ipl-logo

Dulce Et Decorum Est By Wilfred Owen

1658 Words7 Pages
World War One World War I began in 1914 and lasted until 1918, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Wilfred Owen was one of the young men who decided to enlist, choosing to fight the fight for England. Through his experience on the battlefield he wrote the poem Dulce Et Decorum Est, as a piece to show people that there is no glory in war; only destruction, decay, and death. Despite the poem appearing to have a simple structure, it is revealed to be much more complex. Dulce Et Decorum Est appears to follow the iambic pentameter poem construction style, but that is ultimately not the case. An iambic pentameter style poem should have the set up where there are ten syllables or five feet in each line, with a stressed and then relaxed word interplay. This poem does not strictly follow this template. It appears Owen is pretending to follow a normal poem style, only to become erratic, displaying the destruction of war. The careful construction of the poem through perspective changes, random spacing, and intentional divides further displays Owen’s experiences in ways not fully exposed through his words alone.
Firstly, the first stanza is made up of eight lines, and each of the lines contains ten syllables. The poem is evenly divided by the rhyme scheme, which makes the poem have a have an almost expected course to take. It is unique though how Owen chooses to begin the poem. He does not even start by introducing who the poem is about but instead chooses to deliver
Open Document