Dulce Et Decorum Est

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!-An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime... Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in,

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.

BACKGROUND

The most well-known and often quoted of Owens poetry; ties in many of the central concerns of his work Written during his recuperation at Craiglockhart hospital in Scotland, October 1917 An ironic poem, very cynical Describes the experience of a gas attack in warfare, then uses one mans gruesome death to demonstrate the horror of war and expose the deception of the propaganda about the glory of war Title is ironic, Owen felt that young men went to war for the wrong reasons Veracity truth The veracity, immediacy and spontaneity of details he records suggest very strongly that the poem was based directly on Owens personal experience PURPOSE Owen intended to shock the public at home into an awareness of the realities of war, He confronts the whitewashing of patriotism by deflating the Romantic heroism perpetuate by nationalistic myths Mustard gas was the secret weapon of WWI It is this form of death the poet chooses to focus on to show how the new rules of warfare made the old patriotic lies about the nobility of fighting for ones country unacceptable. Young men sent to war without the proper knowledge Government created a glorious image of war Under a green sea lenses

Poem in Detail Soldiers are exhausted and are unable to walk upright Their knapsacks making them look like old beggars The soldiers trudge on until the flares which were used to illuminate the field for the gunners to aim their cannons When they reach the camp they have a few days respite They are so tired, feet covered in blood, with no boots on So tired that it is like being drunk Dont even notice the shells dropping behind them Someone, officer?, realises the shells are releasing gas and yells out an urgent warning The gas masks hade circle lenses made of greenish glass Wearer saw the world in a green misty haze The man who had been gas had his lungs burnt and could not get enough oxygen which was effectively drowning in a green sea Men watching the man dying, his life ebbing away like a dying candle

There was nothing the soldiers could do to save the man More pain than he could bear, surfeit (full) of sin Roman times: the lie that it is sweet and meet (or satisfying and right) to die for your country

GLOSSARY Knapsack: backpack, leather or canvas bags carried by soldiers Knock-kneed: having knees that point inwards slightly, suggestive of physical strain Hag: an ugly or unpleasant old woman like a witch Curse: to say or think bad things; swear angrily Sludge: thick, filthy mud Flares: a blazes of light shot up into the sky; used to illuminate the battlefield and make it easier to see enemy targets Blood-shod: feet voered in blood (shod wering footgear/ shoes) Outstripped: overtaken, exceeded Five-nines: German 5.9 inch calibre artillery shells Lime: quicklime made from calcium oxide (CaO) a caustic solid which can burn deeply into exposed flesh. Water renders it harmless Cud: regurgitated food returned to the mouth for further chewing Ardent: passionate Zest: enthusiasm, excitement, zeal and passion

IDEAS:

- What is the subject matter, content and Owens thoughts about the topic? THEMES:
Does he make generalisations about humanity and people? Futility how people deal with grief Disabled

What is the message Owen wants us to take away after we have read the poem? Are there any universal insights to how people behave?

How has Owen shaped our perceptions about the topic? What is your personal response?

FORM Has Owen chosen a specific form of poetry to express his ideas and themes? What contribution does form have to the overall meaning of the poem?

Is the use of that form intended to be ironic or serious? Appropriates the use of various forms, LANGUAGE Which words does Owen use for his subject matter? What tone do the words create

How do the words convey his attitude and feelings How do the words affect the way we respond?

POETIC TECHNIQUES Owen has deliberately chosen a range of visual and aural techniques. These techniques are used to create an image that Owen wants to share with us. Each time you explain you identify a specific technique you must explain its purpose and effect. Visual techniques: metaphor, simile, personification, imagery. Aural techniques: onomatopoeia, assonance, alliteration, rhythm, rhyme scheme

OVERVIEW Form: four stanzas, basic pattern of rhyming alternate lines (abab etc) tends to bind units of meaning together.

