Poetry and music have been strong ways for expressing human emotions, thoughts, and experiences. They have the unique ability to evoke strong emotions and connect with people on a deeper level. This essay will analyse the theme of war in Wilfred Owen's poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" and Redgum's song "I Was Only Nineteen". Both texts use significant poetic and stylistic devices to comment on the horrors of war and its impact on soldiers. Wilfred Owen's poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" was written during World War I and described the horrors and reality of war.
Both Ted Hughes and Wilfred Owen present war in their poems “Bayonet Charge” and “Exposure”, respectively, as terrifying experiences, repeatedly mentioning the honest pointlessness of the entire ordeal to enhance the futility of the soldiers' deaths. Hughes’ “Bayonet Charge” focuses on one person's emotional struggle with their actions, displaying the disorientating and dehumanising qualities of war. Owen’s “Exposure”, on the other hand, depicts the impacts of war on the protagonists' nation, displaying the monotonous and unending futility of the situation by depicting the fate of soldiers who perished from hypothermia, exposed to the horrific conditions of open trench warfare before dawn. The use of third-person singular pronouns in “Bayonet
In the Poem Dulce Et Decorum Est It is about the horrors of war and how no one ever realises it if they war not in the army. As Wilfred Owen Said “Dim, Through the misty panes and thick green light/ As under a green sea, I saw him drowning/ In all my dreams, Before my helpless sight,/ He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning”(Document C). The soldier that tells the story states of his horrors of war and how a man died in a gas attack and he was not able to save him, “under the green sea, I saw him drowning” the green sea was the chlorine gas that was dropped.
“Dulce Et Decorum Est” shows that no man can say that someone should die in a war for their country unless they have been through war and seen what it does to people. The poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” illustrates step one of the apocalypse archetypes, that the world is becoming corrupt. Wilfred Owen, the author of the poem, was trying to tell people that the humans new technologies were destroying each other. When the narrator shot the gas shell, “Gas! Gas!
Owen and Blake hope to deliver their message presented in the poem by using the same approach. Irony is found in both poems, which allows one to expect the unexpected. Throughout “Dulce et Decorum Est”, Owen adds suspense in the piece by adding irony throughout. For example, the title of the work is “Dulce et Decorum Est”. At first this may not be looked at as irony, but the more it is observed at the more it can be considered irony.
The reality remains that there is nothing glorious about the death and destruction that results from war. Establish context: Towards the end of “Dulce et Decorum Est”, the narrator explains how many young men are ready and willing to become a soldier for their country. In fact, this is the last line of the entire poem, when Evidence: “ The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori” (Owen 27-28). Analysis: This Latin sentence translates into: It is sweet and proper to die for one’s country. It is interesting how Owen capitalizes the word “Lie”, as this emphasizes the deception displayed by those who want young
Furthermore, the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” describes the psychological impacts of war because it discuss how was war memories of war continue to be present in their everyday life. The poem was written by Wilfred Owen during World War I and discusses the struggles of war. In the poem the author writes, “I saw in drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sights, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.” (Owens, 6).
At that point the reader begins to see different light, understanding how Owen felt as he witnessed death first hand. Once the title of the poem has been read in its entirety, the meaning of the poem is enhanced. Now “Dulce et Decorum Est” implies a false cover, implying that war is sweet and brings one glory to serve the country. When in reality the reader learns that war is not kind, and takes without mercy no matter what side a soldier is fighting for.. “Sweetness” begins to mean “Sadness”, and from the title one would assume that war shows kindness to those willing to fight, but instead Owen explains how the honor of fighting in battle doesn’t mean anything when one becomes a forgotten corpse, left to rot amongst
In “Dulce et decorum Est”, Owen demonstrates the effect of battle as confusion and exhaustion through the use of simile: “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”. He characterizes the soldiers are extremely fatigued and anemic like “old beggars”. The word “double” exaggerates the soldiers’ movement to help indicate the physical effects of a clash. The phrase “bent double” has connotation of tiredness because the soldiers are exhausted while they “trudge” with their legs “bent
Comparative Essay How can different perceptions about one topic be expressed in poetry? The main theme that the two sets of poems convey is war, but it’s expressed in different point of views through the use of diction that builds tone. The tones of these poems play a big role in conveying the differences between the different eras that these poems are written in, and shows how societies have changed from the Victorian era till the time of World War I. The diction and tone in Borden and Owen’s poems is so much different than the diction and tone in Lovelace and Tennyson’s poems due to different perspectives and point of views. In all four poems the main idea is war, but each set conveys a perspective of war, a positive perspective
The purpose of ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ is to not embellish the truth of war, but to show how tragic and useless it is. ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ hints that it is “sweet and honourable” to be at war, encouraging soldiers to go, however, as the reader begins to read they find out that Owen is truly against war. Owen shows that the soldiers are ruined, both mentally and physically.
Finishing on the third stanza, Owen has used colour once again. “ purple spurted from his thigh”, it illustrates the bruises he had gotten from war and the deep impact on him, a colour signifying life and languor. Ending the poem with soldiers in the institute waiting for people to come emphasizes the fact that he is dependent and helpless. Also it reflected back to the start of the poem where he was waiting for death to come. “ How cold and late it is!
The use of personification portrays the way Owen sees this scene and how the image he is painting for the readers is that these men are being herded like a bunch of animals. This quote also suggests that, as animals they have no sense of understanding they just do as their owner tells them so, much like the army. This juxtaposition verse ‘demented choirs of wailing shells;’ is a metaphor which suggest pain and heartache and how that can be portrayed by sounds rather than movements. Often in literature alliteration is used to create a rhythm and tone in a poem, in this poem alliteration “rifles' rapid rattle" creates a cynical tone portraying Owens idea of being dehumanized and fear. Allegories is rhetorical device which hidden meanings through symbolic figures and actions.
In essence, these two poems are drastically different works of art. " Dulce et Decorum est" is a more graphical and relational work compared to the latter, as you go on a journey as a soldier who gets to experience traumatic and graphic events, it begins to alter what you think about war and conflict. As you read on, it gives you graphical wording to prove that the saying "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" is a misrepresentation of actual war. After reading, the underlying message becomes apparent, it wants you to alter your current perceptions about war and how pointless they really are. In contrast, "The Things that Make a Soldier Great" aims to clear up what soldiers really go to war for, they are not there for "The pomp and pride of kings" but only when you "Endanger but that humble street whereon his children run—You make a soldier of the man who never bore a gun.", soldiers fight to protect their homes, not their kings.
Wilfred Owen was one of the main English poets of World War 1, whose work was gigantically affected by Siegfried Sassoon and the occasions that he witnesses whilst battling as a fighter. 'The Sentry ' and 'Dulce et Decorum Est ' are both stunning and reasonable war lyrics that were utilized to uncover the detestations of war from the officers on the hatreds of trenches and gas fighting, they tested and unmistakable difference a distinct difference to general society impression of war, passed on by disseminator writers, for example, Rupert Brooke. 'Dulce et respectability Est ' and the sentry both uncover the genuine environment and conditions that the troopers were existing and battling in. Specifically The Sentry contains numerous utilization of "Slush" and "Slime" connection to the sentiments of filthy, messy hardships. 'The Sentry ' by Wilfred Owen was composed in 1917 and is Owen 's record of seeing a man on sentry obligation harmed by a shell that has blasted close him.
