Literary Devices Used In Dulce Et Decorum Est
Douglas MacArthur once said, “The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.” War has affected everyone in some way. However, the most impacted are the men and women who risk their lives every day fighting in combat. In the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est”, Wilfred Owen uses a variety of literary devices to tell a sickening sight which he encountered in World War 1. He discusses a side of war no one wants to talk about and challenges the reader’s thinking. Owen uses the literary devices of tone, figurative language, and imagery to showcase the actuality of what soldiers faced and encountered while both on and off the battlefield.
The first literary device used throughout …show more content…
The main tone of this poem can be described as brutal, serious, and agonizing. The poem vividly describes a gas attack on a group of soldiers during World War 1. It mentions that one soldier was, “guttering, choking, [and] drowning” (l. 16) after failing to put his helmet on fast enough. This quote alone describes the agony and pain many soldiers go through daily. The men had to helplessly watch one of their own die and this haunts them for the rest of their lives.
Owen also describes the soldier’s blood being, “obscene as cancer” (l. 23). This further darkens and brutalizes the passage’s tone by comparing such different things. The author uses this dark tone to further state his opinion on how the public is unaware of such extremities that soldiers face. For example, the end of the passage states, “My friend, you would not tell with such high
Trotter 2 zest / To children ardent for some desperate glory / The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est / Pro patria mori” (ll. 25-28).He wants the reader to know that dying in combat in such a way is not honorable nor heroic – it is brutal and sad. He wants the public to open their eyes about war and uses the tone of the passage to grab their attention. Tone is essential because it allows
The first literary device used throughout …show more content…
The main tone of this poem can be described as brutal, serious, and agonizing. The poem vividly describes a gas attack on a group of soldiers during World War 1. It mentions that one soldier was, “guttering, choking, [and] drowning” (l. 16) after failing to put his helmet on fast enough. This quote alone describes the agony and pain many soldiers go through daily. The men had to helplessly watch one of their own die and this haunts them for the rest of their lives.
Owen also describes the soldier’s blood being, “obscene as cancer” (l. 23). This further darkens and brutalizes the passage’s tone by comparing such different things. The author uses this dark tone to further state his opinion on how the public is unaware of such extremities that soldiers face. For example, the end of the passage states, “My friend, you would not tell with such high
Trotter 2 zest / To children ardent for some desperate glory / The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est / Pro patria mori” (ll. 25-28).He wants the reader to know that dying in combat in such a way is not honorable nor heroic – it is brutal and sad. He wants the public to open their eyes about war and uses the tone of the passage to grab their attention. Tone is essential because it allows