Jenna Wang Sept.

23, 2011 Period 2 Analysis of Wilfred Owens Dulce Et Decorum Est Essay Dulce Et Decorum Est is a poem that represents the horror of war in the perspective of Wilfred Owen, a British soldier fighting in World War I. Owen uses many ways to help the reader understand the terror of war. One example of how Owen conveys the message is through literary devices, such as alliteration, similes, metaphors, personification, and imagery. Another example is that Owen uses a bitter, pitiful tone in his poem to create a sense of pity in the reader. Lastly, Owen uses imagery to express the brutality of war. He creates vivid images in the readers mind to arouse their sympathy for the dead soldiers. Wilfred Owen shows the reader the horror of war by delivering a message through many literary devices, creating a tone in the poem, and using vivid imagery in his poem, Dulce Et Decorum Est. Within Dulce Et Decorum Est, Wilfred Owen portrays death in war as a brutal and horrific experience. One example is when he describes a dead soldiers face as "his hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin (4:4)". It is through the use of simile that the poet arouses the sympathy of the responder as they witness the grotesque nature of such a death. Another example is when Owen creates a stark and confronting image within the reader's mind when he describes "the white eyes writhing in his face (4:3)". Lastly, Owen uses the line as under a green sea, I saw him drowning (2:6) to describe the horrible ghastly death of a man to the reader. This enhances the readers image of horror. Wilfred Owens message in Dulce Et Decorum Est is the horror and brutality of war. The poem, Dulce Et Decorum Est s tone is bitter, cold, and pitiful. First, the tone is bitter because Owen is describing the hardships and the horrors of war. For example, when Owen expresses the weariness of the soldiers as bent double, like old beggars under sacks (1:1)/ knock-kneed, coughing

like hags, we cursed through sludge (1:2). He uses these similes to help the reader better understand how tired the soldiers were. Second, the tone in the poem is cold because Owen portrays death in war as an inhuman event. He utilizes words that have definite negative connotations, such as "sludge (1:2)", "fatigue (1:7)", "guttering (3:2)", "froth-corrupted (4:6)", "vile (4:8)", and "incurable (4:8). Lastly, the tone is pitiful because Owen shows his pity for those dead soldiers that were once children ardent for some desperate glory (4:10) They had believed in the old lie: dulce et decorum est (4:11)/ pro patria mori (4:12), meaning that it is sweet and seemly to die for one's country, and joined the army with hopes to earn such honor. Wilfred Owen wanted the reader to interpret the poem as bitter, cold, and pitiful. Wilfred Owen uses imagery to express the horror of war. One example is when he says, men marched asleep. Many lost their boots (1:5)/ But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; (1:6)/ Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots (1:7)/ Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind (1:8). The soldiers had nearly died of exhaustion and pressure. Another example is when Owen says, Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! -An ecstasy of fumbling (2:1)/ Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time (2:2)/ But someone was yelling out and stumbling (2:3)/ And floundring like a man in fire or lime (2:4)/ Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light (2:5)/ As under a green sea, I saw him drowning (2:6). Owen describes the sudden gas attack and the soldiers who are choking to death because they had not been prepared for it. Wilfred Owen uses vivid imagery in Dulce Et Decorum Est to create the images of horror in the readers mind. Wilfred Owen shows that the war is a mind-numbing terror in his poem, Dulce Et Decorum Est. One example is when he conveys the message by using many literary terms throughout the poem. He uses many similes, personification, metaphors, and image descriptions to emphasize the horror of war. Another example is that Owen creates a bitter, cold tone in his poem to give readers an uneasy

feeling. Lastly, he uses imagery to paint horrific pictures in the readers minds to help them better understand his point. By conveying a message, creating a tone, and using vivid imagery, Wilfred Owen shows how horrifying and inhuman war is.