Dulce Et Decorum Est

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“Patriots always talk of dying for their country but never of killing for their country.”
-Bertrand Russell
The above quote was written by Bertrand Russell, a British philosopher, logician, historian, and political activist. In the poem “Dulce Et Decorum Est”, by Wilfred Owen, the main theme of the poem is fear and death. The narrator tells of the true horrors of war, and the chaos that ensues it. The poem is the persona’s tale of the perils of war, and how it is nothing to be dreamt of.
In “Dulce Et Decorum Est”, there are two clear images given in the poem. The first image/story is given in the second stanza. The words, “GAS! Gas!” (9), are attention grabbing words that display the personas sudden surprise, and presumable fear. The above exclamation is followed by complete chaos and men stumbling around in the sudden mayhem. …show more content…

The speaker tells his audience that there is no reason to glorify battle or tell tall tales of war. The speaker is not against war, but discourages the celebration of it, It is not a sport, and war is a very serious matter. The death of a man is nothing to be celebrated and fighting for your country is patriotic, but it is better to support your nation without starting a war. There cannot be glory in a deadly battle, and children should not look forward to the day they can leave their loved ones to fight. In the second to last lines of the fourth stanza, the poem read; “The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est / Pro patria mori.” (27-28). This Latin phrase translates to “how sweet and right it is to die for one’s country.”, but this is not the case. Death is not sweet, nor will it ever be. The narrator is desperately trying to persuade the reader not to dignify war and violence, along with not putting exciting war stories in the minds of young children. War is a treacherous place and is not meant to be fantasized, especially not by a

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