Analysis of “Dulce et Decorum Est” Essay

The poem we have been analysing in class, Dulce et Decorum Est, was written by a human race named Wilfred Owen. Wilfred Owen was a soldier in the first world struggle and was born on the 18th of March 1893, and died on the 4th of November 1918, a week in the first place the end of the first world warfare. In this poem, Owens objective is to show the horror and earthly concern of war, and to set this horror against the way in which war was very much glorified. His objection, the glorification of war is reflected in the form of address, Dulce et Decorum Est This is translated as It is sweet and glorious. Wilfred Owen uses this as a form of irony, to draw in the lectors attention. It was particularly meant for another war poet, Jesse Pope.She wrote closely(predicate) all the good and positive reasons for war, and tried to encourage work force to go and fight for their country. You can easily feel how Wilfred Owen mat up about the first world war. His use of adjectives like bi tter, helpless and smothering dreams and the use of estimatery, give us a clear picture of what it was like. These voice communication ar use to convey the ug parameterss, fear, poignancy and the pain of the war. Wilfred Owen uses clear t onenesss throughout the poem help us to understand how he matte, and why he felt this way. In most of the poem, the tone is quite angry, due to the choice of actors line and how they are employ. Owen gives us graphic descriptions, speaking in a very channel and straight forward way. His use of the word you in the third stanza, underscores my point clearly. He uses this to draw us in, and to make us feel how he felt. non only does he make us feel how he felt, but the poet makes us use our senses. He makes us hear this one man dying, assay for life. He makes us taste the bitterness of war, and the reality of it. All of these techniques are used in the poem, because he wants us to be shocked at the reality that he is presenting. In his illus tration of war, Owen describes an incident of exhausted soldiers trudging through the mud, clearly unhappy and very tired. They are all leaving the front line in order to rest for a while in a safer place. Before this can happen the group get attacked by a sea of gas. Owen explains how one soldier is late in putting on his mask. Wilfred Owen describes the symptoms shown by this man as the poison late kills him. He therefore distinguishs us how this man plunges at him, guttering, choking, drowning.Owen is helpless he cant do anything to save this mans life. This man is forever haunting his dreams. Wilfred Owen then says My friend you would not tell with such high appetite So, directly speaking to us, and Jesse Pope, or anyone who conceive ofs that war is sweet or glorious, that its unfeignedly a lie The poet then repeats the title as the old lie Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori. The full translation of this is It is sweet and glorious to die for ones country.In Stanza 1, I have already briefly talked about the contrast between the title of the poem and the actual poem itself. Its ironic. When we think of the title we imagine men with high spirits, volitioning to fight for their country, not old beggars under sacks, smelly and dirty, with the weight of the war weighing them down. In an instant we start to realise that war isnt sweet or glorious.The word beggars implies that maybe the soldiers were of low ranks. That they have all, no matter what rank, have been reduced to a basic human level, dependant on others for their survival. Sacks are like rags this gives the impression that the soldiers havent even been given adequate warm clothing. All this imagery creates sympathy for the soldiers and uses an image that you will be able to disturb to. The rhythm in the first stanza is slow, with lots of commas. Owen uses punctuation like this because he wants you to see war for what it is.The use of commas, slow what you are reading down, and making it lon ger, as if you are walking/trudging alongside these tired soldiers. As the stanza goes on Owen shortens the convictions, they are getting slower and slower, emphasizing the soldiers exhaustion. Also the words trudge and sludge give a heavy sound and feel to the poem, as if you can hear the soldiers heavy footsteps. The last line of the first stanza, Wilfred Owen uses alliteration, gas shells dropping softly behind, the repeated S sound, the sibilant S, makes a soft and smooth sound, like a lullaby, slowly easing you to sleep. This hints at what the soldiers feel like, tired and exhausted. Owen uses this for a contrast in the next line.Gas Gas this is more powerful and contrasting technique used hither to create an atmosphere of panic and horror. The use of exclamation marks here in any case portray a scene of panicking and rushing. Owen uses direct speech here to draw us in and to speak to us, which is assorted from the first stanza where Owen uses the past tense. The imagery he re is really engaging it gives us the sense of rushing to match the clumsy helmets.The word clumsy is a use of personification. Its as if the helmets were fighting against the soldiers. Personification is useful, because you can relate to a human experience/image. Floundering is a strong verb It gives you a clear image of this man struggling for life. Wilfred Owen excessively uses an elongate metaphor of the sea, giving