Dulce Et Decorum Est

Dulc et Decorum Est Analysis
An inevitable topic of study in any in depth research of any time period must, unfortunately, include the brutal, devastating presence of war. War is an emotionally charged, often controversial, complex subject matter, and generation after generation must grapple with the complex justifications for engaging in battle. Historians and authors typically portray the soldiers as brave and strong, with a keen sense of pride and patriotism for their country. Quite often historians choose to paint a picture of warriors who are quite willing and practically eager to engage in combat and possibly die for their cause. Consequently, most civilians in many generations fail to gain a realistic understanding of the horrific
In "Dulce et Decorum Est", Owens utilizes a variety of powerful poetic devices such as meter, rhyme, rhythm, diction, figurative language, and several others in order to paint a realistic picture of war as a brutal, inhumane, and horrifying experience. In the first stanza of “Dulce et Decorum Est”, the author begins to describe the soldiers’ mental state, and uses this theme to build the structure of the poem while cleverly foreshadowing the direction of his message for the rest of the poem. In the first four lines, the poet ignominiously compares the weary soldiers to beggars returning at the end of the day with their sacks “full and bent double”. Owen uses this simile and descriptive language to portray the realities of war, which clearly confirms his opinion that it is destructive and horrid. Owens cleverly captures the reader’s attention by using similes to bring about emotion and an opinion to persuade the reader. This technique is particularly obvious when Owens writes, “Like old beggars under sacks” and “Knock-kneed, coughing like hags.” A morbid comparison of a soldier 's coughing to that of a coughing witch illustrates the sad, weak emotional state of these soldiers in battle, which contrasts strongly with the strong, heroic image that many historians and writers during this time period would want you to believe. Owens uses another literary technique, diction, to reveal his opinion about war. The first stanza consists of eight lines with the rhyme scheme ABABCDCD, and the meter is iambic pentameter. The first syllable of each pair is unstressed, while the second syllable is stressed. The first two lines of the poem demonstrate this purposefully composed pattern. The purpose of this stanza is to not only introduce fatigued, tired soldiers but also to set the scene of a battlefield with war-weary soldiers on the