Analysis Of Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce Et Decorum Est'
English 1900 B
March 14, 2014
1000 words
“It Is Not Sweet And Honourable To Die For Ones’ Country” In Owens ' "Dulce et Decorum Est" the speaker recounts witnessing a fellow soldiers ' death during a gas attack in World War I and reveals his resulting psychological trauma through his re-occurring nightmares. He questions the "old Lie" (27) that the youth are repeatedly told. Consequently, the speaker cautions potential soldiers of the horrifying physical and psychological realities of war in contrast to the glorifying propaganda of war.
The soldiers’ youthfulness and physical strength at the start of the war diminishes soon after they land on the battlefields. They start out energetic and strong but, after the demanding labour of war, they become tired and weak. The soldiers are physically exhausted from the strains of war as they “trudge” (4) and “[curse] through sludge” (2) while trying to flee …show more content…
The speaker challenges the idea that “[i]t is sweet and hono[u]rable to die for one’s country” (Credo Reference) when he refers to it as “The old Lie” (27). Owen capitalizes “Lie” (27) to emphasize his cynical views on the war propaganda. In the final stanza of the poem he directs his attention to “you” (17, 21, 25), the potential soldiers, in hopes that his views grab their attention. He repeats “if” statements, that distance him from “you” (17, 21, 25), since he knows that no one can truly understand the horrors of war without first hand experience. He speculates that “If you could…” (21) witness the mass death and destruction of war “you would not tell with such high zest / To children ardent for some desperate glory” (26-27) that it is honourable to die at war. It is only evident after reading the entire poem that Owen is arguing against the literal meaning of the title which is located at the end of the poem: “Dulce et decorum est/ Pro patria
March 14, 2014
1000 words
“It Is Not Sweet And Honourable To Die For Ones’ Country” In Owens ' "Dulce et Decorum Est" the speaker recounts witnessing a fellow soldiers ' death during a gas attack in World War I and reveals his resulting psychological trauma through his re-occurring nightmares. He questions the "old Lie" (27) that the youth are repeatedly told. Consequently, the speaker cautions potential soldiers of the horrifying physical and psychological realities of war in contrast to the glorifying propaganda of war.
The soldiers’ youthfulness and physical strength at the start of the war diminishes soon after they land on the battlefields. They start out energetic and strong but, after the demanding labour of war, they become tired and weak. The soldiers are physically exhausted from the strains of war as they “trudge” (4) and “[curse] through sludge” (2) while trying to flee …show more content…
The speaker challenges the idea that “[i]t is sweet and hono[u]rable to die for one’s country” (Credo Reference) when he refers to it as “The old Lie” (27). Owen capitalizes “Lie” (27) to emphasize his cynical views on the war propaganda. In the final stanza of the poem he directs his attention to “you” (17, 21, 25), the potential soldiers, in hopes that his views grab their attention. He repeats “if” statements, that distance him from “you” (17, 21, 25), since he knows that no one can truly understand the horrors of war without first hand experience. He speculates that “If you could…” (21) witness the mass death and destruction of war “you would not tell with such high zest / To children ardent for some desperate glory” (26-27) that it is honourable to die at war. It is only evident after reading the entire poem that Owen is arguing against the literal meaning of the title which is located at the end of the poem: “Dulce et decorum est/ Pro patria