you a clear and a visual image of this struggle. As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. An extended metaphor keeps the image going. plunges, guttering, choking, drowning are all related to the sea, so therefore an extended metaphor.Also the words guttering, choking, drowning are a form of onomatopoeia, Owen makes us use our senses, to hear this mans suffering. As if we were there. The poet uses the adjective green, this colour is a good deal associated with evil, this is used to make the readers think that everything that is going on is evil and wrong. In all my dreams, ahead my helpless sight this is a quite shocking sentence to use. Wilfred Owen has obviously been scared by this mans death, not one but all of his dreams re haunted by this man dying in front of his sight. This creates a feeling of horror and sympathy for Wilfred Owen and all the men who suffered like this.It is obvious in the third stanza, that war disgusts Wilfred Owen. The adjectives he uses emphasize his conviction adjectives like vile, obscene and bitter. These are all very harsh words to use, but all portray his opinion clearly. The imagery Owen also uses in this stanza gives the impression that war is disgusting. The simile like a devils sick of sin shows Owens absolute disgust, you can feel that as well. This simile implies that war is the work of the devil, and even he is sick of it Another poetic technique used in this stanza is the alliteration of the letter W- fix the white eyes writhing in his face You cant exactly say it quickly so you have to say it slow ly so you can think about it, and realise the horror and reality of what is happening.The tone throughout this stanza is angry and harsh this reflects Wilfred Owens thoughts and feelings about war. Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori is a lie and Wilfred Owen is disgusted by it A capital L is used to make the lie important, and a colon is used to introduced the unforgivable lie, it is also used to make us run off and think about it before we say it. Wilfred Owen uses a great depth of feeling in this poem, he uses emotive phraseology and his personal impression and traumatic experience of war affects the convincing and clear marrow of the devastation of war Comparison of both war poems(Dulce et decorum est and felo-de-se in the trenches)As a comparison to the poem by Wilfred Owen, we have been studying felo-de-se in the trenches by the war poet, Siegfried Sassoon. Dulce et Decorum Est and Suicide in the trenches themes are similar. They both are about the reality and harshness of war. Unlike Dulce et Decorum Est, from the title Suicide in the Trenches you can figure out that the title is about death, to be specific a suicide.The word Siegfried Sassoon uses in the title, suicide, could mean a few different things. Maybe it could mean that going to war is suicidal, or basically that someone commits suicide in the trenches. Its different to Dulce et Decorum Est because it isnt ironic and Sassoon actually tells you what happens, he puts you straight, whilst Owen leaves you thinking about the theme and message of the poem. The poem, like Dulce et Decorum Est, focuses on the death of one soldier in the First World War. Sassoon describes this young mans life before the war, and how undecomposable it was, and how satisfied he was with it.The poet then goes to talk about the war, and the horror of it. Its as if Sassoon is making a list of all that is wrong and bad about the war, but mainly what is wrong with the trenches. In the second stanza he stresses the awf ul health conditions, loneliness, patriotism, and the lack of resources the soldiers faced in the trenches. Siegfried Sassoons use of the word and in the second stanza is as if he is building up to the point where this man cant take any more of it, so he commits suicide. Sassoon then speaks directly to us, like Wilfred Owen in Dulce et Decorum Est, both poets are disgusted by this war, but mostly by the people who cheer and support the soldiers. In a way, they both makes us feel guilty about it.In the first stanza, Siegfried Sassoon uses the adjective simple to describe the soldiers life before the war. He led a simple life, but was satisfied with it. The adjective simple could have also been used to indicate that this was a boy, simple and nave. The poet also says who grinned at life in empty mirth. This suggests that this boy didnt have many aims in life, and didnt let anything really disoblige him. This could also mean that he was from a working background, like a farm. The sen tence And whistled early with the lark suggests that he had to get up early, like a farmer. Unlike Dulce et Decorum Est, the first stanza in Suicide in the Trenches is quite positive.Sassoon uses words like joy, grinned, and slept soundly. Sassoon also uses distribute vowels, boy and joy, which are light words to say. All these words accentuate his freedom and happiness. Siegfried Sassoon uses these particular words for a contrast in the next stanza, where all these proscribe and heavy words are used. The poet does this contrast to toy with our emotions. The poet also might have done this to emphasize the harshness and reality of war, and how different it is to this boys simple but satisfied life.In the second stanza, Sassoon uses the rhyming couplet glum and rum. These are quite heavy words, and not like the open vowels used in the first