Poem Analysis: 'Dulce Et Decorum Est'

Emma Brennan

Mrs.Schroder

AP Literature and Composition

27 April 2018

Poetry Explication: Dulce Et Decorum Est

This poem dramatizes the conflict between the glamorization of war versus the reality of war. Considering that this poem was written in 1981, we can assume that the inspiration for Dulce Et Decorum Est was trench warfare. The speaker opens in first person, we can see through the eyes of a soldier as they are going through active combat. Lots of imagery presents itself in these first three stanzas but once we get to the fourth and final stanza we have a shift in perspective and we as readers are now being addressed and essentially warned about the horrors of war. The speaker of this poem condemns the uninformed public for glamorizing and promoting war when they really have no idea

Despite the physically young appearance of these men, the speaker uses words like “old” and “hags” which insinuates their elderly and broken spirit. He uses words that would normally be used to describe animals, such as “lame,” which goes to show the dehumanization of these soldiers. In other words, these men are essentially being reduced to animals, they are all injured and fatigued which helps explain the tragedy that happens in the next stanza.

In the second stanza we are faced with surprise and panic, toxic gas is in the air and the soldiers must quickly put on their gas helmets before death sweeps over them. Although the majority of them successfully secure their helmets, one man wasn't so lucky. The speaker uses words such as “floundering” to show that the man who was unable to secure his mask on was acting like a fish out of water, yet another reference to the soldiers being reduced to animals. Then in the third stanza, the speaker admits that this experience haunts his dreams, PTSD seems to be a prevalent force in his