The traditional interpretation was that soldiers spent all of their time in horrific conditions which they constantly experienced and they feared the factor of being sent ‘Over the top’ and that trenches were full of rats, lice and disease. This is
Owen sympathizes with the vain young men who have no idea of the horrors of war, who are 'seduced' by others (Jessie Pope) and the recruiting posters. The detail in Owen's poetry puts forward his scenes horrifically and memorably. His poems are suffused with the horror of battle. Many of Owen's poems bring across disturbing themes and images, which stay in the mind long after readers have read them. His aim is not poetry, but to describe the full horrors of war.
Wilfred Owen’s poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ describes a particular scene in the lives of WWI soldiers. Owen opens the poem with a description of the soldiers who are ‘Bent double, like old beggars’ (line 1). The soldiers are tired, fatigued, their feet are bleeding; they are marching from the battlefield towards their camp for some rest. They are then attacked by poisonous gas, effects of which are similar to drowning. One of the soldiers fails to fit the gas mask in time, and Owen masterfully describes himself witnessing the soldier’s gruesome death.
In “Dulce et Decorum est” one particular man is severely suffering from an awful gas attack. The gas is entering his lungs and drowning them, the rest of his friends have to merely watch as he is “Guttering and choking”. This would be a traumatic scene to experience as well as to witness; it would probably mentally scar the soldiers. At one point the Soldier dying directly asks the narrator for help, this is a very prominent part of the poem and emphasises the pure desperation. Also, similarly to “The Send Off” Owen continuously uses sarcastic and rude comments towards the government.
Unfortunately one soldier doesn’t get his mask on in time and suffers a horrific death. Owen then describes the nightmares he has after witnessing such an awful sight which leads up to the moral message at the end of the poem. Wilfred Owen uses a number of literary techniques to describe the physical and mental suffering of the soldiers marching back to base. For example imagery is expressed with the use of the simile “like old beggars, under sacks” is effective because it compares the young soldiers to old beggars showing that the war has prematurely aged them and the sacks refer to the heavy bags of equipment they carry on their backs. A similar example would be the simile “coughing like hags” again a reference to being old as a hag is an elderly woman.
The third stanza starts with the man being thrown into a wagon and driven away. He then talks in deeper detail about the gas and how vile it is. The stanza ends with how young men and children alike should not be told “the old lie” Dulce et Decorum est.” The rhyming scheme Wilfred Uses is AB ab and is effective because it uses the layout of the poem to help exaggerate the sadness and depravity of the men. It starts calm with men trudging back to base and this is effective because it builds tension which in the second stanza is released to create a fully-fledged war story with death and explosions surrounding him and the men. The third stanza starts with the loading of dying or injured men into wagons to be carried away to hospitals or mass graves if they
World War 1 Essay: ‘The Worst thing about the trenches was the mud’? I agree that Mud was one of the worst things in the trenches. The Mud was very unpleasant. There was so much rain, the trenches filled with water and mud. The soldiers' uniforms and kilts were often heavily soiled with mud.
Another visual image is used when “many has lost their boots but limped on, blood shot” and “drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots” creates the mental image of men struggling to stay alive, half rotten and half alive and closer to death (5-7). Another sample of image is used when he begging’s to describe the terrain “dim, through the misty panes and the thick green light, as under a green sea, I saw him drowning” not only does he describe the gas gulping his fellow friends but he describes the death of a soldier when he becomes drowned from the gas and his own vomit and saliva (13-14) Owen also uses auditory image when describing the effects of the gas on one of his fellow soldiers “come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud” the auditory image of such death is compared to being ill with cancer and knowing you’re dieing (22-23). Another visual image paired with “gas! Gas! Quick boys, an ecstasy of fumbling” and but someone still was yelling out and stumbling” creates the image of chaos and confusion within the soldiers that are being attacked and infected with the poisonous gas (9-10).
A technique used to enhance the mood is imagery. Such as, describing the soldiers as “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”. By using this simile it gives us a good description of the soldiers and suggests how unclean, malnourished and the health the soldiers are. Another good image used is “Drunk with fatigue” this implies the idea of the soldiers being unaware of things happening around them but by saying they are drunk with fatigue gives the idea they are struggling to move, even stand because they’re so tired from fighting. By using words like “sludge” and “trudge” contrasts with the way an average person perceives the idea of a soldier, they are usually seen as marching and singing songs to keep up spirits however this is not the case here.
I see men begging to have their feet removed, the flesh on their feet rotting away because of the chronic wet conditions in the trenches. I see the dozens of dead bodies of my fallen brethren accumulating in the trenches because it is too dangerous most times to give them a proper burial. I close my eyes today and still cannot escape the sounds of war–the constant gunfire, tank blasts, and the screams of men. I still see enemy soldiers overtaken by mustard gasses, blood streaming from their eyes and mouths and their desperate gasps for air. I remain inspired by my brothers, for we soldiers are able to keep our spirits high despite these conditions.