How Does Wilfred Owen Describe the Horrors of War in Dulce Et Decorum Est? Essay

The First World War was a season of massive loss of life and bloodshed. Wilfred Owen, a soldier fighting with the British Army, wrote the meter Dulce et decorousness est to describe, possibly to the public, the horrific consequences of taking part and fighting in the war. During the poem, he describes the aftermath of a poison gas attack, and the injuries sustained by a soldier whom had inhaled the deadly aggregate. Owen practises gruesome imagery to vividly luff in poetise the horrible death the soldier faces, in the trenches of France. The poem Dulce et Decorum est is widely regarded as one of the greatest war poems ever written, and is a fine example of an anti-war protest in the form of poetry. The hu valet de chambre activity of the poem is taken from an ode from a Ro slice philosopher and writer, published slicey hundreds of long time before the poem. These Latin members are briefly translated into English as it is sweet and right(a). The use of Dulce et Decorum es t in the title of the poem is basic each(prenominal)y a use of sarcasm, using a common phrase in British Army culture at the time, to almost ridicule the mentation that it is a wise thing to do to die in battle, for your country.The commencement ceremony off pen of the poem opens with the soldiers heading done the landscape of the trench war system, in the thick of what would be a raging battle. These two first lines show the conditions the soldiers faced out on the front line, cursing by means of sludge. After the battle, they turn (their) backs on the haunting flares and suffer to slowly walk towards their distant rest, an area where they may recuperate after long periods in the ferocious battle. In this section of the poem, Wilfred Owen describes the soldiers as old beggars under sacks, and hags. some(prenominal) of these comparisons are presented in the form of separate similes. The effect that this creates on the contri aloneor is that of war being tiring and exhaus ting as well as the toll that it takes on the soldiers mental and/or emotional subject. This widely-known fact is enter in lines five and seven men marched asleep, and drunk with fatigue, respectively. These uses of language indicate that even though they were constantly stressed and tired, the soldiers fighting were still adequate to coiffure rational decisions, and could do tasks, even when they were in such a delusional state. This was probably because of the repetitive nature of their job.The last line of verse one describes how the 5.9cal (calibre) Five-Nines were out of range, as the soldiers trudged away from the guns. Owen uses words in verse one which could be described as very ugly in texture. For example, as mentioned earlier, the use of words like beggar and hag effectuate away the image of a fit, athletic, healthy soldier that most would expect to be on the battlefield, and replaces it with a strikingly contrasting one, halting the poem as the reader makes light of the awful situation of The Great War. Another word that Wilfred Owen utilise, and that I view decided to comment on, is the word blood-shod. Although not used often nowadays, in this poem it is used to describe the visual state of the soldiers, covered in blood. It seems a dehumanizing image, as they are crushed by the constant strains of battle. The first verse, like the second, is written in sonnet form, merely the rhythm loosens towards the suppress of the first verse as it leads up to an all-important(prenominal) moment at the beginning of the second verse. That important moment is put somewhat sharply to the reader, as it shocks them, with a very clever use of dialogue.The reason I think it is brilliant is because it jumps into the thick of the action, transitioning from the slow stride of the end of battle (for that day) to the panic and perhaps confusion of a poison-gas attack, all in just four words. Slight confusion faeces actually be perceived, as the ecstasy of fumbling ensues, with the soldiers obviously assay to fit the clumsy helmets just in time. This just in time part implies that everyone is okay, and has successfully put on their gas-mask before the gas started to drub its chilling effects. However, one soldier unfortunately fails to apply his mask, as is told as he was yelling out and stumblingfloundring like a man in fire or slaked lime. The horrible sight is witnessed by the fibber, dim, through the misty panes (of the mask) and thick kelvin light, which is actually the hazy, slightly luminescent nomadic that hangs around them, probably chlorine gas. It is described as a green sea in the next line, and so I think that this is a reference to the huge area it would cover, blighting anyone who crossed within the vicinity.The simile which compares the mans actions to one who would be in fire or lime is describing his desperate attempts in vain to help himself. Lime is a substance that would burn human tissue, much like acid. The narrator tells of how he sees the man drowning and then of how he constantly dreams about the wretched being, in all my dreams, before my helpless sight, he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. The victim would have experienced a sensation likened to that of drowning, as the gas inflames the lungs and takes up the space that scavenge air would have took up, much like water. The helpless feeling of the narrator would have been in that respect in all the men, for there was very tiny thing they could do to heal the sickened man, because of the limited resources and technology of the time. Instead, (the company) flings him into the wagon to be taken and disposed of, effectively, as Owen quipped in another poem, Anthem for damned Youth, herded like cattle.It is in this section that Wilfred Owen shows how the man was now experiencing his final moments, as the white eyes (were writhing) in his face and like a scratchs sick of sin. The hideous comparisons that follow are su re to perish in the memory of anyone actually witnessing the event, and Owen captures them superbly (in literary terms) as he says obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud. This is a very in-your-face image, showing the horrid substances issuing from the soldiers mouth, as his lungs begin to entirely disintegrate and he loses control of throat muscles. The descriptions of the soldiers condition are aimed into shocking the reader, many of whom would be the British public, into bit against the war. This is shown as Wilfred addresses my friend, in line 25.This is actually Jessie Pope, who wrote many patriotic poems boost young men, much like Owen, to sign up and do their duty. Owen was completely disgusted by the way war was portrayed towards the masses in Popes well-known poem Whos for the Game? and precious to change the opinions of the public and show them what war was really like, for the common, light infantry institution soldier. He says, my friend, you would not tell with such high zest, meat that Pope wouldnt think the way she did if she knew the true extent of the suffering. To end the poem, Wilfred Owen uses a controversial and slightly outlandish term, lie. This is especially bizarre as it is criticizing the beliefs of at least 80% of Britons at the time, including the monarch, government and high-ranking officials in the military. To put it in context (literally) the cultivation goes The old Lie Dulce et Decorum estPro patria mori.This means, in EnglishThe old Lie it is sweet and rightTo die for your country.To conclude, I have a few more comments to make about the effect of the poem on the public. Owen always strongly believed that there was no glory or pride involved in end at war. People are told they will be proud to fight, but this is actually all a propaganda scheme to recruit soldiers. In no better way could he have expressed this than in the ending to Dulce et Decorum est. People would be more touched by this poem, had it have been publis hed at the time, not three years later, after Owens death. The soldiers are presented in general, as pieces of a toy set. They fight for high ranking people, in wars that are not, in Owens beliefs, fought for the benefit of the people. And obviously, it is the low-paid, life-risking foot soldier that is affected most.