stanza. Siegfried Sassoon uses these to emphasize the soldiers, how glum and weary they were, and to highlight how tiring and difficult it was f or them. The words lack of rum could mean two things that literally there was no rum, or he was less energetic, because rum dulls the senses. Maybe without it he cant cope. I have said before that Sassoons use of the word and and his lack of punctuation in the first two lines to drag the sentences on, and that makes it longer, and makes it sound longer too. In a way Sassoon is building up all the horrible things to the point where this young man cant take any more of it.This creates sympathy for the soldiers who faced conditions like this. Siegfried Sassoon only uses two lines to portray the conditions of war, whilst Wilfred Owen uses many more lines and makes it longer and more expatiate. In the third line of the second stanza, the sentence He put a bullet through his brain. Finishes with a full stop. The full stop used here highlights the particular that this mans life has ended. His life, like the sentence, has come to a stop. Sassoon uses punctuation here, to stop and make you think about what has actually just happened. The next line No one spoke of him again. Is a change in the rhythm.Throughout the poem so far, there has been eight syllables in each line, but when we get to this sentence there is only seven syllables. Sassoon changes the rhythm here to stress the fact there isnt any need to speak of this man again. Although, the change in rhythm could also mean that people are in a way ashamed to speak of this man again, because he committed suicide, everyone overlooks him as a coward. The poet uses a full stop here as well, to make the reader stop and acknowledge what has just happened.The third stanza is like the last stanza in Dulce et Decorum Est. The poets speak directly to us and tell us how they feel about the war, and how disgusted they are by it. The tones used by both the poets in the last stanza are a little sympathetic but really angry, this illustrates their actual feelings of war. The tone used is also potpourri of disgraced, as if Sass oon is ashamed of crowd of people cheering at these young lads. It makes us think about what we think of war, and makes us question ourselves on our opinions etc. When Sassoon uses the metaphor hell he is describing war as hell. This gives a clear and evident image to relate to. Wilfred Owen also uses the image of hell in Dulce et Decorum Est too. This image makes the reader understand that war is a hellish and horrible place. When Siegfried Sassoon says youth and laughter he is trying to get the image across that these are young lads. He uses words like simple, lads, boy, youth and laughter to underline that these were nave insecure children.It is clear that Siegfried Sassoon disapproves of the fact that children of fighting in this hellish place. Wilfred Owen also does this in Dulce et Decorum Est. Wilfred Owen says My friend you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory, the old lie Siegfried Sassoon uses the word kindling, to describe the eye (s) of the smug-faced crowds. Sassoon tries to show with a sarcastic tone that they think war is a glorious thing, that they feel proud of these children, and seem to understand and appreciate what they are doing. But in reality, they can never imagine what these children are going through, and in reality, they dont care or feel appreciative of what the children did. Therefore, the word kindling reveals the hypocrisy behind people who support war.The structure of this poem is different to Dulce et Decorum Est. Sassoon uses rhyme and rhythm to make the poem sound light and bouncy. He not only does this to make it more memorable, but he does this to emphasize the contrast of what the smug-faced crowds impression and enthusiasm towards war, and what the reality and harshness of war actually is. Siegfried Sassoon also could of used the rhyme and rhythm like this, because it sort of like a childrens poem. He could have done this to accentuate the naive young mans death.Dulce et Decorum E st was dragged out more, and longer. The rhyme is different and wasnt as noticeable as Suicide in the Trenches. Also in suicide in the trenches, Sassoon stresses all the good and jolly words in stanza one, to reflect the boys happy/joyful life. In stanza two though, Sassoon stresses all the bad and negative words to point out the awful conditions. This makes you, as a reader, feel the sympathy for the soldiers.After reading and analysing both the poems, I prefer Dulce et Decorum Est. I like this poem better, because the poet used very detailed imagery. Wilfred Owen describes the scene more, and describes the soldiers as well. I had more images to relate to, and that helped me to understand the poems message, and poets feeling and what he was trying to put across.I also like the idea that Wilfred Owen didnt give much away to what the poem was about, and left you thinking and wondering after reading the title. Although the rhyming in Suicide in the Trenches is more memorable, I like t he fact that in Dulce et Decorum Est, you dont really recognize the rhyme at first. But I do like the poem Suicide in the Trenches, but I felt it more effective that Wilfred Owen uses his personal traumatic experience to explain what war is actually like.(Thankyou for reading my essay I hope you enjoyed it and that it helped you