Written by Spanish-American war veteran, Carl Sandburg, “Buttons” illustrates that the actions of those not in the war first hand but, then exposes those who pay for their decisions in a vivid and ghastly approach (“Carl Sandburg”). “Dulce et Decorum Est” was written in 1917 by an injured Wilfred Owen due to World War 1(“Wilfred Owen”). Owen describes to the reader the graphic and gruesome side of war rather than the typical romanticized description. Similarities in imagery and theme can be found in both of these poems, but the differences in structure and point of view remain prevalent and apparent.
Notably, imagery in “Buttons” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” illustrate to the reader the authentic side of battle that soldiers experience first hand. The majority of “Buttons” is spent showing the reader the light and airy version of war that those not in battle practice. The Narrator uses words such as “ laughing” and “sunny” (Sandburg 5) to describe the atmosphere of the newspaper office. However, the narrator then goes on to state the horrific truth of war with phrases such as “twist on their bodies…gasping of wounds…death in their throats” (Sandburg 10-13). The depiction of a massacre like scene is used to reveal to reader the authentic side of war, parallel to the use of imagery in “Dulce et Decorum Est”. The narrator of “Dulce et Decorum Est” expresses the horrendous and disturbing version of war with phrases such as “Froth corrupted lungs…obscene as cancer…white eyes writhing in his face” (Owen 19-23) to portray the real side of war. The narrator shows how awful and unsettling combat actual is through vivid illustrations to convey to the reader that war is not honorable, nor revering. Both “Buttons” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” ...
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...e fact that “Buttons” is from the view of some who knows of the tragedies but has not directly experienced them while, “Dulce et Decorum Est” is from the view of a veteran who has experienced the true horror of war.
“Buttons” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” contain both similarities but with similarities come differences. Differences in these poems are found in surface level elements such as structure and point of view, but the similarities found in these poems are found in the greater meaning of both poems. War is not something that can be explained through one point of view but rather contains many complexities along with the sickening truth being that war is not honorable but rather shameful.
Works Cited
“Carl Sandburg.” poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2013.
“Wilfred Owen” poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2013.
In one of the greatest war novels All Quiet On the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is about a soldier Paul Bäumer who was enrolled into the army with his classmates where they had to face horrendous obstacles and had to see vivid consternations. wistfully after all Paul went through from watching his comrades die in combat, he had died near the ending of World War 1. Paul was a person who is repulsed by the idea of war. The brutality of war that he had experienced with his companions has caused them to lose faith and have a special hostility to war. Paul would've wanted the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” to show the people who are out of harm's way that war is not what it seems. There are casualties from soldiers choking
They both refer to War as something that is ultimately destructive and is of no benefit whatsoever to humanity. Both these novels relate to events that happened within similar time periods, and both these novels scored reactions from society at the time. Many of these reactions related to regret, shame and above all, guilt. These two novels are important pieces of literature as they are a product of work designed to understand the concerns and idea of their time. Thus proving that literature has a vital role in society in regards to the concerns and beliefs of a specific time
...ainting symbolize the need for patriotism and unity in a country during war on and off the battlefront. These two prominent texts support each other’s points of fighting for human’s unalienable rights and liberties through writing and visualization. The connection between the to conclude that war may not be just but it is the act of physical force or even any action that can bring together a country and achieve the liberties they deserve. This is a message that can apply to any human today, when someone infringes on another’s liberties then they need to stand up and fight back in order to stop the other from doing it again.
...sided fashion, one in which we have no sorrow for the "communists." But what we see is that Vietnamese soldiers were not fighting for communism, they were fighting because the government ordered them to. "The ones who loved war were not the young men but the others like the politicians, middle-aged men with fat bellies and short legs." (75) Repeatedly The Sorrow of War reveals the deep suffering of Vietnam. One can not say, however, that American soldiers returned unscathed. The most important thing we see when we read the two aforementioned works is not the differences, but the similarities. War is hellish and unnatural for both sides. In the aftermath, our common humanity becomes evident in universal suffering.
