What Is The Theme Of Dulce Et Decorum Est By Wilfred Owen Poem

737 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Two contrasting poems about war

The Everlasting Nightmare
Imagine an everlasting nightmare! Something you can never outrun or hide from, no matter how hard you try you just cannot get it out of your head. It affects your everyday life: your relationships, your actions. It is a horrendous and unescapable pain drilled into the depths of your brain and deepest crevices of your heart. This is what Wilfred Owen is depicting in his sonnet “Dulce Et Decorum Est.” He re-counts a vivid remembrance where he observed a man drown in a sea of green gas, then returns home to a populace that pursues glory, and believes it is sweet and honorable to die in battle. By using, a barge of themes, diction, and sarcasm Owen illustrates the pain and interminable effects of war.
Owen chooses his …show more content…

He is trudging with the men at the beginning of the sonnet and dreaming of them at the end. The poem revolves around the speaker as a witness, a witness to devastation and destruction. The speaker watches as a fellow comrade drowns in the green sea of gas fumes. This image is deeply rooted into the speaker’s mind throughout the poem’s entirety, as if there is no possible way he could forget the horrors he seen. The image of war scarred this soldier’s mind as it does to most, and the “smothering dreams” of battle will be constantly replayed in their heads. The magnitude of the trauma caused by the horrid memory would be enough to make any individual feel resentment towards the “high zestful liars”. The speaker’s spirits towards the “high zestful liars” is on display in the last four lines of the poem. The speaker uses sarcasm to illuminate the misconceptions the prideful people have about war. His final lines are, “My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori” ( 25-28). To put his words more simply, if the prideful people knew the truths about war and seen the gruesome life-altering events they would not be preaching “Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori,” which means it is sweet and honorable to die for one’s country. Had the people witnessed firsthand a fellow comrade plunging at them seeking help, …show more content…

The poem turns into the mind of the speaker where the everlasting nightmare inhabits. The second stanza gives the reader a good sense about how horrid actual battle scenes are; however, the difference between the actual battlefield and the speakers mind remains to be unseen. By doing this, Owen is saying there is not a difference between the appalling scenes of wartime and the traumatized mind of the soldier there after. This is because the soldier’s mind is incapable of leaving the battlefield; the images will forever be a part of the brain. In the second stanza when the speaker cries out, “In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning,” it is problematic to discern if the speaker is in battle or looking back on the

Show More
Related

  • Literary Analysis Of All Quiet On The Western Front

    2059 Words  | 5 Pages

    Similarly, Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” describes a soldier who witnesses the death of his comrade from poisonous gas. Using imagery and irony, Owen presents a blunt contrast between the propaganda practiced for recruitment and the truth behind the suffering endured by the soldiers. While presented in different formats, both literary works criticize the romanticism of war, arguing that there is no glory in the suffering and killing caused by conflict.

    Read More

  • Dulce Et Decorum Est Analysis Essay

    828 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hardships from hostile experiences can lead to the degradation of one's mental and physical state, breaking down their humanity. Wilfred Owen's struggles with the Great War has led to his detailed insights on the state of war, conveying his first-hand experiences as a front-line soldier. 'Dulce et Decorum Est' and 'Insensibility' displays these ideas and exposes the harsh and inhumane reality of war. From the imagery and metaphors, Owen's ideas about the deterioration of human nature resonates with the reader of the repercussions of war.

    Read More

  • Comparing Owen's Dulce et Decorum Est and Crane's Do Not Weep, Maiden, For War Is Kind

    2015 Words  | 5 Pages

    The speaker in "War is Kind" is an officer who grapples with his own conscience in an internal monologue. He is struggling with his feelings of guilt over leading younger soldiers into battle and his military responsibility to cover up the truth. One way of interpreting this poem is to consider that the officer is attending a traditional military funeral for one of his soldiers. This can be seen in the way the stanzas are set up in the poem. In the first, third, and fifth stanzas, the speaker appears to be consoling the weeping loved ones of a soldier who died in the war. This would normally be the job of an officer who leads a regiment into battle. Consoling the family members is a powerful tool for conveying the reality of war. Addressing loved ones of a deceased soldier illustrates the loss and suffering to be dealt with by those left behind. He speaks to a "maiden" (1), a "babe" (12), and a "mother" (23), thereby, conveying one of the most significant truths about wa...

    Read More

  • Elie Wiesel’s Night

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Dulce et Decorum Est” shows how one soldiers need to survive indirectly causes another soldiers death. From the very beginning of the poem the reader sees how the war affects the soldiers. Fighting in the war has aged the soldiers, the once young men now “bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags” trudge through the warzone (Owen 1-2). The men, completely drained f...

