It's Not Sweet and Right to Die for Your Country: "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfird Owen

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Recommended: Impact of World War 1 on literature

Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfird Owen is written about the First World War. The title means its sweet and right, but the story behind it is totally different to the title, which is ironic. The poet clearly mentions the horrible and appalling conditions that happened to soldiers in the First World War. The techniques that have been mentioned in the poem are imagery, language, and tone. The poet changes his tone of voice to angry and bitter, as he explains and describes the horrifying image that happened around him in the war. The poet describes the soldier in such a disturbing and painful manner; Owen uses similes and metaphors to describe the condition. The poet opens stanza one with a powerful and strong metaphor: “Bent double” It shows the awful physical description of soldiers, hunch over, carrying equipment, exhausted, broken and shattered. The poem is a contrast to the title. This is supported further by the use of another simile that is used to describe the men in the war: “Like old beggars” this is a very horrific description of the soldiers returning from the front line. Ow...

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