Dulce Et Decorum Est Analysis Essay

In Wilfred Owen’s poem, “Dulce et Decorum Est” he reveals an authentic view of war drawing from his personal experiences. This poem details the horrors of war through the eyes of a soldier painting a vivid image of these miserable beings stripped of their humanity. Readers can envision the sleep-deprived and contorted figures of the soldiers as they lose all of their senses trudging along the engulfing sludge. Owen also details the surroundings meticulously. Gas shells are dropping behind the troops as they are disoriented in the “dim… misty panes and thick green light”. Even after this battle occurs, Owen is haunted by the scenes he witnessed in the war. Owen recalls his dreams of seeing a helpless man plunging towards him as he is writhing in pain with blood gargling from his lungs. The final line of the poem “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” translates to it is sweet and glorious to die for one’s country. At the underlying meaning, this poem tackles the issue of honor and
There are 4 stanzas that are regularly filled with iambic pentameter occasionally broken up by a line containing 11 or 12 syllables. Owen employs imagery throughout Dulce et Decorum Est to exhibit the conditions these soldiers faced. These soldiers “cursed through sludge … limped on, blood shod”. When describing the man in his dream, Owen vividly recalls watching “the white eyes writhing in his face” and “the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs”. Owen also uses a lot of simile describing the soldiers as “bent double, like old beggars under sacks” and “knock kneed, coughing like hags”. He describes the man in his dreams as having “a hanging face, like a devils sick of sin”. These disparaging comparisons show that everyone is miserable in war. This poem show Owens stance on war definitively. I enjoyed the poem’s structure as Owen employed various literary techniques such as rhyme, imagery, and iambic