Dulce Et Decorum Est

936 Words4 Pages

The poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” is written by Wilfred Owen in 1917, during the World War One. An important event in this poem is the gas attack that helps the reader understand the significant message, the brutal reality of war by recounting his personal experience with war. This gas attack event is important as it shows brutal reality of war, the physical pain endured by soldiers and the mental and emotional trauma war inflicts on soldiers.Throughout this poem through the use of many different poetic techniques, Owen gives the sense of injustice and anger.

Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” is an endeavour to portray the helpless of men caught in a gas attack.In four irregular stanzas,he describes the general condition of the soldiers.It …show more content…

Commiseration is summoned by Owen,through the use of graphic imagery illustrating a soldier’s suffering from the gas attack.“floundering like men in fire or lime” and “like a devil's sick of sin” are the similes used in this poem. The description of the soldiers being burned by gas demonstrates how toxic and horrendous this gas attack was. the acidic feeling felt by soldiers when exposed to mustard gas. “blood from gargling from froth-corrupted lungs” is a powerful use of graphic imagery that illustrates a vivid picture of a soldier choking on his own froth. These images assist the reader in appreciating the suffering and the pain inflicted on the soldiers during the war. These images reveal the ironic sentiment in the title. ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ meaning, It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country.Through this gas attack event in the poem, it makes the reader comprehend how erroneous the stereotype image of war being glorious is and this distinctly evident that Owen persuades the reader to agree with the ‘pity of war’..“guttering, choking, drowning” is an onomatopoeia as well as a present participle.Owen uses present participles and onomatopoeia to show that all this is happening in the present and ongoing around him and the onomatopoeia is used to create immersive atmosphere by capturing the sense of sound which gives a more vivid description and provide the better understanding of Owen’s meaning and