Dulce ET Decorum EST “Dulce et Decorum Est” is a powerful poem by Wilfred Owen which depicts the horrific conditions endured by young soldiers during World War One. The poem is divided into four sections: a description of the numbed, shell shocked conditions as they struggle to return from the frontline, an account of a gas attack, its haunting effects on Owen and a plea not to glorify war. Owens’s use of vivid imagery is particularly interesting in Verse one. For example the soldiers are described as “knocked kneed coughing like hags”. This is good word choice because it shows us how the men are suffering and that they are tired.
The first stanza reflects the severe condition of the worn out soldiers which is implied by hyperbole, such as “All went lame; all blind”(line 6), expressing the vehemence of the poets feelings more than the tragedy of the soldiers. The auditory and visual images Owen conjures in this stanza, however, create a shocking contrast with Horace´s idea that dying ‘heroically’ for one´s country is glorious, , “blood-shod”. Furthermore, by using the simile “bent double, like old beggars under sacks” in the first line, the poet further conjures the image of destitute persons, exhausted from the heavy weight of their bags and
Ones who died from these toxic gases were in a painful and miserable death. The ones that survived will never forget these images they saw and horrific experiences they had went through. Through Wilfred Owen’s imagery and Irony’s in his poem we can detect the tone, “Dulce et Decorum Est” is a horrific battle scene from World War I. The strong use of figurative language helps to interpret the real meaning of war. In the first line, "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”, shows us that the troops are so tired that they look like old beggars, slouching from being so drowsy.
The first stanza recognizes the numb souls of demoralized men with the similes "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks" and "coughing like hags." Their lameness, blindness, deafness, as they “trudge” towards the rear, reinforces the dejection of spirit. The exhausted “Men that marched asleep” can no longer hear "the hoots of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind". These remote shells are token reminders of the relentless shadow of looming death and when threatened by it, the soldiers come alive. The second stanza stirs the staggering men to life with a chemical attack; "Gas!
War is ‘obscene as cancer.’ Anti-war poet Wilfred Owen fought in World War 1 from which he was affected by shell shock. For the five years this war lasted, 65 million troops saw action. Of these, 8 million died, 21 million were injured and the remainder who returned physically unharmed were just as haunted mentally until their final breath. It was Owen’s time in hospital that he wrote poetry as part of his therapy. Unlike other authors, Owen’s purpose was to reveal the awful truths of war and let us see past what was said to be glorious.
“Dulce et Decorum Est” By Wilfred Owen Critical essay – Callum Kaczynski “Dulce et Decorum Est” is a truly inspiring poem written by Wilfred Owen. As a former soldier, Owen’s poetic exploration conveys the shocking reality of war, and his anger towards the destruction and devastation it causes. The physical state of the soldiers after war creates a pitiful sense of despair. “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks.” This simile shows that they may be seeking desperate help, rest, peace and shelter. At one point they were young, fit men, and now they are worn and weak.
He was constantly teased by his classmates because of his poor eyesight, as a result of myopia, and he wore the classic “coke bottle” type eyeglasses. As stated in “The poetry of Robert Hayden” by Adrienne Su, Literary Cavalcade 52. 2 (Oct 1999): 8-11, “this great African-American poet defied all categories and simply wrote about being human. Like all great artists, Robert Hayden (1913-1980) did not fit easily into narrow categories. He wrote about relationships, good and evil, history, family, and identity.
I find this idea interesting because it makes the reader think about what they were like when they turned ten or what they might feel when they are going to turn ten. The poet creates the image of a really scared young boy who is terrified of getting older. Collins presents the idea of a boy who feels sick of the idea of turning ten. The use of the simile, ‘The whole idea of it makes me feel like I’m coming down with something’ to show that he is consistently feeling sick about turning ten. The poet also lists childhood diseases, ‘Mumps’, ‘Measles’ and ‘Chicken pox’ to show how he is feeling really sick.
| LossLoveAnger | “As if she were stroking a little bird” | Simile.Class differences (Giles and Doc)Melodramatic, Giles dies after sleeping in rain.Poetic, rhythmic.Eyes are a metonym for beauty. | Sense and SensibilityJane Austen | 1811Rom. | MarriageRomanticIdealisticBetrayal | | Third person.Latinate adjectives for personality.Use of free indirect speech. | Jane EyreCharlotte Bronte | 1847Vic. | ForbiddenSocial divide | “Bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.”“With my veins running fire”“Women feel just as men feel”Use of pathetic fallacy | So close together they are one entity, co-dependent due to his disability, which joins them.
All these texts explore the concept of one person’s ‘truth’ in relation to another’s. The collection of poems constituting Birthday letters was created by Ted Hughes over a twenty plus year period following the suicide of his early wife Sylvia Plath. The single, internal perspective offered by Hughes’ poetry was always brand to be contentious. Ted Hughes poem, ‘The Shot’, gives his detailed perspective on Plath’s personality and her life in general. Hughes imposes the idea that Sylvia’s father was responsible for her instability through use of personification, “when his death touched the trigger.” Hughes talks of how Plath’s paranoid state caused destruction to the people she loved and whom loved her.