Dulce Et Decorum Est Response

Towards the middle of this month, a compilation of poems compiled into a book titled Century Poems was published and made open to the people of London; one of the featured poems was found to be written by Wilfred Owen, a former soldier who served at the age of twenty-four and died in battle at the age of twenty-five on the last week of the war.

According to Will Stanford, Owen was said to have thought that fighting for his country was an honor. However, one of his poems, “Dulce Et Decorum Est,” reveal his change of thought soon after his deployment into the trenches of the Western Front..

Wilfred Gibson, who also wrote the poem “Back” featured in Century Poems, said that the title is Latin for “it is sweet and right,” a common expression used in the army insinuating that fighting and dying for the country was an honor. Gibson said that the actual poem is a reply to its own title.

Owen ends the poem with “The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori,” asserting his thoughts on the patriotic words.

One of the men behind the book of poetry that brought light to Owen’s works is Siegfried Sassoon. Sassoon is known for his war literature, but he had also served during the war and, like Owen, shares much of his experience through writing. Sassoon had actually met with Owen, the former sharing his views on the war to Owen.

“Wilfred listened to my rambles about the war, so I thought to listen to his own once it was all over,” Sassoon said. “But he had died before I could meet him again. So instead, I wanted the world to hear his words through the poems he