Stanza 1: 8 limes, describes the situation Stanza 2: 6 lines effect of the gas attack The last two lines of this stanza form similar rhyming pattern with the isolated couplet in stanza 3, linking these two degrees of unreality. The repetition of drowning intensifies this link. Stanza 3: 2 lines, effect on the persona Stanza 4: 12 lines, turns it into a shared experience with the reader, Owen directly addresses the audience, calls a response for action from the reader,

Summary 1. Before the attack, 1st person plural, past tense narration 2.during the attack itself, 1st person, present participles 3. Aftermath: psychological effects, 1st person singular

4. The aftermath: directed towards the responder, 1st person addressing the reader in 2nd person (you) accusing tone Past present future IDEAS

Centres around the horror of a gas attack, with events before and after effects described vividly Physical and psychological effects of war, the trauma of witnessing The indignity of death anthem of doomed youth, showing the undignified unceremonious events on the battlefield, focuses on the human side of it Allusion to patriotic odes of the past used to glorify war: this is used ironically

THEMES Betrayal parable, Some higher authority should have intervened Sacrifice parable Pity

TONE

The inglorious nature of war Using the Latin ode,

- Bitter, horrified, disgusted and resentful IRREGULAR RHYTHM

Symbolic of the dysfunction he sees in war and in the society that sends its men to war RHYME Is strong (abab) LANGUAGE

Is emotive and graphic visual imagery also demands an emotional response from the reader. However, this doesnt detract from the force of his intellectual argument The full ode comes at the end of the poem in Latin, which translates as: it is sweet (satisfying) and fitting (noble/right/decorous) to die for ones country. This heavily ironic for Owen there is nothing dignified or beautiful about the death he has seen He is satirising an ode by Horace, an ancient Roman poet, who was famous for his patriotism. Owen subverts the myths of English history and patriotism Alludes to a historical figure

TITLE

Ode: a lyric poem praising or glorifying an event or person ALLITERATION Unites certain words, affects the rhythm, draws attention, emphasises/ replicates sound to create tone (hushed, harsh, demanding, etc.)

Notes of Stanza 1: Imagery, alliteration, similes, metaphor bent double made half-men physically broken under the burden of hardship and pain; contrasts with the patriotic image of upright, strong young men. Simile #1 like old beggars an unexpected comparison that creates an impression of low status, reduced humanity, conjures ideas of poverty and degradation; suggests youth have aged prematurely by their experience. knock-kneed alliteration draws attention; laborious Simile #2 coughing like hags sickly, punctures the lie of the traditional image of soldiers as conquering heroes. Coughing also foreshadows effect of the gas to come. cursed shows their unhappiness; war is a scourge on mankind i.e. a curse sludge a dirty, evocative image haunting flares an unsettling adjective; night-time, they are so close to the front that the gunners flares are now behind them all went lame, all blind.. deaf even exhaustion deadens their senses drunk with fatigue metaphor; out of control Notes on Stanza 2: repetition, punctuation, imagery, present tense

gas this is the focus of this stanza. Repetition and punctuation marks this shift as the poem moves from the drudgery of marching to an explosion of activity. Exclamation mark shows panic. boys reminds us of their youth ecstasy a striking, unexpected comparison which gains our attention. Alliteration of fumbling / fitting heightens the urgency and reinforces clumsy they are unused to this new weapon and the masks are unwieldy/ difficult to put on in time creates faster pace (sound of f) Use of present tense (present participles) fumbling, stumbling, floundering, drowning in the moment, highly emotive and visual. just in time anticlimax the men are safe just in time. The next line But changes this. floundring like a man in fire or lime... simile recalls a fish out of war, man unable to breathe... helpless Fire/lime imagery. Both destructive/corrosive and Owen makes it clear that gas is as deadly as these, albeit invisible Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light contributes to the surreal atmosphere. Green lenses of the gas masks make the scene nightmarish. As under a green sea, I saw him drowning repeats green, sickly colour. I saw indicates firsthand experience, Owen can attest to the truth and horror of this. Heightens the immediacy. Drowning not literally, but lacking air metaphor that builds on the image of the green sea.