The Use Of Imagery In Dulce Et Decorum 
The use of imagery in Dulce et Decorum Est
In the poem Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen uses a range of imagery to convey his experiences and views of the war. With the use of imagery he gives a realistic view of the war in a grotesque manner. This is due to the fact that he wanted to fight the views of the patriotic society of the time as they did not have a realistic view of the war.
In the first stanza Owen uses imagery to portray the cruel and harsh conditions the soldiers had to fight through. Owen describes the soldiers, “like beggars under sacks” the use of this simile creates an image of the soldiers being beggars in the war. Owen created this image to express that soldiers who were mainly young adults are living like “beggars” as they are helpless and therefore damned with all their dignity and honour taken away from them. Owen further emphasises his view as he states that the soldiers are, “coughing like old hags”, this portrays an image of the soldiers as weak and damned. The use of the oxymoron “Men marched asleep” conveys Owens view that the men even though marching are extremely tired due to the conditions and Owen further emphasises this image when he says, “Drunk with fatigue” creating an image of stumbling soldiers who are not physically capable to fight in war.
In the second stanza Owen describes a gas attack and with the use of imagery he represents the pain of the situation. The stanza begins with a fast pace as the word “Gas” is repeated twice with an exclamation mark, this shows an image of fear and a build up in hectic. This is further framed when he writes, “But someone still was yelling out and stumbling”, as this creates an image of the stress and pain of the war. This can also portray the cruelty of war as Owen uses the word “but” which shows that Owen is aware that there is no help for the “someone” who hasn’t put his gas mask on in time. Pain and cruelty is further used in Owens imagery when he writes, “floundering like a man in fire or
In the poem Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen uses a range of imagery to convey his experiences and views of the war. With the use of imagery he gives a realistic view of the war in a grotesque manner. This is due to the fact that he wanted to fight the views of the patriotic society of the time as they did not have a realistic view of the war.
In the first stanza Owen uses imagery to portray the cruel and harsh conditions the soldiers had to fight through. Owen describes the soldiers, “like beggars under sacks” the use of this simile creates an image of the soldiers being beggars in the war. Owen created this image to express that soldiers who were mainly young adults are living like “beggars” as they are helpless and therefore damned with all their dignity and honour taken away from them. Owen further emphasises his view as he states that the soldiers are, “coughing like old hags”, this portrays an image of the soldiers as weak and damned. The use of the oxymoron “Men marched asleep” conveys Owens view that the men even though marching are extremely tired due to the conditions and Owen further emphasises this image when he says, “Drunk with fatigue” creating an image of stumbling soldiers who are not physically capable to fight in war.
In the second stanza Owen describes a gas attack and with the use of imagery he represents the pain of the situation. The stanza begins with a fast pace as the word “Gas” is repeated twice with an exclamation mark, this shows an image of fear and a build up in hectic. This is further framed when he writes, “But someone still was yelling out and stumbling”, as this creates an image of the stress and pain of the war. This can also portray the cruelty of war as Owen uses the word “but” which shows that Owen is aware that there is no help for the “someone” who hasn’t put his gas mask on in time. Pain and cruelty is further used in Owens imagery when he writes, “floundering like a man in fire or