“Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori”- the words roughly translated to English mean it is sweet to die for one’s country. Written by Wilfred Owen, the words embrace patriotism and resonate within the patriot in all of us. Nevertheless, the words convey in an ironic manner Owens belief and concern for his countrymen and fellow soldiers. Erich Remarque’s piece, “All Quiet on the Western Front”, a similar piece to Owens, conveys the struggle of a soldiers everyday life and the incapability of them to fit in upon return from war. Remarque says, “I am so alone, and so without hope that I can confront them without fear.” One begins to wonder the kind of horrors that could make a man utter such despondent words; yet, after reading about the scale in which people died and the horrors committed during the war one begins to understand their point of view. The propaganda of honor and prestige presented by countries and generals during the war to entice men to enlist were lies and unjust according to the two.
To understand why the war became what it was we must first understand how it began. Alliance systems between nations and the Armament races were the first actions that enabled the war to begin. Intense nationalism as well as the glorification of war quickly set the stage for World War I. (The Great War: ProQuest History Study Center) During the 19th century, war became a celebration in European culture. The phenomenon is contributed to the gender dynamics of the European social structure but many saw war as a way to gain honor and prestige. Even though the ones seeing war as honorable many times never confronted it face to face, like Owen and Remarque, countless individuals were convinced to enlist. (The Great War: ProQuest History St...
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...ed to convey. The loss of life is not a game and it is not trivial. War must be respected and feared not glorified and honored.
Through the use of imagery and allusions Remarque in “All Quiet on the Western Front” and Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” convey the futility and horror that is war. Individuals who did not go to war never realized the tragic complications and situations encompassing war. Through the creations of their works, citizens for the first time across the world were able to see what really happened on the war front. They read as individuals tragically lost their lives and watched as soldiers were maimed for life. After reading these works one can conclude that war is not a game. It is not as honorable and prestigious as powers in the 19th century would have had you believe. It is ultimately the loss of life and should be seen and treated as such.
So said German World War I Veteran, Erich Maria Remarque, in his book All Quiet on The Western Front. War is an extremely complex and corrupt affair that many can’t even begin to comprehend. This juxtaposing quote perfectly depicts how Remarque’s detailed and personal novel allows the reader inside the mind of a soldier, giving unique insight on war. The novel follows the events narrator Paul Bäumer encounters whilst at war and shows Bäumer’s reflective thoughts on these events. This form of narration is a large part of what makes the book so effective. The book conveys many strong messages about war but the most prominent ones in the story line are:
Everyone knows what war is. It's a nation taking all of its men, resources, weapons and most of its money and bearing all malignantly towards another nation. War is about death, destruction, disease, loss, pain, suffering and hate. I often think to myself why grown and intelligent individuals cannot resolve matters any better than to take up arms and crawl around, wrestle and fight like animals. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque puts all of these aspects of war into a vivid story which tells the horrors of World War 1 through a soldier's eyes. The idea that he conveys most throughout this book is the idea of destruction, the destruction of bodies, minds and innocence.
... Paul's strong words, demonstrated through the author's talent, are denouncing the authority figures who were supposed to guide his generation into adulthood but instead turned the youth against each other in the pursuit of superficial ideals. The soldiers were simply the victims of a meaningless war. In conclusion, Remarque's firsthand encounters with trench warfare, Owen's vivid descriptions of the soldiers' experiences and Baker's touching accounts of the lives of historical figures, all state that there were no victors in war, only losers in a hopeless battle for territorial supremacy.
