The Similarities and Differences of Dulce et Decorum Est and Disables

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The Similarities and Differences of Dulce et Decorum Est and Disables The two poems I have chosen are Dulce et Decorum Est and Disabled. I felt that of the poems that I was given to choose from these two told a tragic and effective story of what war was really like. I have chosen Dulce Et Decorum Est because it describes the struggle of a group of people who have to struggle through the most extraordinary events day in day out. I have chosen Disabled because it shows the struggle of one man who everyday contemplates his wasted life. All he has are the memories but they seem to become more distant as the days go on. Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patri Moria translated in to English means It Is Sweet And Honourable To Die For Ones Country. If someone is reading the poem for the first time and learns of the English meaning of the title before reading the poem they may feel it is a poem that represents the army in a good way. How this assumption is further from the truth. After reading the poem a number of times I have come to a conclusion that Owen named the poem this because of the strong statement that he makes in the poem. In a way I get the feeling that Owen was mocking the saying but I don't think he was mocking the army as a whole just that single principal. All the things that they are carrying weigh down the soldiers, perhaps they are even weighed down by the expectation of their country. Owen says " Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs" The soldiers are fed up. They are so tired that even when the flares go off behind them they don't have the energy or even feel like turning around to see them. ... ... middle of paper ... ...d can't get used to the fact of being unpopular. I find Dolce ET Decorum to be the more powerful of the two poems. My reasons are as follows, although Disabled is a very good, very powerful poem in it's own right it only describes the view of one person in the army. I think that what makes Dolce Et so powerful is that Owen speaks for the masses in the army when he talks of the daily horrifying sights and regular attempts by the Germans to gas them. Reading these poems can enlighten a person. Many people say that they live stressful lives and are under extreme pressure. If you think of what these young men must have gone through it can put a lot of things in to perspective. Day in day out these men had to have the weight of a nation on their shoulders this is before they have to dodge land mines and gas attacks.

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