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Introduction to poetry poem analysis
Introduction to poetry poem analysis
Introduction to poetry poem analysis
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The two poems, 'Dulce et decorum est' and 'Who's for the game?' are both very different war poems. Although they were both written about the First World War, they both had different purposes. The poems have aspects in which they are similar, but they also have very big differences.
One similarity between the two poems is that they both have titles which express positive feelings about war. However, the titles are both used in different ways; 'Who's for the game?' is an extended metaphor, as it is repeated again during the poem, ‘Who’s for the game, the biggest that’s played…’
Also it is comparing the war to a game, which is a euphemism as well as a metaphor. It is a euphemism because war is a very serious, dangerous matter; whereas a game is something that people enjoy and never get seriously injured in. By using this euphemism, Jessie Pope - the poet – lessens the severity of war, and makes her readers’ think of it as enjoyable, and something that they want to do.
On the other hand, 'Dulce et decorum est' is quite a sarcastic and ironic title. 'Dulce et decorum est' literally translates as ‘It is sweet and fitting’, and it is a quote from the Roman poet Horace. It is repeated in the last line of the poem, which is ‘…Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.’
This means ‘It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.’ But in Wilfred Owen’s opinion it is a lie, because during his poem he expresses his feelings on war, and gives the impression that you shouldn’t go. ‘And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime… Dim, through the misty panes and think green light, as under a green sea, I saw him drowning.’
This is showing one of the appalling ways in which soldiers in the war can die. Also this man dying is not going to save t...
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Although he does directly address his reader too, he is saying completely opposite things to Jessie Pope.
In conclusion, the two poems, 'Who's for the game?' and 'Dulce et decorum est' treat the war very differently. This is mostly because of the different purposes both poets had for writing them. Jessie Pope was enrolled by the government to write poems for newspapers as part of the propaganda trying to make young men sign up for the army. Whereas Wilfred Owen was a soldier who fought in the war himself, and he wrote 'Dulce et decorum est' as a response to Jessie Pope, because he saw her as a typical unfeeling civilian who was supporting the war from the relative safety of the Home Front. Jessie Pope had a limited viewpoint, never having been on the battlefield herself, whereas Wilfred Owen wrote about his first hand experience in the trenches.
There are many things in this world that are impossible to understand without first hand experience.This can be especially irritating for people who have the knowledge, but see everyone else with the wrong idea. Philip Larkin and Wilfred Owen show this in their poems about the common misconception of war glorification. Through imagery and the use of similes, they explain what it's really like for a person to go into battle. To outsiders, fighting in war is a noble cause worthy of envy and praise, but from the inside perspective the only thing war does is take away the innocence of
Those left behind, women, children and exempt men, were often unaware of the true horror of the war and instead were seduced by a romantic ideal. She writes in a more conversational manner, which makes the poem more memorable and persuasive to readers. She compares the war to a 'game', implying that there is little danger on the battlefield. She also refers to the war as a sport such as rugby where a player's injuries would only result with the player returning on crutches because that is the most awful thing that could happen. Within the poem, Pope uses many rhetorical questions, which involve the reader more ...
In conclusion, depending on the position from which one views war, the standpoint may vary ranging from being supportive of the soldiers because those who die are dying for the country or they are completely unsupportive of war activities because it is a brutal and gruesome experience involving countless unnecessary injuries and deaths. Affected by a number of factors, the authors of the two poems have chosen opposing standpoints on the issue of war where Tennyson glorified it with the main message that it is an honour to die for one's country whereas the other, Owen suppresses the idea of war by illustrating all the horrid experiences of a soldier.
himself played a role in it. He was able to tell us first hand about
The two poems have a strongly anti war message in both the victims. of war are the young men who’s lives are wasted. ‘Dulce et decorum Est’ uses the description of a gas attack to show how horrific the attack was. reality of war is. Owen describes the victim as "a sham."
“Dulce Et Decorum Est” is a very powerful poem that is drawn from the author Wilfred Owen’s own experiences. This poem has great imagery and uses many metaphors which make the reader put themselves in Owen’s eyes. The pain is felt in his voice as he talks about his friend that he sees dying, yet he can do nothing about. His poem has an ironic point about how if people would put themselves in his spot at that moment they would not be telling their children that war was good. While in “Dead Troops Talk”, which is a photograph done by Jeff Wall, there seems to be a different feeling about it. It is not as heavy as the poem. For in the photograph the soldiers, who appear to have been killed in action, have been re-animated to be talking and goofing around. The poem and the work of art are similar in the fact that they are both about war. However, the feeling that one gets from each of them is different. The death in the poem is a very tragic and demoralizing but in the photograph the soldiers who have been killed seem to be happy now that they no longer serving in someone else’s war.
