Dulce Et Decorum Est 2

A detailed Summary of Dulce Et Decorum Est 2

In the poem, 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' by Wilfred Owen, the social climate of the World War I era is reflected through the poet's use of vivid imagery and poetic techniques. The poem itself presents an a blunt impression of the world through its linking of ideas and language in its text. The poem addresses the falsehood, that war is glorious, that it is noble, it describes the true horror and waste that is war, with the aim of changing the way in which society thinks about conflict.

The poem epitomises the futility and pointlessness of war. Not only is war a shocking waste of life, but it is ultimately barbarous and pointless act as World War I so horrendously demonstrated to the world powers. The graphic horror of war is presented through a series of images which are designed to demolish the notion of war being a patriotic and meaningful adventure. The one particularly vivid image that got to me was that of the lone soldier who doesn't fasten his mask fast enough and suffers from the full effects of deadly gas:

'In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.'

'If you could hear at every jolt, the blood

The slow and steady movement of time felt whilst reading the beginning of this extract is due to the subdued and disheartening attitude of the soldiers. The placement of words directly reflects the fatigue felt by the weary boys. The image of them marching slowly, bloody and 'drunk', evokes similar feelings of tiredness in the reader which are quickly interrupted by 'Gas! Gas! Quick boys!'. These last few words of the passage come across as though one of the soldiers is saying them, even though it is the persona trying to communicate a message of cautiousness to the soldiers and at the same time reinforce the reality of these events to the reader. As a reader I feel the relative stillness of the men's quiet attitude being quickly interrupted by these 'loud' words. A contrast is established. This image, and the one of the lone soldier dying 'awakens' the minds of the people who read the poem to the reality of war as being a terrifyingly sad way for young people to die, and that ideology of patriotism and honour is the cause of such sickening circumstance. Owen is, effectively, placing the blame of the war's consequences squarely on the shoulders of the society that supports it.

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Approximate Word count = 1724
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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