Response To Content And Form o
"Dulce Et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen, a lyric poem upon understanding, focuses on the absolute horror experienced during World War I. Throughout the transition of this poem, Owen worked his way from control to confusion in order to convey his messages to the readers.In terms of rhyme scheme, this poem has a definite pattern of abab, cdcd, efef, and so on. However, instead of the poem being divided into four line quatrains, Owen establishes by connecting quatrains of similar patterns of abab together into the first two eight-lined stanzas. Owen also uses a common and modern diction in this poem. Although, he is telling the story, it is rather informal; such as he uses words like "flound'ring" on line 12 and "fumbling" on line 9. In the first stanza, Owen opens up by giving phrases such as "like old beggars under sacks", "men marched asleep", and "drunk with fatigue", which strongly provides the readers with vivid pictures of soldiers pushing forward in slow and controlled pace despite of deplorable conditions they are in.
At last, Owen's "Dulce Et Decorum Est" delivers a message toward the readers with anger and bitterly anti-war, anti-patriotic, anti-propaganda theme centered around the physical and psychological terrors of gas attack. There is no signs glory left through the lines of the poem, but rather a sense of despair and loss. The rhythmic and verbal cues combine to show the horror of war, and his final stanza sums up the point of the poem that death for ones country is neither sweet nor noble, but sickening and painful. As readers advance further, the caesuras between lines thirteen and sixteen of the end of second stanza serves to enter another type of rhythm, evoking a sense of the bewilderment of the battle, and this is where the transition takes place. "As under a green sea I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning" which describes the suffering horror of the soldiers from gas attack. Up until now, the lack of a motive for the soldiers to fight in the battle had caused them not to
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 710
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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