Ultimately, we have two poems which can be compared on the grounds of their subject, but are poles apart regarding their message. The structure of these poems is not what would be typically expected from a war poem, but are structured on the basis of these typical structures in order to create some sense of familiarity. Brooke’s poem expands on this familiarity while Owen attempts to deliberately sabotage it. In regards to content, Brooke shows throughout his perception of the nobility of dying for one’s country, whilst Owen uses all of his poetic techniques to show the opposite.
However, the contents of the poem itself in fact contradict the title, and the speaker will actually refuse to accept the Latin saying, and actually detest the patriotic propaganda. Through Owen’s use of metaphors and similes, the argument the speaker is making within the poem becomes more apparent. The similes and metaphors used by Owen illustrate very negative war scenes throughout the poem, depicting extreme suffering of young men fighting during World War I. The first simile used by Owen describes the soldiers as “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”, giving them sickly, wounded, and exhausted attributes from battle and lack of rest (1).
Wilfred Owen's poem "Dulce Et Decorum Est" was written during his World War I experience. Owen, an officer in the British Army, deeply opposed the intervention of one nation into another. His poem explains how the British press and public comforted themselves with the fact that all the young men dying in the war were dieing noble, heroic deaths. The reality was quite different: They were dieing obscene and terrible deaths. Owen wanted to throw the war in the face of the reader to illustrate how vile and inhumane it really was. He explains in his poem that people will encourage you to fight for your country, but, in reality, fighting for your country is simply sentencing yourself to an unnecessary death. The breaks throughout the poem indicate the clear opposition that Owen strikes up. The title of the poem means "It is good and proper to die for your country," and then Owen continues his poem by ending that the title is, in fact, a lie.
Both Stephen Crane's "Do Not Weep, Maiden, For War Is Kind" and Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est" use vivid images, diction rich with connotation, similes, and metaphors to portray the irony between the idealized glory of war and the lurid reality of war. However, by looking at the different ways these elements are used in each poem, it is clear that the speakers in the two poems are soldiers who come from opposite ends of the spectrum of military ranks. One speaker is an officer and the other is a foot soldier. Each of the speakers/soldiers is dealing with the repercussions from his own realities of the horror of war based on his duty during the battle.
Although war is often seen as a waste of many lives, poets frequently focus on its effect on individuals. Choose two poems of this kind and show how the poets used individual situations to illustrate the impact of war.
Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” makes the reader acutely aware of the impact of war. The speaker’s experiences with war are vivid and terrible. Through the themes of the poem, his language choices, and contrasting the pleasant title preceding the disturbing content of the poem, he brings attention to his views on war while during the midst of one himself. Owen uses symbolism in form and language to illustrate the horrors the speaker and his comrades go through; and the way he describes the soldiers, as though they are distorted and damaged, parallels how the speaker’s mind is violated and haunted by war.
Dulce et Decorum Est Wilfred Owen Owen's poem Dulce et Decorum Est is a passionate expression of outrage at the horrors of war and of pity for the young soldiers sacrificed in it. From the title of this poem people back home would have expected an understanding poem, helping to overcome their grief at the loss of a loved one, instead what they got was a poem expressing outrage at the lies surrounding the ‘Great’ War. The quote by Horace translates as ‘It is sweet and right to die for ones’ country’, but the poem is about proving to people at home that this isn’t a sweet and honourable way to die (if there is any).
I have chosen this poem because this is his most famous poem, 'Dulce et Decorum est' is an example of a poem written through his own eyes, based on his own experiences and views of the war. He uses surreal and graphic imagery to give the reader the exact feeling that he wants. He emphasises his point, showing that war is terrible and devastating. This poem conveys a strong, meaningful and persuasive argument. This poem uses four stanzas and an alternate rhyming line scheme. '
If we look at the history of the world with a kaleidoscope, we can see the different aspects of war and what effect it had on the mind of different people and artists such as poets, painters and authors. Many poets romanticized war, luring it with their pen and giving it a beautiful look by glorifying death and obliging young blood to fight for their motherland. For example the poems “Peace” by Rupert Brooke and “Fall In” by Harold Begbie painted war with the highlights of glamorous and sensation. Apart from poets there are also politicians who achieved their aims with the help of war and violence while others who used the weapons of non violence to achieve their goals. The most famous example is of Adolf Hitler who took the aid of war to conquer the territories. The media also has a great impact on the mind of the public, like newspapers, televisions, radios arouses the public’s interest and motivates the young generation to join the army and fight for the nation. However, there are artists who look at war in its very naked form. For example the poet Wilfred Owen in his poem “Dulce Et Decorum Est” demonstrates that no sweetness or honor is earned in dying for one’s country, instead humanity is taken away during war.