Dulce et Decorum Est
The title of this poem, "Dulce et Decorum est Pro Patria Mori" is latin and means "it is sweet and fitting to die for your country". The poem is about the experiences of soldiers during World War I when people still believed that it was the patriotic duty of young men to go to war and risk death for their country. However at this time, with no television coverage and newspaper censorship, these young heroic men were unaware of the horrors that would await them on the battlefield and in the trenches. Wilfred Owen was one of these young men. He was one of the "war poets" who used his poetry to convey the truth about the cruelty and waste of war and show his pity for its victims. Wilfred Owen was one of those victims, he died one week before the end of WWI .During WWI, many millions died whilst many more millions were horribly wounded. They were surrounded by danger from shells, gunfire and poison gas. Poison gas was a new weapon - the invisible enemy! If soldiers were not quick enough to get their gas masks on they risked being blinded and ch
When the gas attack comes the atmosphere changes to one of panic and confusion. The use of the word "fumbling" suggests this panic.. The gas is described as "a green sea" and the soldier who is caught by the gas is described as "drowning". Verse three consists of only two lines and this helps to convey how quickly the man is overcome by the gas. The words used to describe the effects of the gas "guttering, choking, drowning" paint a vivid picture of the panic he must have felt as he struggled to breathe. As the man is "flung" onto a wagon and taken back to camp, Owen describes the movements and sounds made by the injured man and his appearance to the soldiers with him. Owen uses words like "floundering", "plunges" and "writhing" to describe his desperate movements, and he describes the sounds he makes as "gargling" "guttering" and "choking". These words convey the impression that the man is drowning as his "froth-corrupted" lungs fill with gas. His appearance is described as "white eyes writhing in his face", and his face is described as "hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin" as though the
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Approximate Word count = 744
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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