In the poem, Dulce et Decorum est the writer Wilfred Owen focus’ on experiences faced by the soldiers in World War I. Owen describes the horrific realities in the trenches and on the battlefield of France during WWI. Owen is trying to share with us his personal experience of War. He uses language features such as; similes and metaphors to stir readers emotions.
In the first line of the poem Owen uses a simile “bent double, like old beggars under sacks”, this is used to intensify the readers emotions about the realities of war. This simile makes the reader feel sad as our emotions are stirred right from the start of the poem. Soldiers in WWI were around 17 years old and are being compared to those of old ‘broken-down beggars’. This stirs readers emotions as we think about these young men who were once full of life but were taken from this to become an old beggar, who is crippled
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This shows how the men were so tired that it seemed as if they were walking in their sleep. The soldiers have become so drowsy as they fought tirelessly and continuously. Even when they could get some sleep, they had to sleep on the damp, smelly ground surrounded by rodents and spiders crawling around their heads as they slept. There was always the possibility that they wouldn’t wake up again, therefore sleep was rare and a precious gift. It made me think about the type of terrain they fought in day after day with no sleep, I know that I would not be able to keep fighting after everything they were forced to suffer through. This metaphor stirred me to feel unhappy about the war as I began to think about the those that went to war with big hearts to fight for their country but came home with an empty heart of regret. If they were fortunate enough to return home. The war left mark on every soldiers life therefore this metaphor stirred my emotions as it showed me the futility of war and that the effort was for
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Show MoreIt illustrates when troops are back from the war their are considering taking their lives because their feel like murders since; they took someone else’s life and all the killing that happens within the war. For example, when one of their comrade’s is killed they feel guilty, and it will lead them to feel like their should have done a better job protecting each other. As a result, what they experience during the war can cause trauma to the brain, trigger the memory system and every man’s life
This passage shows how the soldiers are emotionally and mentally drained by the horrors of war, and how they feel disconnected from the world they once knew. The
Soldiers typically lacked sympathy for what they went through from society ignoring the trauma they brought back from the Vietnam War. The following quote from the article presents the thought process of most soldiers to us: “By forgetting, he said he could prove that he was strong and could master his anxieties… by remembering, he felt he was admitting that he was weak and no longer in control” (Penk and Robinowitz 3). The previous quote shows how the soldiers felt that forgetting made them appear strong rather than letting their emotions weaken them, and this is why we see a soldier’s inner conflict as they force themselves to remember in the poem. In this quote from the poem the soldier has come to the monument for remembering those who passed in the war and as he looks at those names his first thought is: “No tears.
This shows a close glimpse into the mindset of the soldiers and their thoughts during the war. At this point in the book , it proves itself to be true
Hi Andrea, When I first read the poem I assumed it was talking about war because of the line “nightmare fighters.” I learned about war being harsh on soldiers and especially fallen ones but I never thought this would happen. I did not think that the soldiers did not care but they just need a way to get the body out fast for another solider to takeover the machine.
This is shown in the metaphor used to compare war to a “game” as it strongly suggests the poet’s message of war being fun and carefree. This metaphor is also important to the main message as it is used to persuade and encourage men that seeked adventure and glory. This was due to the lack of soldiers England had in the war by 1916, resulting in the call for volunteer soldiers. Due to the media, social pressure and shame men would receive from their community about their cowardliness and lack of masculinity, a vast majority of unknowing men volunteered for
Dulce et Decorum Est: Romance vs. Reality World War I lasted from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918, a time when young men were pressured into going to war. Many fifteen to eighteen year old boys were encouraged to go and sacrifice their lives as if it was an enchanting task. In the poem, Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen, portrays to readers that war is not an easy and beautiful thing to partake in. Owen conveys the harsh reality of war through his strong diction, figurative language, and imagery.
When protesting war, authors use an immense amount of imagery to describe what happened. They sometimes describe the soldiers as “knock-kneed, coughing like hags”(Owens 2) after the soldiers left a fight. These soldiers were tired from a long where they could have died, which may have been dwelling on their minds. Some were forced to go to war and died like
Wilfred Owen utilizes imagery in his poem “Dulce et Decorum Est.” Owen uses visual and auditory imagery. Visual imagery is in line one of the poem: “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks.” Owen uses this to let the reader visualize how the how the soldiers looked while they were carrying their heavy packs through the fields and trenches of World War One. The first part of the quotation “bent double” lets the reader visualize that the soldiers backs were giving out form carrying the heavy packs.
There are plenty of literatures and works of art portraying what war is like. The genre ranges from personal memoirs to novels, and from poetries to journals. As far as I concerned the several work of art we have studies, Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est best illustrates what war is like because of three reasons.
The poem aims to glorify soldiers and certain aspects of war, it goes on to prove that in reality there really isn 't good vs bad on the battlefield, it 's just a man who "sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call, And only death can stop him now—he 's fighting for them all.", and this is our hidden meaning.
Approximately ten million men died fighting in World War 1. Nothing can quite capture the horrific, putrid scenes, lingering guilt, and heavy memories of these hellish seven years as well as poems have. John McCrae, Laurence Binyon, Wilfred Owen, and Siegfried Sassoon are just several of the poets who have endured the war and lived to write of its horrors. They all use metaphorical descriptions and imagery to depict their grief and respect for those who’ve died. The poems selected have left their readers in remembrance and grief over what has happened over 50 years ago.
Reflection for DULCE ET DECORUM EST Vedanshi Patel 10E DULCE ET DECORUM EST is a poem written by Wilfred Owen describing the horrors of war. In the poem Owen questions the old saying, “It is sweet and honourable to die for one’s country” and contemplates whether facing the horrors of war is worth the risk for achieving fame and glory for their country. Through the uses of a variety of poetic devices and figurative language, Owen successfully communicates his message about the gruesomeness of war. The theme of the poem is that war is a tragedy and one that all the soldiers of the war have been scarred with.
This metaphor displays his uncertainty as per his crucial part in that moment in time. The soldier pictures himself as the hand on a clock, subject to the inevitable force of a clockwork motor that cannot be slowed or quickend. He realises that he does not really know why he is running and feels “statuary in mid-stride”. However, towards the end of the poem, all moral justifications for the existence of war have become meaningless- “King, honour, human dignity, etcetera Dropped like luxuries in a yelling alarm”, which is extremely dismissive of all the motives people provide for joining the army, explicitly stating that those motives do not justify and do not withstand the war. Disorientation is also highlighted in the line “Stumbling across a field of clods towards a green hedge That dazzled with rifle fire” where the confusion between the natural world and man-made world is expressed.
Owen creates a stark contrast between the past and the present by emphasizing the deteriorated relationship between the veteran and women, as well as the veteran 's altered perspective of his surroundings. Owen also emphasizes the contrast through the use of literary techniques, such as irony, symbolism, and similes, and he also writes using a distinct structure. Women are used to highlight the way the soldier is treated before and after his disability. We are given an example in the second stanza when Owen writes "Now, he will never feel again how slim Girls ' waists are ... All of them touch him like some queer disease."