Comparing the Attitudes Demonstrated between Pre-War and at War with Brooke's Poem The Soldier and Owen's Poem Dulce et Decorum est

Comparing the Attitudes Demonstrated between Pre-War and at War with Brooke's Poem The Soldier and Owen's Poem Dulce et Decorum est

Dulce et Decorum Est was written at war in 1917 by an English poet and

World War I soldier Wilfred Owen. Dulce et decorum est is written in a

very bitter manner, by a man who had very strong anti-war sentiments.

The 27-line poem, written loosely in iambic pentameter is told from

the eyes of Wilfred Owen.

The opening line of this poem contains two similes which compares the

soldiers to beggars and hags ‘bent double, like old beggars under

sacks’, ‘coughing like hags.’ This is not how we would portray young,

fit, soldiers, but the fact of the matter is that they are no longer

fit, they are no longer keen and they barely remain soldiers. War has

aged and deteriorated them so much so that they are now compared to

hags and beggars. Showing us that war is neither ‘sweet’ nor

‘decorous’ (Dulce et Decorum). Owen continues his description of the

solders with the lines

‘All went lame; all blind’, ‘Drunk with fatigue; deaf’ further

describing their disabilities and to the extent at which war has

effected them.

The onomatopoeia of ‘hoots’ and ‘dropped’ is an attempt to capture the

sound of the 5.9 Calibre shells, with them hooting over head and

dropping behind. The description of the five-nines, ‘tired, out

striped’ shows us that they are no longer intimidating, even though

they are dangerously life threatening. In the second stanza the poem

begins its description of the gas attacks which is the central topic

and the most described, because it is such a terrifying and the most

horrific way to die.

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...of a foreign field That is forever England.” The manner of

his death is never considered.

Dulce et decorum est paints a dark picture of war, of bitterness at

being betrayed by the 'old lie'. "Dulce et Decorum est". Owen’s poem

shows a soldier exactly how he’s going to die, compared to Brooke’s

poem where death is seen as a gentle and quiet moment of peace.

Brooke’s poem is a pre-war poem, when people were filled with ideals

about war. There is no mention about war, the imagery we see when we

read Brooke’s poem is of quiet calm. Owen on the other hand, paints a

more immediate and real image of war, suffering, exhaustion and

violent deaths.

These two poets take the same subject, war and patriotism, but treats

it in two completely different ways, maybe because Owen experienced

the reality of war and Brooke didn’t.