How does Owen make clear his feelings about war in Dulce et Dorcum est?
The title of this poem which is ‘Dulce et Dorcum est,’ is a Latin
saying which means, ‘It is sweet and honorable to die for your
country.’ It is written by Wilfred Owen who gives us his opinion about
this motto. He uses one of his brutal memories to support his views
and to compare a stereotypical soldier as we visualize one in our
heads and one as he saw whilst fighting in the war.
This memory is of a time when Owen, along with his fellow soldiers is
walking back to their rest place, when all of a sudden there is a gas
attack. All except one of these soldiers manages to put on his gas
mask in time; therefore he dies a horrible death. The poem explores a
different mood for each of the four stanzas. In stanza one the mood is
slow and weary. In stanza two there is a mood, which is fast and
panicky. Stanza three explores a tragic mood and the final stanza has
a mood of bitterness and anger.
Owen is successful in providing detail throughout the poem. He is also
successful in writing the poem as a memory, as he did fight in the
war. In this poem he effectively shows his thoughts and expressions,
as he wants the reader to think of them. Owen accomplishes the mood in
verse one through his use of language.
The poem starts with the words “Bent Double”, which introduces the
image of a soldier as Owen remembers one. These words show us the
action and figure of the soldiers. In reality you cannot walk bent
really close to the ground, therefore these words can be considered as
metaphors or slight exaggerations of what the soldiers were doing.
These words start off the comparison of a real soldier with a
stereotypical one.
“Like old beggars under sacks…”
This implies the visual sight of the soldiers if an ordinary person
were to see them. This sentence is a simile and therefore means that
the soldiers look like beggars. The word ‘sacks’ helps us to visualize
the soldiers walking really close to the ground, under the weight of a
sack. The simile above can also express torn clothes worn by the
soldiers, muddy faces, slight injuries taken on by the soldiers and
the mental conditions that they were facing. The simile compares these
soldiers to people who have nothing to lose and their uniform to
‘sacks’, which indicates their shabby conditions. Another word, which
suggests the speed at which soldiers move, is “trudge.
other hand, John Mc Crae was in the 2nd wave of poets. He viewed war
Comparing Owen's Dulce et Decorum Est and Crane's Do Not Weep, Maiden, For War Is Kind
“In what ways does the poet draw you into the world of poetry? Detailed reference to 2 poems”
Both Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” as well as “next to of course god america i” written by E.E. Cummings preform critic on war propaganda used during the first world war. Besides this the influence war propaganda has on the soldiers as individuals as well as on war in more general terms, is being portrayed in a sophisticated and progressive manner. By depicting war with the use of strong literary features such as imagery or sarcasm both texts demonstrate the harshness of war as well as attempt to convey that war propaganda is, as Owen states “an old lie”, and that it certainly is not honourable to die for one’s country. Therefore, the aim of both writers can be said to be to frontally attack any form of war promotion or support offensively
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.
such as "like a man in fire or lime" where the man is in pain and is
What is Wilfred Owen’s attitude towards Worlds War 1 and how is this shown through his poetry?
Considered the leading English poet of the First World War, Owen is remembered for realistic poems depicting the horrors of war, which were inspired by his experiences at the Western Front in 1916 and 1917. Owen considered the true subject of his poems to be "the pity of war," and attempted to present the true horror and realities of battle and its effects on the human spirit. His unique voice, which is less passionate and idealistic than those of other war poets, is complemented by his unusual and experimental style of writing. He is recognized as the first English poet to successfully use pararhyme, in which the rhyme is made through altered vowel sounds. Owen’s distinct way of both writing and reading poems led to influence other poets in the 1920s and 1930s.
How Wilfred Owen Uses Language and Imagery in His Poetry to Communicate his Attitudes of War
The two poems, 'Dulce et decorum est' and 'Who's for the game?' are both very different war poems. Although they were both written about the First World War, they both had different purposes. The poems have aspects in which they are similar, but they also have very big differences.
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.
World War one and two. Both these wars stole many young men’s lives from them. Stole sons from their mothers. Stole brothers from their sister but also stole many innocent lives in the process. An estimated 60 million lives lost and for what? For land, for power, wealth. War is brutal, gruesome, costly and pointless. What good could possibly come from a war? The truth is without these wars, the world of literature wouldn’t be the same. These wars bought rise to names such as Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen, and Edward Thomas. Among all that death, destruction, and calamity; somehow great poets were born.
As a poet, Wilfred Owens wants to show the effects of warfare from the viewpoint of a soldier during a War. Owens uses his own experience as a fighter to capture the reader’s attention and get across his point. He often uses graphic imagery and words to depict his thoughts about war. Wilfred Owens, poems, “Dulce et Decorum est” and “Anthem for doomed youth” talk blatantly about the effects of warfare on the soldiers, their loved ones, and those who make an ultimate sacrifice by making a statement about the efficacy of war.
Through the use of dramatic imagery in Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est,” Owen is able to recreate a dramatic war scene and put the reader right on the front lines. The use of language is very effective in garnering the readers’ attention and putting the dire images of war into the mind. He emphasizes that war is upsetting and appalling at times. There is nothing sweet about it. He only strengthens his argument by the use of strong descriptive words and vivid figurative language. The utilization of these techniques gives the poem a strong meaning and provides the reader with a vivid portrayal of the events that took place during this grisly occurrence.
If we look at the history of the world with a kaleidoscope, we can see the different aspects of war and what effect it had on the mind of different people and artists such as poets, painters and authors. Many poets romanticized war, luring it with their pen and giving it a beautiful look by glorifying death and obliging young blood to fight for their motherland. For example the poems “Peace” by Rupert Brooke and “Fall In” by Harold Begbie painted war with the highlights of glamorous and sensation. Apart from poets there are also politicians who achieved their aims with the help of war and violence while others who used the weapons of non violence to achieve their goals. The most famous example is of Adolf Hitler who took the aid of war to conquer the territories. The media also has a great impact on the mind of the public, like newspapers, televisions, radios arouses the public’s interest and motivates the young generation to join the army and fight for the nation. However, there are artists who look at war in its very naked form. For example the poet Wilfred Owen in his poem “Dulce Et Decorum Est” demonstrates that no sweetness or honor is earned in dying for one’s country, instead humanity is taken away during war.