An analysis of “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen

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Recommended: Emotional and psychological effects of war on soldiers

Wilfred Owen is most famous for his anti-war poem in which he is able to portray gruesome images of the Great War. He also uses caesura in order to further emphasize his point of view through his poems. Through his use of enjamed lines he successfully foreshadows what is to come next in his poems. He is still considered by most critics “the best” of the English poets of the “great war” (Hoffpauir 41). Owen was recognized for his courage and rewarded with the Military cross (Encyclopedia Britannica). In Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” the writer uses imagery to portray his theme that if the gruesome truth behind war was acknowledged it wouldn’t be praised and honored.
In first stanza the author uses imagery to portray the horrific physical condition and appearance of the soldiers. “Bent double” (Owen 1) refers to the trouble they are having walking. When the author refers to the soldiers as “old beggars under sacks” (Owen 1) he is stating their physical appearance similar to those of old homeless people. “The men marched asleep” (Owen 5) refers to their mental state of mind. They are mentally destroyed by what they’re living through in the war. The soldiers begin marching towards their “distant rest” (Owen 4) which could refer to their military base or eternal rest of death. “All blind” (Owen 6) refers to the soldiers inability to not recognize the danger that lies ahead.
The writer uses repetition throughout the second stanza. He emphasizes on the unexpected attack “Gas! Gas! Quick boys!” (Owen 9). He describes the men’s reaction as “An ecstasy of fumbling” (Owen 9) the irony used in this phrase refers to some of the men struggling to put their mask something not seen as joyous. The repetition and the use of the symbo...

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...a soldier who experienced it people would not encourage further recruitment of younger generations. Owen’s poem is meant to give a graphic unpleasant image of war directed towards younger boys hoping to enlist in order to be notable. Owen however argues completely against anyone looking to suffer the same way he did.

Works Cited
“Dreams” Dictionary of Symbols. 4th ed. 1996. Print.
“White.” - - -
“Green.” - -
Hoffpauir, Richard. "An Assessment of Wilfred Owen." English Literature in Transition, 1880 1920 28.1 (1985): 41-55. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 May 2014.
Owen, Wilfred. Dulce et Decorum Est. Reading for Writers English 1A Reader. Ed. J. Madden. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 1-2. Print.
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Wilfred Owen (British Poet)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 14 May 2014.

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