Dulce Et Decorum Est
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The poem, “Dulce et Decorum Est,” by Wilfred Owens, is a powerful anti-war piece of literature that uses several devices to get its point across clearly. The phrase “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” is translated to mean “It is sweet and fitting to die for ones country.” It is the intention of Owens to show that this concept is false. Through graphic imagery and a depressing, realistic tone, Owens succeeds in displaying just how sweet it is to die on the battlefield.
In the first stanza, Owens describes the soldiers in a way that one would believe they are close to death, such as comparing them to old beggars. He uses such similes as coughing like hags and phrases like blood-shod to show just how physically miserable these soldiers are. Using words like blind, deaf, and lame, one can assume that the men are in poor condition.
When the gas-shells hit and release their poisons on the men, Owen writes, “Gas! GAS!” showing a sort of panic, and disbelief in the threatening vapors. He also uses vivid imagery to describe the painful death of one soldier who could not put his mask on in time. The poems diction uses specific words, such as writhing, gargling, and froth-corrupted, to give the reader an idea of how horrible it is not only to suffer such a fate as this, but also to be a witness of the act, always knowing in your mind that the same could happen to you at any moment. The effects that this imagery has on the readers aides Owens in his statement against war in general.
The tone of the story also aides in supporting Owens intentions. From the very beginning of the poem, the author sets up an uncomfortable and often gruesome tone regarding the whole war scene, as well as the war itself. This makes the reader relate these horrid thoughts to the topic of war, helping to convince them