In this essay you will notice the differences and similarities between ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ and ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’. ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ was written in nineteenth century by Alfred Lord Tennyson. In contrast, ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ was written in the twentieth century by Wilfred Owen. The main similarity we have observed is that they both capture war time experiences. However, the poets’ present these events using their own style, and the effect is two completely different observations of war.
It is ingrained in soldier’s minds that to die for ones country is a great and honourable sacrifice. However, in the poem Dulce et Decorum Est the speaker uses powerful words and images to portray that patriotic propaganda is an “old lie” (Owen 27). In the first stanza, the speaker explains the effects that war has on young soldiers: “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks/ Knock- Kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge” (Owen 1-2). Propaganda portrays soldiers as being young heroes, those who are strong, healthy and vigorous. However, based on the evidence expressed in the previous quotation soldiers are not all what propaganda
The Soldier by Rupert Brooke, and Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen are two poems which were written during the First World War, and both being written about this conflict, they share the same theme of war poetry. However, the two poems deal very differently with the subject of war, resulting in two very different pieces of writing.
Wilfred Owen has composed many poems based on his intense personal experience as a soldier and wrote with both physical and moral trauma of the World War I. Particularly, two of his poems, “Dulce et Decorum Est” and “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, portray the misery that the soldiers have to suffer. Owen is not just delivering the meaning of poem using the suggestive words but also embroidering both poems with potent auditory qualities such as tone, alliteration, and sound devices. The poet actively promotes the audience’s the auditory sense to create much more distinct and detailed horrors of war.
Owen, Wilfred. “Dulce Et Decorum Est.” World War I British Poets. Ed. Candace Ward. Dover Publications, Inc; New York, 1997.
The first difference is that both poems were written by the opposite gender, which to me is a fundamental difference because it shows how they think about the war – ‘Who’s For the Game?’ was written by a female (Jessie Pope) and ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ was written by a male (Wilfred Owen). Along with this major difference, Jessie Pope was a woman who had no part in the war, except for helping in creating propaganda posters and preaching propaganda throughout her country. However, Wilfred Owen was a soldier in World War I, which helped him create his poem as he was able to hark Jessie Pope’s poem and all the propaganda about the war; he was able to show the people of England the true horrors of the war, whereas Jessie Pope created her poem as if she were writing about a game, as if the war were a game, with no first-eye experience, no hand-eye witness of what actually happens in the 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.
Imagine an everlasting nightmare! Something you can never outrun or hide from, no matter how hard you try you just cannot get it out of your head. It affects your everyday life: your relationships, your actions. It is a horrendous and unescapable pain drilled into the depths of your brain and deepest crevices of your heart. This is what Wilfred Owen is depicting in his sonnet “Dulce Et Decorum Est.” He re-counts a vivid remembrance where he observed a man drown in a sea of green gas, then returns home to a populace that pursues glory, and believes it is sweet and honorable to die in battle. By using, a barge of themes, diction, and sarcasm Owen illustrates the pain and interminable effects of war.
The meaning of "Dulce Et Decorum Est" is "it is sweet and right", yet there is nothing sweet and right about going through what these soldiers went through on a daily basis in WWI. The first few lines use sad and depressing language to express an image of roughy soldiers pushing through an ever threatening battlefield. "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock- kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge" (lines 1- 2) is the way Owen describes the soldiers. This dismisses the belief that the soldiers were happy, proud, and patriotic. This shows them as physically and mentally exhausted, still pushing forward towards the one and only goal of surviving. Their disintegrating body reflects their inner turmoil and tiredness. The horrendous quality of war is shown by the description of the soldiers "men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood shod" (lines 5-6) this enhances the fact that war is not normal. It seems unreal, much like that of a nig...
The poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen portrays the horrors of World War I with the horrific imagery and the startling use of words he uses. He describes his experience of a gas attack where he lost a member of his squadron and the lasting impact it had on him. He describes how terrible the conditions were for the soldiers and just how bad it was. By doing this he is trying to help stop other soldiers from experiencing what happened in a shortage of time.