Dulce et Decorum Est

Dulce et Decorum Est contrasts intensely with the poems mentioned. Poems

such as Fall In, The Two Mothers, Who's for the Game? and Recruting only

have one motive, they are created to encourage people to enrol in the

armed forces.

"Dulce et Decorum Est" contrasts intensely with the poems mentioned.

Poems such as "Fall In", "The Two Mothers", "Who's for the Game?" and

"Recruting" only have one motive, they are created to encourage people

to enrol in the armed forces. Whereas Owen wrote "Dulce et Decorum Est

" in order to inform people about the terror, anguish and torment

which was experienced during the war. The recruiting poems make the

war seem like a game and that you would be missing out on a big

opportunity if u don't go, when really you would be better off safe at

home!

Verse One

Verse one describes how the soldiers are returning to base camp. Owen

uses a slow halting rhythm to suggest how much pain and misery the

soldiers are encountering and to imitate how slow are walking. He does

this by using punctuation. Verse one tells us a lot about the

condition, both physically and mentally, of the men and it gives us an

idea of the appalling conditions! He portrays this by his use of

similes, metaphors and vocabulary. He uses similes such as, "Bent

double, like hags"; this simile illustrates how many of the men fall

ill! Owen also uses metaphors such as, "Drunk with fatigue", to

display how tired the infantrymen are, this metaphor leads us to

believe that the men are so tired that they are unaware what is

happening around them! The poet's choice of vocabulary in verse one is

very effective in communicating the message of fatigue. He uses words

such as sludge, trudge, and haunting to describe the ...

... middle of paper ...

...My friend, you

would not tell with such high zest, To children ardent for some

desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori."

This verse is directed at the authority figures! In the "Charge of the

Light Brigade" onomatoepia is used to communicate the bravery of the

soldiers and to recreate the sounds on the battlefield, "thunder'd"

and "stormed at by shot and shell". Owen uses onomatoepia to describe

the death of the soldier in the last verse, "Gargling from

froth-corrupted lungs".

My favourite out of the two poems has to be Wilfred Owen's, "Dulce et

Decorum Est", mainly because it is more realistic about what I would

have imagined the war to be like! It is the more emotional poem of the

two as it is filled with the writer's own thoughts, fears and

feelings. I think it is a wonderful piece of work and enjoyed studying

it in depth!