Analysis of “Dulce et Decorum Est” Essay

The meter we turn issue been analysing in class, Dulce et decorousness Est, was written by a reality named Wilfred Owen. Wilfred Owen was a spend in the number 1 cosmea struggle and was born on the 18th of March 1893, and died on the quaternate of November 1918, a week forrader the end of the first world contend. In this metrical composition, Owens objective is to show the repulsion and reality of state of state of contend, and to set this horror against the way in which war was often glorified. His objection, the glorification of war is reflected in the title, Dulce et decorum Est This is translated as It is sweet and glorious. Wilfred Owen engrosss this as a benefit of irony, to draw in the readers attention. It was especi every(prenominal)y meant for another war poet, Jesse Pope.She wrote virtu ally all the good and positive reasons for war, and tried to encourage hands to go and fight for their country. You mob out easily feel how Wilfred Owen entangle to the utmostest degree the first world war. His work of adjectives equal bitter, helpless and smothering dreams and the use of mountain rangery, give us a clear picture of what it was comparable. These address atomic number 18 employ to convey the ugliness, fear, poignancy and the pain of the war. Wilfred Owen uses clear t is end-to-end the song help us to catch how he felt, and why he felt this way. In most of the poem, the t 1 is quite irate, due to the survival of the fittest of linguistic process and how they argon used. Owen gives us graphic descriptions, utterance in a really direct and straight forward way. His use of the news show you in the third stanza, accents my point clearly. He uses this to draw us in, and to brand name us feel how he felt.Not yet does he move in us feel how he felt, that the poet influences us use our senses. He makes us hear this one firearm dying, struggling for life. He makes us test the bitterness of war, and the realit y of it. All of these techniques are used in the poem, because he wants us to be shocked at the reality that he is presenting. In his illustration of war, Owen describes an incident of exhausted soldiers trudging through the mud, clearly unhappy and very tired. They are all leaving the front line in locate to rest for a while in a safer place. Before this pot happen the group get attacked by a sea of gas. Owen explains how one soldier is late in plantting on his mask. Wilfred Owen describes the symptoms shown by this reality as the poison slowly kills him. He then tells us how this man plunges at him, guttering, choking, drowning.Owen is helpless he cant do anything to dispense with this mans life. This man is forever haunting his dreams. Wilfred Owen then interprets My supporter you would not tell with such high zest So, directly speaking to us, and Jesse Pope, or anyone who theorises that war is sweet or glorious, that its in reality a inhabit The poet then repeats the ti tle as the old lie Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori. The full translation of this is It is sweet and glorious to die for ones country.In Stanza 1, I have already shortly talked about the business line between the title of the poem and the actual poem itself. Its juiceless. When we count of the title we figure workforce with high spirits, impulsive to fight for their country, not old beggars under sacks, smelly and dirty, with the weight of the war weighing them down. In an instant we start to realise that war isnt sweet or glorious.The word beggars implies that maybe the soldiers were of low ranks. That they have all, no matter what rank, have been reduced to a basic pitying level, certified on others for their survival. Sacks are homogeneous rags this gives the impression that the soldiers havent compensate been given adequate warm clothing. All this symbolry creates sympathy for the soldiers and uses an image that you will be able to relate to. The measure in the first stanza is slow, with lots of commas. Owen uses punctuation standardized this because he wants you to see war for what it is.The use of commas, slow what you are practice down, and making it longer, as if you are move/trudging alongside these tired soldiers. As the stanza goes on Owen shortens the sentences, they are getting long-playing and slower, emphasizing the soldiers exhaustion. in addition the course trudge and sludge give a heavy sound and feel to the poem, as if you can hear the soldiers heavy footsteps. The pull through line of the first stanza, Wilfred Owen uses alliteration, gas s brilliances drop softly behind, the repeated S sound, the sibilant S, makes a soft and smooth sound, like a lullaby, slowly easing you to sleep. This hints at what the soldiers feel like, tired and exhausted. Owen uses this for a contrast in the next line. throttle Gas this is much powerful and contrasting technique used present to create an atmosp hither(predicate) of panic an d horror. The use of exclamation marks here to a fault portray a scene of panicking and hotfoot. Owen uses direct speech here to draw us in and to speak to us, which is unalike from the first stanza where Owen uses the last(prenominal) tense. The imagery here is really engaging it gives us the sense of rushing to fit the clumsy helmets.The word clumsy is a use of personification. Its as if the helmets were fighting against the soldiers. Personification is useful, because you can relate to a human experience/image. Floundering is a strong verb It gives you a clear image of this man struggling for life. Wilfred Owen as well uses an extended metaphor of the sea, giving you a clear and a visual image of this struggle. As under a fleeceable sea, I saw him drowning. An extended metaphor keeps the image going. plunges, guttering, choking, drowning are all related to the sea, so at that placefore an extended metaphor.Also the words guttering, choking, drowning are a form of onomatopo eia, Owen makes us use our senses, to hear this mans suffering. As if we were at that place. The poet uses the adjective green, this colour is often associated with evil, this is used to make the readers think that everything that is going on is evil and wrong. