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Dulce Et Decorum Est Research Paper

574 Words3 Pages

Dulce et Decorum Est: Romance vs. Reality World War I lasted from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918, a time when young men were pressured into going to war. Many fifteen to eighteen year old boys were encouraged to go and sacrifice their lives as if it was an enchanting task. In the poem, Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen, portrays to readers that war is not an easy and beautiful thing to partake in. Owen conveys the harsh reality of war through his strong diction, figurative language, and imagery. During a time when going off to war was a beautiful mission, Wilfred Owen clarifies through diction that it is indeed the contrary. Owen’s diction enhances the text and exhibits to the reader how horrific and unforgiving the realities of war truly were. He reveals soldiers inhaling the gas that corrodes the body from the inside out, and describes it as a “helpless sight” (Owen 15) while he witnesses the soldier “guttering, choking, drowning” (Owen 16) in the mustard gas. Ironically, Owen declares “Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori” (Owen 27, 28), which means it is sweet and beautiful to die for …show more content…

Owen illustrates the young fatigued men miserably searching for refuge as he compares them to “old beggars under sacks” (Owen 1). This comparison allows the reader to realize how harsh the soldiers’ living conditions were. Owen demonstrates to readers that the men were in despair feeling abandoned as they rummaged for shelter and food. The traumatized soldiers continuously see death as Owen contrasts their faces to “a devil’s sick of sin” (Owen 20) which leads the reader to visualize a demon’s face distorted by corruptions of sin. The war is so unimaginable that even hell itself is sick of the death the youth are experiencing. Owen brilliantly utilizes similes to portray that the hardships, brutality, and “sin” were more than anybody bargained

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