Similarities And Differences Between Seaman, 1941 And Dulce Et Decorum Est?

What are the similarities and differences between Seaman, 1941 and Dulce et Decorum Est?

Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen and Seaman, 1941 by Molly Holden both present different interpretations or views on war. These different views will have a variety of impact on the reader. The two poems also have several recognizable similarities, which connects them both together. There are many factors to be considered when comparing the similarities and differences between these poems, such as perspective, imagery, time period, etc. These, and many more, will be looked at and analysed in this essay.

The two poems both show extremely different imagery. When reading Dulce et Decorum Est, the audience would interpret very strong and dark imagery.

In contrast, Seaman, 1941, has more delicate and light imagery. For example, in Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen writes phrases such as ‘Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!’, ‘His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin’ and ‘the blood/Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs’. Seaman, 1941, Holden includes phrases and words such as ‘white sand’, ‘paradise’ and ‘tides’. It could be suggested that this has a lot to do with the perspective in which the poems are written. Dulce et Decorum Est was written from the trenches and it is about what the soldiers saw. Seaman, 1941, is written about a mother who is waiting for her dead son’s body to be returned home. The readers will see two different perspectives on war and therefore receive two completely different kinds of imagery.

Both of these poems have a sense of irony in them. In Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen talks about ‘the old Lie; Dulce et Decorum Est/Pro patria mori’, which translates to ‘it is sweet and right to die for your own country’. These are the last two sentences in the poem and they create irony because Owen has written in the poem about the harsh conditions and traumatic experience within the war. This proves that it really is ‘the old Lie’ because when young men would enlist in the war they were told that exact lie. However, when they had first-hand experience, they were exposed to the truth. Seaman, 1941, also includes irony, although it is slightly different. A mother is waiting for her son to come home from the war, which is what any mother would want. Holden writes about her ‘preparing the parlour’, which connotes that she was preparing a funeral. The irony in this is that her son is coming home, but as a lifeless corpse.

Another key difference between these two poems relates to the political aspect of war.

In Owen’s poem, he contradicts the lie that the government has told to convince people to enlist. In Holden’s poem, the audience are shown a more personal side of war. Wilfred Owen was able to go against politics and reveal to people, through his poem, what enlisting in the war was really like. Poems were Owen’s way of expressing the feelings that came with war. He discusses the fear amongst the soldiers and the pain that they all felt. This was something that the government would not have wanted the public to know, as it would decrease the amount of people who

enlist.

Within the poems, Holden and Owen both write about nameless soldiers. The audience or reader have little or no explanation of who they could be. This is what war was like in most cases. When soldiers died, it was seen as just another death. It could be said that each soldier was seen as one amongst many and none of them had their own identity. In Owen’s poem, when the soldier died, there was no mention of his name. When Owen describes the soldier, he writes ‘But someone still was yelling out’. This sentence could imply two different meanings. The first is that nobody knew who the soldier was because there were so many of them. The second meaning could be that because of the mist from the gas, nobody could recognize who was screaming. In Holden’s poem, the soldier does seem to have more identity because we learn that he has a mother and other relations, such as a father and a grandfather. Regardless, his name is also never mentioned.

These two poems give the audience or readers different types of feelings.

Wilfred Owen’s poem is set during the war. Everything that the audience reads is written in a way that the audience feels as if they are part of the war. The audience is made to feel like they are one of the soldiers because everything is described in such great detail. Referring back to what was said about Wilfred Owen trying to expose the truth behind the war, this could have been done to make the audience feel something and then make them realize what war truly is. The emotion or feeling that Holden’s poem creates is just as moving, but it is slightly different. This poem essentially shows what happens after the war. Whereas, Owen’s shows the audience what is going on during the war. Through Holden’s poem, the audience can see the impact that the war has had on the families of soldiers. For example, Holden describes the mother as having ‘hot eyes’. This connotes to the audience that she is crying because her son has come home

dead.

In conclusion, these two poems by Wilfred Owen and Molly Holden do have various similarities and differences. The poems came from two different perspectives, the soldier and the soldier’s mother, so it was expected that many differences would be found. However, there were also many similarities because both of the poems were written about war. One of the most influential ways to learn about war experiences is by looking and different views and varying opinions, which is what Owen and Holden were able to provide. Although these two poems may have several differences that set them apart, the topic of war and the truth behind war was able to bring them together.