I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings Language Techniques

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Dulce et decorum est essay. Q: Describe at least one idea that you thought was important in the text(s). Wilfred Owen’s 1917 war poem Dulce et Decorum est, portrays the poet’s blatant condemnation of war, as seen through the use of shocking and gruesome imagery. It is set against the backdrop of World War 1, and tells the plight of soldiers fighting in the trenches. An important theme throughout the poem is the concept of war used to glorify violence. The title of the poem which was widely used propaganda at that time exalts the concept of war, saying it’s a good and honourable thing to die for your country, but in reality, as evidenced by the soldier in the poem could not be more different. The idea of suffering is explored with the use of depressing and dismal language. The use of simile such as “bent double like old beggars” gives the impression that the soldiers have been prematurely aged, and seemingly deformed by the harsh conditions of war. This simile is an important contrast of the information people were fed at the time of soldiers being strong and proud. Owen strips away the image of a glorified war to reveal the bitter and cruel nature of the war. The bitter imagery “Coughing like hags” and “but limped on” also develops the idea of these young man seeming old. Owen takes pity on these tired and weary soldiers as he describes them in the most unglamorous, inglorious manner. The statement “all went lame, all blind’, while being somewhat hyperbolic suggests that the soldiers had lost all previous objectives of war along with the line “cursed through sludge”. These two clearly contrast with the title ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ and thus shows the importance of how it dispels all sense of patriotism. The war takes on a nightmarish quality when we are told they were ‘marching asleep’, enhancing the notion that the war is so painful it is unreal, it is a

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