Through the use of poetry, we are able to powerfully discuss an idea or opinion about certain topics that could not be so eloquently conveyed through other literary media. Wilfred Owen was both a Soldier Poet during WWI. He was a man firmly against the idea of sending young boys off to war with the promise of glory. His views of war and the gruesome reality that it is, is deeply rooted within this poem and emphasized though the use of vivid imagery, persuasive similes and carefully constructed figurative language. Owen’s opinion that death by war is neither “sweet nor proper” as the sarcastic title suggests; resonates straight through to the last line – Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori2, which is rightfully preceded by the phrase “The old Lie.”
This poem brilliantly shows how thoughtful use of effective words can shape our feelings and emotions. With this in mind, the first line of this poem begins with a powerful simile, “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks.” Here we get a strong comparison; an image of a duality within the soldiers. Once proud serving men, to now bent and crippled creatures, hobbling about like dirty, mud covered old beggars. The strength in these first few words is immense. Not only as a simile but also as bold imagery. I could write an entire essay on the effectiveness of this carefully constructed first line, the colors and sounds that come to mind are incredible, but I digress; let’s continue on. In addition to powerful line one, we are thrown into an equally powerful line two. “Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge.” Owen again uses a brilliant simile; showing the humanistic side of the once proud and innocent soldiers; to this now creature like hag. The word hag itself imp...
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...n what war stands for, only in the camaraderie among men, and the sacrifice they make in risking their lives to save another’s.
Works Cited
“Dulce et Decorum Pro patria mori.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008. Web.
Hibberd, Dominic. Wilfred Owen: A New Biography. 1st ed. Ivan R. Dee Publisher, (2003): 368. Print.
Pope, Jessie. “Who’s for the Game.” Jessie Pope’s war poems. Nabu Press Publisher, (2010): 11. Print.
Owen, Wilfred. “Dulce et Decorum Est.” The Harbrace Anthology of Literature. 4th ed. Ed. Jon C. Stott, Raymond E. Jones, and Rick Bowers, Toronto: Nelson Thomson, (2006).: 238-239. Print.
Quinn, William A. “Multiple Metrics in Wilfred Owen’s ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’.” English Language Notes 21.2 (1983): 38-41. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Print. 15 Nov. 2010
Starr, Edwin. “War.” War and Peace / Involved. Universal, 2003. CD
This paper seeks to address the literacy and stylistic issues presented in two texts. Specifically, an extract from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Wilfred Owens’s Dulce ET Est. Decorum. Initially, the paper will outline the prevailing social and historical contexts associated with the two texts. The principal purpose of this work is to address the themes common to both texts. For this to be achieved, an initial investigation and critique of both authors use of language will also need to be looked at.
Owen, Wilfred. “The Sentry.” Poetry X. Ed. Jough Dempsey. 9 Sep 2003. 10 Feb. 2014
Owen, Wilfred. “Dulce Et Decorum Est.” World War I British Poets. Ed. Candace Ward. Dover Publications, Inc; New York, 1997.
Owen, Wilfred. "Dulce et Decorum Est." The Faber Book of War Poetry. Ed. Kenneth Baker. London: Faber, 1997. 3-4.
War poems usually deals with how the persona of a particular poem, reacts to life altering events such as war. “Totoy’s War” by Luz Maranan, “State of Siege” by Eric Gumalinda, and “War is Kind” by Stephen Crane are just three examples of the many war poems that exist. Each of the poems conveys different messages, as well as utilizing different methods to convey the said message, despite having one common theme.
All exceptional poetry displays a good use of figurative language, imagery, and diction. Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est" is a powerful antiwar poem which takes place on a battlefield during World War I. Through dramatic use of imagery, metaphors, and diction, he clearly states his theme that war is terrible and horrific.
The poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen portrays the horrors of World War I with the horrific imagery and the startling use of words he uses. He describes his experience of a gas attack where he lost a member of his squadron and the lasting impact it had on him. He describes how terrible the conditions were for the soldiers and just how bad it was. By doing this he is trying to help stop other soldiers from experiencing what happened in a shortage of time.
Comparing two war poems written by Wilfred Owen: Dulce et decorum Est. and Anthem for Doomed Youth. In this essay I will be comparing two war poems written by Wilfred Owen: ‘Dulce et decorum Est’ and ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’. By Comparing the two I will be able to distinguish the fact that Wilfred Owen is very anti-propaganda and that's why he feels so strongly about this. The two poems have many similarities but also a fair amount of differences, which I will be discussing in this essay.
Overall Wilfred Owen shows that there is no triumph in war, he does this by using the dying soldier as an example. His main point is that the old saying: “Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori” is a lie.
Owen as a young soldier held the same romantic view on war as majority of the other naive soldiers who thought that war would be an exciting adventure. The documentary extract illustrates how markedly Owen’s perspective of the war changed, as noted in a letter to his mother while he was still in the front lines: “But extra for me, there is the universal perversion of ugliness, the distortion of the dead ... that is what saps the soldierly spirit.” In ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’, Owen’s change of heart is evident through the irony of the poem title and the ending line “The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est, Pro patria mori.”, an allusion to the Roman axiom made famous by Horace, which translates to “The old Lie; It is sweet and right to die for your country.”. The line depicts Owen’s realisation that the horrific nature of war through human conflict is not sweet and right at all, rather, it is appalling and “bitter as the cud” as death is always present on the battlefield. Additionally, Owen indirectly responds to Jessie Pope’s poetry, a pro-war poetess, through the reference “My friend, you would not tell with such high zest… The old lie…”, further highlighting his changed perspective towards the war which has been influenced
Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” makes the reader acutely aware of the impact of war. The speaker’s experiences with war are vivid and terrible. Through the themes of the poem, his language choices, and contrasting the pleasant title preceding the disturbing content of the poem, he brings attention to his views on war while during the midst of one himself. Owen uses symbolism in form and language to illustrate the horrors the speaker and his comrades go through; and the way he describes the soldiers, as though they are distorted and damaged, parallels how the speaker’s mind is violated and haunted by war.
“Compare and contrast “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke with “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen with regard to theme, tone, imagery, diction, metre, etc”
Owen, Wilfred, Lewis C. Day, and Edmund Blunden. The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen. New York: New Directions Pub., 1965. Print.
In writing his poem Strange Meeting, Wilfred Owen uses revision as a tool to both clarify his ideas and re-evaluate one of the central figures in the poem. By examining a reproduction of Owen’s original text and comparing it to the final, published copy, we are able to retrace his steps and, hopefully, gain a further understanding of his thought process and motivations concerning this particular poem. From these examinations, it is evident that Owen spent a large portion of the revision process attempting to alter the character of the “encumbered sleeper”, whom the narrator encounters in hell. These alterations could be viewed as an attempt by Owen to make this “vision” more ambiguous, vague, and otherworldly, and therefore to alter his readers’ perception of this character, the narrator, and the poem itself.
Works Cited Owen, Wilfred. A. The Wilfred Owen Multimedia Digital Archive. http://www.hcu.ox.ac.uk/jtap/images/mss/bl/ms43720/20f3a.jpg Owen, Wilfred. A.