    Read More

  • Wilfred Owen's Ability to Draw in the Audience in His Poems, Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori and Anthem for Doomed Youth

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the poem Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori, he shows his feelings of betrayal, pity and the sense of sacrifice of human life due to the war, as the consequences do not result in any good for anyone, especially the family and friends of the victims. The title, when translated to English from Latin, means ‘It is sweet and honourable to die for one’s country’, being very ironic, compared to what he is writing throughout the poem, by his sense of hatred and pity towards war. He starts off with a simile, “like old beggars under sacks”, which does not depict a masculine image, already, ironic to the title, as it is not honourable to die “like old beggars”. Throughout the poem, a very graphical and comfronting image can be pictured in the reader’s head, recounting all of the shocking details of the war, such as the gas, “Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!” which is also a reminder of their youth and innocence, being put into a war where they thought it might be fun. I...

    Read More

  • Astonishing Imagery in Wilfred Owen's Poem, Dulce et Decorum Est

    504 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Dulce et Decorum Est

    1737 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is ingrained in soldier’s minds that to die for ones country is a great and honourable sacrifice. However, in the poem Dulce et Decorum Est the speaker uses powerful words and images to portray that patriotic propaganda is an “old lie” (Owen 27). In the first stanza, the speaker explains the effects that war has on young soldiers: “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks/ Knock- Kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge” (Owen 1-2). Propaganda portrays soldiers as being young heroes, those who are strong, healthy and vigorous. However, based on the evidence expressed in the previous quotation soldiers are not all what propaganda

    Read More

  • Dulce Et Decorum Est - Critical Response

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through reading this poem several times I decided that the message from the poem is that war is full of horror and there is little or no glory. Methods which I found most effective were Full rhyme and metaphor.

    Read More

  • The Harsh Reality of War in Wilfred Owen’s Poem Dulce et Decorum Est

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Effective Dramatic Imagery in Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est”

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the use of dramatic imagery in Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est,” Owen is able to recreate a dramatic war scene and put the reader right on the front lines. The use of language is very effective in garnering the readers’ attention and putting the dire images of war into the mind. He emphasizes that war is upsetting and appalling at times. There is nothing sweet about it. He only strengthens his argument by the use of strong descriptive words and vivid figurative language. The utilization of these techniques gives the poem a strong meaning and provides the reader with a vivid portrayal of the events that took place during this grisly occurrence.

    Read More

  • Dulce et Decorum Est

    1612 Words  | 4 Pages

    However, the contents of the poem itself in fact contradict the title, and the speaker will actually refuse to accept the Latin saying, and actually detest the patriotic propaganda. Through Owen’s use of metaphors and similes, the argument the speaker is making within the poem becomes more apparent. The similes and metaphors used by Owen illustrate very negative war scenes throughout the poem, depicting extreme suffering of young men fighting during World War I. The first simile used by Owen describes the soldiers as “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”, giving them sickly, wounded, and exhausted attributes from battle and lack of rest (1).

    Read More

  • WIlfred Owen, and His Ability to Express the Reality of War through Poetry

    2027 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...e see a young boy being taught how to use weapons. In “Exposure”, Owen depicts a group of soldiers freezing to death at war, even though they aren’t in the midst of fighting. Lastly, in “Dulce Et Decorum Est” we read about a soldiers who struggles to get his mask on during a gas attack (when the enemy releases a gas deadly upon inhale). Owen describes the soldiers slow death in detail. Not only do these images provide the reader with first hand accounts of war, but they also show Owen’s feelings towards the war. All of these images that are glued into his head will be there forever, which is why he incorporates these realities in his poems, so that everyone can realize that war is nothing more than a inhumane act of terror.

    Read More

  • Poetic Techniques of Wilfred Owen

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Wilfred Owen can be considered as one of the finest war poets of all times. His war poems, a collection of works composed between January 1917, when he was first sent to the Western Front, and November 1918, when he was killed in action, use a variety of poetic techniques to allow the reader to empathise with his world, situation, emotions and thoughts. The sonnet form, para-rhymes, ironic titles, voice, and various imagery used by Owen grasp the prominent central idea of the complete futility of war as well as explore underlying themes such as the massive waste of young lives, the horrors of war, the hopelessness of war and the loss of religion. These can be seen in the three poems, ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’, ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ and ‘The Last Laugh’, in which this essay will look into.

    Read More

  • The Reality of War and Death Depicted in Owen's Poem, Dulce Et Decorum Est

    1091 Words  | 3 Pages

    The media also has a great impact on the minds of the public, like newspapers, televisions, radios, arouses the public’s interest and motivates the young generation to join the army and fight for the nation. However, there are artists who look at war in its very naked form. For example, the poet Wilfred Owen in his poem “Dulce Et Decorum Est” demonstrates that no sweetness or honor is earned in dying for one’s country, instead humanity is taken away during war. In the first stanza, Owen uses strong metaphors and similes to convey a meaningful warning. The first line, “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”, describes the soldiers tremendous exhaustion.

    Read More

  • The Falling Soldier Poem Analysis

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...g it into: “Dulce- No-Decorum - No Pro patria mori”. The contrasting tones throughout the poem also emphasise the finality of the soldiers’ deaths.

    Read More

More about What Is The Theme Of Dulce Et Decorum Est By Wilfred Owen Poem

Open Document