of sound techniques, Owen skillfully creates an imagery of the harrowing terrors of the battlefield. This is shown in the line “in all my dreams, before my helpless sight. He plunges at me gutterig, choking, drowning.” After the events narrated in the poem, the poet’s dreams are as real (if not more real) than his waking experiences. The war becomes a mental battle, one which doesn’t stop affecting his mind even after the official fighting has ceased. The sound effects of ‘guttering, choking, drowning’ articulates the sounds of death. It empahsises that the man is retching on his own blood, which haunts Owen’s dreams. This is also shown in the sibilance, ‘ Devils sick of sin’ This forces the reader to hiss and make a spitting sound when read out loud, making us imitate a snake, a symbol for Satan. The sound techniques illustrates that the dreams Owen experiences, not only consists of the visual images but also how sound is incorporated into these horrifying dreams. It adds the auditory sense, making the vividness of Owen’s dreams seem real to the reader. The techniques depict the psychological impacts of the graphic reality of the battlefield; thus reiterating the disturbing imagery of the battlefield that the soldiers have to cope with, even after the war has long finished.

Owen uses various diction choices to provide emphasis to the horrible reality of the battlefield. He uses the technique of second person, to express his anger at the people who claim that war is glorious. He writes in the second person pronoun to show other writes who glorify war “my friend you would not tell with such high zest.” This second person technique encapsulates his personal anger at the propagandists for manipulating the innocence of the soldiers. He wants the propagandists to feel personally responsible for encouraging a futile war and the suffering of the soldiers. Owen could be angry at poets like Rupert Brooke who wrote patriotic poems celebrating a soldier’s duty to his country, encouraging them to enlist. Owens message contrasts with patriotic war poets like Brooks, as Owen believes “ it is not fitting and sweet to die for your country”. It shows his anger at the attempts of WW1 propagandist who caused millions of naïve young men to die “ardent for some desperate glory”.

Consequently, Dulce et Decorum Est is an extremely well crafted piece which warns us of the dangers of glorifying war and decries those who do.

Through the reminiscent use of literary devices Owen creates a deeply poignant poem to express a very powerful message. Through this description of the physical, mental and emotional effects of war, Owen seeks to shed light on these horrors and in doing so highlights the tragedy of innocent men who are misled into sacrificing their lives for their country. This is still relevant to today because, he has set the tone for an entire generation of men and women thinking about war. It is a valuable message to our modern society as there are still deliberate attempts of those in the position of power to perpetuate myths of patriotism and nationalism that conceals the reality that soldiers face. This is the reality of some men where governments and militaries use propaganda in various crisis situations; whether it’s the war in Iraq, the war in Libya or the war in Afghanistan. It is to this end that Owen wishes to illuminate a message that enhances voice and rejects the machinery that so easily advances deception at the cost of

reality.