Dulce Et Decorum Est
Reality “Dulce et Decorum Est,” an anti-war poem by Wilfred Owen, ( ) conveys
a strong meaning and persuasive argument. The anti-war theme and serious tone is
extremely effective at portraying war as horrid and devastating. Upon my initial
reading of this poem I felt overpowered by blood, guts and death. Although my
reaction hasn’t changed much through numerous readings, my emotional reaction
becomes more intense with each reading. This poem makes me feel like I am right
there watching the soldier who cannot fasten his mask fast enough and suffers
the full effects of deadly gas. This poem also makes me look beyond the death
and question the pain inflicted on the mothers who kissed their sons goodbye as
they went to defend their country. I imagine the mother receiving word her son
has died and is told how noble and patriotic his death was. In his last moments,
the soldier and his family become victims of “The old lie” (610). The precise
dictation, vivid comparisons and graphic imagery are the three major elements
that influenced my reaction to this poem. Through the precise dictation, I could
clearly understand what the author is saying. Words like “guttering”, “choking”,
and “drowning” jumped out at me and made my body shiver (610). Other words like
“writhing” and “froth-corrupted” made me understand just how tragic war is. Not
only do these words show how this man is suffering, but also they show precisely
the level of pain and torment this man must endure. The fact that the gassed man
was “flung” into the wagon convinced me that it is not “sweet” nor “fitting to
die for one’s country” (610).
The author’s use of dictation was extremely
effective in convincing me of just tragic and pointless war is. In addition to
dictation, the author’s use of metaphor and similes also influenced my reaction
to this poem. In the first line the author describes the troops as being “Bent
double, like beggars under sacks”(610). This simile expresses the condition of
the men and reinforces the hopelessness they feel. The author’s comparison of
the dyeing man’s “hanging face” to a “devil’s sick of sin” dramatizes just how
corrupt it all seems. The most powerful simile is when the author compares the
sound of the gassed man gurgling blood in is lungs as “obscene as cancer” (610).
The most effective metaphor is the “vile, incurable sores” that the author
compares to the troop’s memories. This metaphor illustrates how the troops will
never forget this experience. This pain will forever be with them. The author
clears up any misconception that war is noble and convinces me that his beliefs
are true. More effectively than metaphors and similes, the graphic imagery that
this poem explodes with drastically influenced my reaction to this poem. Some of
the images in this poem nearly made me feel nauseas. The images I experienced in
the readings of this poem could never be forgotten, especially when I take my
three sons to register with Selective Services. My emotional and physical
reaction reinforces how effective the author’s use of imagery is in this poem.
The image of the troops “drunk with fatigue” and deaf to the “gas-shells
dropping softly behind” is a chilling image (610). As someone yells “Gas” it is
an “ecstasy of fumbling” and one is still “flound’ring like a man on fire”
(610). Through the “thick green light, as under a sea” the speaker sees the man
drowning and describes the “gargling from the forth-corrupted lungs” (610). Each
of these images are disturbing to think about, but exposes the reality of war.
These images made me feel disgusted at what war is capable of. The author ties
this poem together in the last line. In Latin, the phrase “Dulce et decorum est”
means “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country”(610). The author calls
the phrase “the big lie” (610). Although there are countless elements,
dictation, vivid comparisons and imagery, are the elements that persuaded and
moved me emotionally and intellectually. Even though I recognize deadly gasses
are generally not used in war anymore, I will never react the same to the
billboards or commercials saying, “ Be all you can be in the Army”.
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