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight this is a quite shocking sentence to use. Wilfred Owen has patently been scared by this mans death, not one but all of his dreams re haunted by this man dying in front of his sight. This creates a feeling of horror and sympathy for Wilfred Owen and all the men who suffered like this.It is obvious in the third stanza, that war disgusts Wilfred Owen. The adjectives he uses emphasize his sound judgment adjectives like vile, obscene and bitter. These are all very harsh words to use, but all portray his opinion clearly. The imagery Owen also uses in this stanza gives the impression that war is disgusting. The simile like a devils sick of sin shows Owens lordly disgust, you can feel th at as well. This simile implies that war is the work of the devil, and regular(a) he is sick of it Another poetic technique used in this stanza is the alliteration of the letter W-Watch the white eyes squirm in his face You cant exactly say it quick so you have to say it slowly so you can think about it, and realise the horror and reality of what is happening.The tone throughout this stanza is angry and harsh this reflects Wilfred Owens thoughts and feelings about war. Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori is a lie and Wilfred Owen is disgusted by it A capital L is used to make the lie important, and a colon is used to introduced the unforgivable lie, it is also used to make us backtrack and think about it before we say it. Wilfred Owen uses a great depth of feeling in this poem, he uses emotive language and his personal impression and traumatic experience of war affects the convincing and clear message of the devastation of war Comparison of both war poems(Dulce et decorum est and Suicide in the trenches)As a comparison to the poem by Wilfred Owen, we have been studying Suicide in the trenches by the war poet, Siegfried Sassoon. Dulce et Decorum Est and Suicide in the trenches themes are similar. They both are about the reality and inclemency of war. Unlike Dulce et Decorum Est, from the title Suicide in the Trenches you can figure out that the title is about death, to be particularized a suicide.The word Siegfried Sassoon uses in the title, suicide, could mean a few incompatible things. Maybe it could mean that going to war is suicidal, or basically that soulfulness commits suicide in the trenches. Its different to Dulce et Decorum Est because it isnt ironic and Sassoon actually tells you what happens, he puts you straight, whilst Owen leaves you thinking about the theme and message of the poem. The poem, like Dulce et Decorum Est, focuses on the death of one soldier in the front World War. Sassoon describes this untried mans life before the war, and how simplistic it was, and how squelched he was with it.The poet then goes to talk about the war, and the horror of it. Its as if Sassoon is making a list of all that is wrong and grown about the war, but mainly what is wrong with the trenches. In the second stanza he stresses the awful health conditions, loneliness, patriotism, and the lack of resources the soldiers faced in the trenches. Siegfried Sassoons use of the word and in the second stanza is as if he is expression up to the point where this man cant take any much of it, so he commits suicide. Sassoon then speaks directly to us, like Wilfred Owen in Dulce et Decorum Est, both poets are disgusted by this war, but mostly by the concourse who cheer and support the soldiers. In a way, they both makes us feel guilty about it.In the first stanza, Siegfried Sassoon uses the adjective round-eyed to describe the soldiers life before the war. He direct a simple life, but was satisfied with it. The adjective simple could h ave also been used to indicate that this was a boy, simple and nave. The poet also says who grinned at life in empty joy. This suggests that this boy didnt have many aims in life, and didnt let anything really stir him. This could also mean that he was from a working background, like a farm. The sentence And whistled early with the lark suggests that he had to get up early, like a farmer. Unlike Dulce et Decorum Est, the first stanza in Suicide in the Trenches is quite positive.Sassoon uses words like joy, grinned, and slept soundly. Sassoon also uses control surface vowels, boy and joy, which are light words to say. All these words accentuate his freedom and happiness. Siegfried Sassoon uses these particular words for a contrast in the next stanza, where all these negative and heavy words are used. The poet does this contrast to toy with our emotions. The poet also might have done this to emphasize the harshness and reality of war, and how different it is to this boys simple but satisfied life.In the second stanza, Sassoon uses the rhyming couplet glum and rum. These are quite