A poem which I have recently read is: “Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen. The main point Wilfred Owen tries to convey in this poem is the sheer horror of war. Owen uses many techniques to show his feelings, some of which I’ll be exploring.
Wilfred Owen is a tired soldier on the front line during World War I. In the first stanza of Dulce Et Decorum Est he describes the men and the condition they are in and through his language shows that the soldiers deplore the conditions. Owen then moves on to tell us how even in their weak human state the soldiers march on, until the enemy fire gas shells at them. This sudden situation causes the soldiers to hurriedly put their gas masks on, but one soldier did not put it on in time. Owen tells us
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Simile is often used by poets and is used mainly for description in Dulce Et Decorum Est. The poet provides us with these similes as he has simplified them to a state in which we would understand them. An example of this would be: “flound’ring like a man in fire or lime…” this example makes us aware of the movement which this soldier would use during the gas attack “flound’ring”. Another implication this simile has is that the soldier would not be in control of the situation as if a man was on fire he would not be able to put it out simply and this would be similar with the soldier used in the example as this would be an unusually helpless situation for him to be in. Owen does not use simile as much as the previous kinds of imagery.
There are several image groups used in this poem, two of which I will be reviewing. The first image group is “Sleep or Dreams”. Owen often refers to many subconscious states like the afore mentioned one, the reason why he uses these references so frequently is that war is made apparent to the reader as being a subconscious state as the realities often seem to be too hard to except, an example which backs up my opinion is: “Men marched asleep”. The poet often refers to dreams. I believe part of the reason for this is that by dreaming you are escaping from the physical reality and surroundings and due to the horror and constant threat of death the soldiers would constantly be dreaming of home and their loved ones. However,
Owen intends to shock us by presenting the reality he is feeling, this is why I had chosen this to be one of my poems Owen usesgraphic descriptions, speaking in a very direct and straightforward way, using words that convey ugliness and also shows the reality of war which clearly changes our thoughts of war in the end.
From another perspective, the simile in the line further indicates that the soldiers had also lost their human rights, not to mention their basic funeral rights. The soldiers had been brutally slaughtered like cows. This hints at the extreme brutality and savagery of the war. Pointing out this fact, Owen reveals his dismay about the reality of war. In conclusion, using the rhetorical question and simile, he portrays the war as a place, where innocent youths are being wasted and discarded. He implies his negative and skeptical perspective on this aspect of
First, Owen uses logos to explain the horrible experience in WWI. The tile of this poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” means, it is honorable and sweet to die for own country, (Poetry Foundation), but the experience was too depressing. Owen uses the stanza like "But someone still was yelling…… man in fire or lime”, the ones who weren’t able to rich out their mask were choking and stumbling from toxic gas. Plus, a gas was all they needed to wipe out the field. (line 11,12) In line 5 and 6 he says, “Men marched asleep”, right before the gas blew off, some solders were men were sleep, as other limped their bloody feet as they lost their boots in battle
A poem which I have recently read is: "Dulce Et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen. The main point Wilfred Owen tries to convey in this poem is the sheer horror of war. Owen uses many techniques to show his feelings, some of which I'll be exploring.
“In his poetry, Wilfred Owen depicts the horror and futility of war and the impact war has on individuals.”
who have not slept in a bed for weeks on end. In the description "his
The First World War was a time of great loss of life and bloodshed. Wilfred Owen, a soldier fighting with the British Army, wrote the poem Dulce et Decorum est to describe, possibly to the public, the horrific consequences of taking part and fighting in the war. During the poem, he describes the aftermath of a poison gas attack, and the injuries sustained by a soldier whom had inhaled the deadly substance. Owen uses gruesome imagery to vividly show in verse the horrible death the soldier faces, in the trenches of France. The poem Dulce et Decorum est is widely regarded as one of the greatest war poems ever written, and is a fine example of an anti-war protest in the form of poetry.
In the poem “Dulce Et Decorum Est”, Wilfred Owen introduces the reader to the reality of the horrors of war, a far different story than what is portrayed in the media today. It tells the story of a battle in WW1, describing in vividly shocking detail the terror that occurs. Owen uses very descriptive imagery in his writing to convey the message that the old saying - dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - is a lie, and the terrible reality of war is incomprehensibly painful. Owen uses terms such as “the white eyes writhing in his face” and “vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues” to reveal how atrocious the experiences of the soldiers were.
Owen’s poem: “Dulce Et Decorum Est” describes what horrible fates soldiers could meet when they least expect it. This poem takes place in the trenches of the warfront with Owen describing his first hand experiences. He and some other soldiers are marching through the trenches, wet, dirty and fatigued all while the sounds of gunfire and artillery are constant. Suddenly, from the silence and the slow pace of the soldiers, a gas attack begins and Owen describes the scene as being “an ecstasy of fumbling” as they put on their gas masks just in time, however, not everyone was fast enough and Owen says “someone still was yelling out and stumbling, and floundering like a man on fire or lime… Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, as under a green sea, I saw him drowning”. The aim of this poem Is to juxtapose the idea that it is sweet and honorable to die for one’s country when in reality, at least for this soldier, it was not, he dies in agony, with no hope of being saved, as he takes more and more breaths he comes closer to death. This juxtaposition is continued as Owen describes how the body of the man is treated, “If In smothering dreams you too could pace behind the wagon we
to show how quickly they had to react to the attack and to draw our
Contradicting the Classical Ideas of Heroism and Romanticism in Dulce et Decorum est, The Send Off, But I Was Looking At The Permanent Stars, The Deadbeat soldier, Counter Attack, Metal Cases and other War Poems by Wilfred Owen
In the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, Owen provides descriptive insight into how gruesome and traumatic life on the battlefield during World War I was. Unlike the glorified versions of war depicted in society today, Owen describes the conflicts the soldiers had to face, like struggling to move through cancerous fields after sleepless nights. Rather than portraying a heroic image of war, Owen shows that it was actually chaotic, disheartening, and belligerent. Owens utilization of the shift in tone compliments his demonstration of the authenticity of war.
Wilfred Owen can be considered as one of the finest war poets of all times. His war poems, a collection of works composed between January 1917, when he was first sent to the Western Front, and November 1918, when he was killed in action, use a variety of poetic techniques to allow the reader to empathise with his world, situation, emotions and thoughts. The sonnet form, para-rhymes, ironic titles, voice, and various imagery used by Owen grasp the prominent central idea of the complete futility of war as well as explore underlying themes such as the massive waste of young lives, the horrors of war, the hopelessness of war and the loss of religion. These can be seen in the three poems, ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’, ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ and
Poems using strong poetic technique and devices are able to create a wide range of emotions from the readers. Wilfred Owen’s poetry effectively uses these poetic techniques and devices to not only create unsettling images about war but to provide his opinion about war itself with the use of themes within his poem. The use of these themes explored Owen’s ideas on the futility of war and can be seen in the poems: Anthem for Doomed Youth, Futility and The Next War. The poems provide unsettling images and belief of war through the treatment of death, barbaric nature of war and the futility of war.
Throughout Wilfred Owen’s collection of poems, he unmasks the harsh tragedy of war through the events he experienced. His poems indulge and grasp readers to feel the pain of his words and develop some idea on the tragedy during the war. Tragedy was a common feature during the war, as innocent boys and men had their lives taken away from them in a gunshot. The sad truth of the war that most of the people who experienced and lived during the tragic time, still bare the horrifying images that still live with them now. Owen’s poems give the reader insight to this pain, and help unmask the tragedy of war.