Poetry and et Decorum est Essay

Submitted By xnikole
Words: 536
Pages: 3
Open Document
Dulce Et Decorum Est

The theme of the poem 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' is to persuade the reader of the horrors of war. Wilfred Owen conveys the horrors of war by making us understand the brutality of war and dramatically shares his experience. The poem powerfully engagies and draws the reader in by imagery and metaphor.

In the first verse the poet is trying to provoke feelings in us by explaining "Knock-kneed, coughing like hags". this shows how all of the troop aren't happy and confident like the propaganda conveys. They are infact weak and lifeless. Owen creates a vivid image by expressing the horrors of war. He shows the state of the men, "Knock-kneed" suggests the men are not strong up-right soldiers, they are almost powerful. Another example of powerful language is the simile, "coughing like hags". A hag is an old decrepit woman, the poet is explaining how physically and mentally worn out the soldiers are, and how they no longer look like soldiers.

The horrors of war are described effectively in the second stanza through an event. He describes a gas attack happening right infront of his eyes, the words, "Gas! GAS! Quick, boys" shows the tiredness and the panic of the men. The horror of the gas attack shows how difficult tasks are when powerless. The poet attempts to persuade the reaser of the horrors of war when he says "An ecstacy of fumbling, fitting the clumsy helmets just in time" this powerfully shows the reality of gas attacks and conveys the adrenalin that rushes through the soldiers when their lives are put in danger.

In the couplet "In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning" the poet powerfully aims to sadden you and makes you understand how the war has a tremendous impact on Owen and the other soldiers. The emotional side of war and how it destroys the mind is portrayed. There is no damage control what so ever, the drea,s take over and terrorise him. The words 'guttering, choking,
Show More

Related Documents: Poetry and et Decorum est Essay

Essay about Poetry: Dulce et Decorum est pro patria Mori and War

I have taken poetry as my focus for an alternative viewpoint of World War One. I discovered that when people think of World War One poetry, they think of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. Both of these men fought in the war so, instantly you might consider their viewpoint reliable. However, viewpoints are taken from different peoples perspectives and might be influenced by others, making poetry, as a source, less reliable. Whilst it is dangerous to make generalisations about all soldiers based…

Words 925 - Pages 4

Poetry Analysis Essay

following techniques? Wilfred Owen, one of the leading poets of the First World War, was a young, English soldier, who battled for his country. The poems, Anthem for Doomed Youth and Dulce Et Decorum Est were written while Owen was sitting as an injured soldier in the hospital. The main theme of Dulce Et Decorum Est is the reality of war and the central theme of Anthem for Doomed Youth is the premature deaths of young soldiers. World War 1 was a very emotional and horrific experience for the soldiers…

Words 947 - Pages 4

Essay The Old Lie

0514 1 0514 Professor Fields English 102 October 8, 2014 The Old Lie Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” and Yusef Komunyakaa’s “Facing It” are both poems that bring to light the more negative features of war. Though “Dulce et Decorum Est” immerses the reader into the midst of war and “Facing It” is set instead next to a war memorial, both poems seem to convey impressions that oppose the traditional outlook that war is glorious and heroic, and each speaker feels the critical aspects of battle…

Words 1019 - Pages 5

Poetry Analysis Essay

Poetry Analysis Paragraph: Dulce et decorum Est In Wilfred Owens’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est,” the horrific suffering of a soldier submerged in the gruesome reality of war is vividly illustrated through the use of visual and auditory imagery. In the first stanza, the Speaker sets the foundation of the poem with descriptive and carefully chosen words. The Speaker wants the Reader to experience and empathize with the soldiers; to achieve this purpose he has selected words to describe the overall…

Words 344 - Pages 2

Essay on Dulce Et Decorum Est Exemplar 2015

Dulce Et Decorum Est Analysis Wilfred Owen fought for his country in World War I. At this time, the dominant ideology in Britain was that it was an honour to fight for one’s country. “The war was fought on a high point of patriotism and a belief in the existing social hierarchy…beliefs that the modern world finds hard to understand.” 1 “The vast majority of people fought in World War I or supported it with the ‘home front’ because they believed a victory for their country was worth the cost.”…

Words 575 - Pages 3

Poetry and Dulce et Decorum Essay

best interest of the public. This replaced that hopeful, romanticised honour. The short story, War by Luigi Pirandello and the poem, Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen both effectively use irony to convey this sense of a ‘faceless’ war. In contrast, the prose in War is based on dialogue and rhetoric questions whereas the poetic structure of Dulce Et Decorum Est offer an emotional impact through imagery, meter and descriptive language. These wars are portrayed as timeless in these readings to drive…

Words 418 - Pages 2

Analysis Of Wilfred Owen's Horrific Dulce Et Decorum Est

Wilfred Owen’s horrific Dulce et Decorum Est and Carol Ann Duffy’s reflective poem The Last Post reject the propaganda surrounding war and emphasise its true horror. Owen’s persona is a solider on the frontline during the war, who vividly describes his experiences. This persona is used to bring the solider’s horrible experience to life using a personal recall of his agony during a gas attack. Whereas, Duffy’s persona is someone reflecting on the war and imagines what could happen if time ran backwards…

Words 401 - Pages 2

Essay about Dulce et Decorum est

Wilfred Owen's poetry is a passionate expression of outrage at the horrors and suffering at war. His portrayal of war is memorable and creates an in depth understanding of the suffering endured by the young soldiers, such as the physical horrors in "Dulce et Decorum Est" or the unseen mental torment that plague the soldiers after they were home in "Mental Cases". His diverse use of imagery and technique is what makes him the most memorable of the war poets. These poems evoke more from us than simple…

Words 717 - Pages 3

English: Dulce et Decorum est Essay

recognised that poetry is a powerful medium by which one can convey messages that allow the responder to reflect upon human experiences. He wished to show the experiences of war by composing very confronting poetry. His mastery of recreating the appalling conditions of war, and its resultant trauma, both physical and mental, have a significant impact on the reader, forcing them to see, as Owen stated, "the pity of war." This is particularly evident in his poems, “Disabled” and “Dulce Et Decorum Est” which…

Words 1271 - Pages 6

Essay about War Poetry

To what extent does the poetry of war dispel the myths associated with the war propaganda of World War I? Throughout the early 1900’s the war propaganda that was published to entice young men to enlist and join the war gave them false ideas about the front line. Young men and boys were told that war was one big adventure and encouraged to go to the great war and become a hero. Young men were fooled into believing that dying for your country was sweet and honourable however three men who fought in…

Words 994 - Pages 4