heavy words, and not like the open vowels used in the first stanza. Siegfried Sassoon uses these to emphasize the soldiers, how glum and weary they were, and to highlight how tiring and effortful it was for them. The words lack of rum could mean two things that literally at that place was no rum, or he was less energetic, because rum dulls the senses. Maybe without it he cant cope. I have said before that Sassoons use of the word and and his lack of punctuation in the first two lines to drag the sentences on, and that makes it longer, and makes it sound longer too. In a way Sassoon is building up all the horrible things to the point where this young man cant take any more than(prenominal) of it.This creates sympathy for the soldiers who faced conditions like this. Siegfried Sassoon only uses two lines to portray the conditions of war, whilst Wilfred Owen uses many more lines and m akes it longer and more detailed. In the third line of the second stanza, the sentence He put a bullet through his brain. Finishes with a full stop. The full stop used here highlights the fact that this mans life has ended. His life, like the sentence, has come to a stop. Sassoon uses punctuation here, to stop and make you think about what has actually just happened. The next line No one communicate of him again. Is a change in the rhythm.Throughout the poem so far, on that point has been eight syllables in each line, but when we get to this sentence there is only seven syllables. Sassoon changes the rhythm here to stress the fact there isnt any need to speak of this man again. Although, the change in rhythm could also mean that people are in a way ashamed to speak of this man again, because he committed suicide, everyone overlooks him as a coward. The poet uses a full stop here as well, to make the reader stop and acknowledge what has just happened.The third stanza is like the la st stanza in Dulce et Decorum Est. The poets speak directly to us and tell us how they feel about the war, and how disgusted they are by it. The tones used by both the poets in the last stanza are a little kind but really angry, this illustrates their actual feelings of war. The tone used is also sorting of disgraced, as if Sassoon is ashamed of crowd of people cheering at these young lads. It makes us think about what we think of war, and makes us question ourselves on our opinions etc. When Sassoon uses the metaphor hell he is describing war as hell. This gives a clear and evident image to relate to. Wilfred Owen also uses the image of hell in Dulce et Decorum Est too. This image makes the reader understand that war is a hellish and horrible place. When Siegfried Sassoon says youth and laughter he is laborious to get the image across that these are young lads. He uses words like simple, lads, boy, youth and laughter to underline that these were nave insecure children.It is clea r that Siegfried Sassoon disapproves of the fact that children of fighting in this hellish place. Wilfred Owen also does this in Dulce et Decorum Est. Wilfred Owen says My friend you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory, the old lie Siegfried Sassoon uses the word kindling, to describe the eye(s) of the smug-faced crowds. Sassoon tries to show with a sarcastic tone that they think war is a glorious thing, that they feel proud of these children, and seem to understand and appreciate what they are doing. But in reality, they can never imagine what these children are going through, and in reality, they dont care or feel appreciative of what the children did. Therefore, the word kindling reveals the hypocrisy behind people who support war.The structure of this poem is different to Dulce et Decorum Est. Sassoon uses rhyme and rhythm to make the poem sound light and bouncy. He not only does this to make it more memorable, but he does this to empha size the contrast of what the smug-faced crowds impression and enthusiasm towards war, and what the reality and harshness of war actually is. Siegfried Sassoon also could of used the rhyme and rhythm like this, because it sort of like a childrens poem. He could have done this to accentuate the rude young mans death.Dulce et Decorum Est was dragged out more, and longer. The rhyme is different and wasnt as noticeable as Suicide in the Trenches. Also in suicide in the trenches, Sassoon stresses all the good and jolly words in stanza one, to reflect the boys happy/joyful life. In stanza two though, Sassoon stresses all the bad and negative words to point out the awful conditions. This makes you, as a reader, feel the sympathy for the soldiers.After reading and analysing both the poems, I prefer Dulce et Decorum Est. I like this poem better, because the poet used very detailed imagery. Wilfred Owen describes the scene more, and describes the soldiers as well. I had more images to relate to, and that helped me to understand the poems message, and poets feeling and what he was trying to put across.I also like the idea that Wilfred Owen didnt give much away to what the poem was about, and left you thinking and question after reading the title. Although the rhyming in Suicide in the Trenches is more memorable, I like the fact that in Dulce et Decorum Est, you dont really recognize the rhyme at first. But I do like the poem Suicide in the Trenches, but I felt it more effective that Wilfred Owen uses his personal traumatic experience to explain what war is actually like.(Thankyou for reading my essay I hope you enjoyed it and that it helped you