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Dulce Et Decorum Est

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Dulce Et Decorum Est
A war still breaks out in the world, and it leads lots of victims. The British poet, William Owen is also the victim of a war. Even though he died when he was 25-year-old unfortunately from the war, his works are still regarded by many people including famous poets because he describes wars well though his realistic war poetry in his young age. Dulce et Decorum Est, written by Wilfred Owen, refute the irrationality of the war. Also, the title of this poem, the Latin word “Dulce et Decorum Est” means “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country” in English. The world was used to encourage young soldiers in a war, William Owen used it as a paradoxical way to demonstrate that the war is not enough valuable to take their lives. Therefore, …show more content…
In the first stanza, it describes daily routine of the soldiers in a battlefield. It also demonstrates well the soldiers in a battlefield who are being tired and have to obey the authority. Also, this scene implies the reality of the war that the soldiers will eventually face. Therefore, this stanza functions as a preface of this poem.

The atmosphere of this poem changes in the second stanza. “Gas! GAS! Quick, Boys! (9)” implies that the situation of the battlefield becomes miserable because the gas bomb was dropped. Since the author uses capital letters and an exclamation mark in the line, this line shows not only the situation is much urgent but also it helps his audience to focus on this poem.

In addition to, the past tense is used in the first stanza and the second stanza. The author states, “Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs (3)”. This line implies a dangerous situation in a battlefield that flares can take the soldiers’ eyes away from them. Also, the author says, “deaf even to the hoots of gas-shells dropping softly behind (8-9).” This line shows a tragic situation that many of them (the soldiers) die even without hearing the sound of the gas bomb. Also, the word, “softly” in the line emphasizes the tragic
…show more content…
The author says, “But someone still was yelling out and stumbling and flound’ring like a man in fire or lime (11-12).” These lines imply the soldier’s chaos between life and death. Also he states, “Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, as under green sea, I saw him drowning (13-14)”, the lines contain a paradox. The color, “green” naturally is a color that gives hope, but it is considered as death in the lines because the smoke from the gas bomb is

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