context essay

Evidencing that every text is a reflection of its context is Leon Gellert’s poem “A Military camp in Egypt” and Wilfred Owens “Dulce et Decorum est.” Poetry stemming from WW1 is frequently presented as constantly opposed to the futility the conflict created. This is made even more pronounced when the poets themselves were enlisted as soldiers and endured the horrors documented within their works. Both Gellert and Owen use their poetry as a means to voice their opposition to fighting and critique the government’s continued sacrifice of youth and innocence.
Every text reflects its contexts, through exploring the personal and historical contexts within them. This is evident in the poem Dulce et Decorum est by Wilfred Owen as it reflects the different aspects and values of its personal and historical context. Personal context in the poem is conveyed by the author and his experience in the war, and the historical context of the war and use of gas bombs. The effective use of simile in the poem allows the audience to interpret the personal context of a soldier’s experience, “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”, this presents the unglamorous reality of trench warfare, and displays negative images of the soldiers’ experiences. It allows the audience to understand the first hand experience of Wilfred Owen in the war and the terrible conditions of the trenches. The personal context of the poem shows that War rapidly aged young soldiers such as Owen. The use of short exclamations in Dulce et Decorum est link back to the historical context of the poem as it explores the use of gas bombs in World War One, “Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!” This emphasises the quick and harsh effects of the use of gas as a weapon and conveys the panic it caused. The use of gas in WWI was prominent and the war is remembered particularly for the drastic effects of the use of gas as a weapon, and its historical importance. The use of Latin phrase as title and last line of the poem, links closely to