It is not meters, but a meter-making argument, that makes a poem---a thought so passionate and alive that, like the spirit of a plant or animal, it has an architecture of its own and adorns nature with a new thing.

Rather then defining poetry, readers of poetry are more successful at understanding and appreciating it. Therefore, a reader of poetry does not

have to define it, in order to understand and enjoy reading it.

Likewise, the use of figurative language in this poem also helps to emphasize the points that are being made. As Perrine says, people use metaphors because they say "...what we want to say more vividly and forcefully..." Owen capitalizes greatly on this by using strong metaphors and similes. Right off in the first line, he describes the troops as being "like old beggars under sacks" (7). This not only says that they are tired, but that they are so tired they have been brought down to the level of beggars who have not slept in a bed for weeks on end. Owen also compares the victim's face to the devil, seeming corrupted and baneful. A metaphor even more effective is one that compares "...vile, incurable sores..." with the memories of the troops. It not only tells the reader how the troops will never forget the experience, but also how they are frightening tales, ones that the troops will never be able to tell without remembering the extremely painful experience. These comparisons illustrate the point so vividly that they increase the effectiveness of the poem.

The poem, "Dulce et Decorum Est," ties the meaning of the poem all together in the last few lines. In Latin, the phrase "Dulce et decorum est pro partria mori" (8) means: "It is sweet and becoming to die for one's country." Owen calls this a lie by using good diction, vivid comparisons, and graphic images to have the reader feel disgusted at what war is capable of. This poem is extremely effective as an anti-war poem, making war seem absolutely horrid and revolting, just as the author wanted it to.

Another war related poem, which is similar to "Dulce et Decorum Est," is "The Death of a Soldier," by Wallace Stevens. "The Death of a Soldier" offers a succinct example of the early powers, not at all those of a detached observer of violence, but rather of one engaged totally with a world in which violence, like change, is given. This poem is consists of a marmoreal tone, the carefully chiseled rhythm, which falls with controlled dignity through each triplet or stanza, thus showing the reader the pertinent imagery of natural death as opposed to sacramental death. This poem not only shows the reader the sureness of Stevens's mature style, but also his true feelings, that death is an absolute.

"The Death of a Soldier" which uniquely maintains its identity as a war poem, consists of simple line, unrhymed blank verse and brief stanzas, thus directing attention to Wallace St

Some common words found in the essay are:
Wilfred Owen, Death Soldier, Decorum Est, Waldo Emerson, Wallace Stevens's, Sound Sense, , et decorum, dulce et, death soldier, decorum est, dulce et decorum, et decorum est, anti-war poem, poem reader, definition poetry, poem dulce et, poem dulce, reader feel, devices poem, Ralph Waldo, decorum est death, Est Death, est death soldier,
Approximate Word count = 1707
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)