The Boer War In Wilfred Owen's Poem Dulce Et Decorum Est

Only a few decades after the conclusion of the Crimean War, the Boer War began. Fought from October 11, 1899 to May 31, 1902, the Boer War is considered the first glimpse at the destruction that would be later seen in the First World War (“South African War”). Although strategy was important, such as the detrimental effects of the Boers using guerilla warfare, new weapons were crucial (“South African War”). The Maxim Machine gun was invented in 1885 by Hiram Maxim and quickly revealed its cataclysmic consequences as it could fire at a rate of 600 shots per minute, by far the most deadly weapon of the age (Levy 113-114). Nearly 100,000 lives were lost in the war (“South African War”). However, more than 26,000 were women and children held in

This lulls the reader into a false sense of security, perhaps unwittingly expecting a much more upbeat and cheerful tale of war. Also, throughout the poem, the meter is iambic pentameter, with the exception of the last line that only has three feet. This abrupt ending to the poem is much like the sudden deaths of young boys fighting in the war. Suffering is clear, because even before any action occurs, the soldiers are described like hags or beggars, despite their youth. Furthermore, their movements are described as slow, despite German artillery firing behind them. This contrasts the idealization of war that encouraged young men to join the army. Additionally, in lines 9 and 10, fear is clear in the battle when Owen writes “Gas! Gas! Quick, boys—an ecstasy of fumbling,/Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time” (Stallworthy 188). Moving at such a rapid pace from fear shows a sharp contrast to the previous elderly, slow image of the boys, and demonstrates the terror associated with poison gas. The remaining lines in the poem describe a boy whose helmet was not on in time. The image of this boy still haunts the speaker of the poem, which is evident in lines 15 and 16: “In all my dreams, before my helpless

His poem, “How to Kill”, expresses his dislike for war. Douglas first compares a child playing a ball game to a man holding a weapon. Children are trained from a young age with seemingly innocent games how to kill as an adult; hitting another child with a ball transforms into shooting them with a gun with deadly accuracy. Despite realizing that the enemy is, in fact, another human being with a family and a life, the soldier is still able to kill as if war is treated like a game. Furthermore, lines 15-18 state that “…I am amused/to see the center of love diffused/ and the waves of love travel into vacancy./How easy it is to make a ghost” (Forché 599). This reinforces the idea that one can only kill if targeting a man is seen as a game. Additionally, Douglas is able to show how much death occurs in war by describing Death as a familiar—typically a summoned spirit associated with witchcraft—which demonstrates how frequently Death is called upon. Killing is far too simple. This poem demonstrates that there is no honor left in war; it is nothing more than a game, in which killing is child’s