In 2004, a soldier by the name of Michael Monsoor graduated from BUD/S school (A Navy Seal training facility) effortlessly. Almost two years later, he was fighting on a roof in Ramadi, Iraq. While producing cover fire for his SEAL team mates, an enemy insurgent managed to toss a grenade through a window where the SEALs were positioned. The grenade struck Monsoor and rolled in front of him. Without even the slightest hesitation, he threw himself over the explosive and absorbed the blast. Thirty minutes later, Monsoor died because of the explosion. Doing what he did allowed the other SEALs in the room to live (Klaidman 3). Michael Monsoor is a prime example of what it means to be courageous and to have valor in its highest form. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States of America’s highest military honor. When hearing this story, it is safe to say that Americans have an extreme animosity towards the enemy insurgents. This illustration of patriotism is one of the reasons why Americans believe that they are endowed the right to discriminate or assimilate people who may be affiliated with these enemies. One way these emotions can be amplified is through the use of one of America’s favorite pastimes.
The Poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” attempts to make war seem as repulsive as possible. The author’s goal is to discourage people from joining the war or any future conflicts by shattering the romantic image people have of the fighting. The setting of this poem helps
In contrast, ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ gives us the complete opposite. It takes away the lie that describes the war as a place of pleasure and vividness. When in reality it is a...
Through the use of dramatic imagery in Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est,” Owen is able to recreate a dramatic war scene and put the reader right on the front lines. The use of language is very effective in garnering the readers’ attention and putting the dire images of war into the mind. He emphasizes that war is upsetting and appalling at times. There is nothing sweet about it. He only strengthens his argument by the use of strong descriptive words and vivid figurative language. The utilization of these techniques gives the poem a strong meaning and provides the reader with a vivid portrayal of the events that took place during this grisly occurrence.
In Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” the speaker’s argument against whether there is true honor in dieing for ones country in World War I contradicts the old Latin saying, Dulce et Decorum Est, which translated means, “it is sweet and honorable to die for the fatherland”; which is exemplified through Owen’s use of title, diction, metaphor and simile, imagery, and structure throughout the entirety of the poem.
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.
Hardships from hostile experiences can lead to the degradation of one's mental and physical state, breaking down their humanity. Wilfred Owen's struggles with the Great War has led to his detailed insights on the state of war, conveying his first-hand experiences as a front-line soldier. 'Dulce et Decorum Est' and 'Insensibility' displays these ideas and exposes the harsh and inhumane reality of war. From the imagery and metaphors, Owen's ideas about the deterioration of human nature resonates with the reader of the repercussions 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.
The simple definition of war is a state of armed competition, conflict, or hostility between different nations or groups; however war differs drastically in the eyes of naive children or experienced soldiers. Whether one is a young boy or a soldier, war is never as easy to understand as the definition. comprehend. There will inevitably be an event or circumstance where one is befuddled by the horror of war. For a young boy, it may occur when war first breaks out in his country, such as in “Song of Becoming.” Yet, in “Dulce et Decorum Est” it took a man dying in front of a soldier's face for the soldier to realize how awful war truly is. Both “Song of Becoming” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” are poems about people experiencing the monstrosity of war for the first time. One is told from the perspective of young boys who were stripped of their joyful innocence and forced to experience war first hand. The other is from the perspective of a soldier, reflecting on the death of one of his fellow soldiers and realizing that there is nothing he can do to save him. While “Song of Becoming” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” both focus on the theme of the loss of innocence, “Song of Becoming” illustrates how war affects the lives of young boys, whereas “Dulce et Decorum Est” depicts the affect on an experienced soldier.
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).
Wilfred Owen wrote about the distilled pity of war from his first-hand experience. Owen concisely features the carnage and destruction of war in both the poems, ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and ‘Strange Meeting’ Owen uses these poems document the psychological and physical debilitation of war. In ‘Dulce et Decorum est’, Owen uses a various amount of literary techniques to visually depict the cruel and grotesque death from the mustard gas whereas ‘Strange Meeting’, portrays the speaker in conversation with a dead soldier that he is presumably responsible for killing, symbolically which emphasises the effect of the wartime trauma. Wilfred Owen’s poetry effectively highlights the carnage and destruction of war to educate the audience on the disillusionment of war.
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.