Dulce Et Decorum Est By Wilfred Owen Essay
It is brutal and horrific to die for one’s country
From modern-day textbooks to old-fashioned movies, accounts of war are universally depicted as gallant, audacious acts of bravery and valor. People from all cultures celebrate the ‘sweet glory’ that it is to represent one’s country in war. Tales of war are told as tokens of honor, and those noble enough to serve are even honored with a holiday in November, “Veterans Day.” War has been glamorized and admired, and described with words such as courage, integrity, and freedom throughout history; yet, Wilfred Owen’s poem, “Dulce et Decorum Est” depicts a scene far different than formerly portrayed. Owen challenges the orthodox claim that “it is sweet and proper to die for one’s country” through …show more content…
Owen transcribes, “Bent double, like old beggars... Knock-kneed, coughing like hags... Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots/But limped on, blood-shod" (Lines 1-2, 5-6). The demoralized soldiers appear as old men who are worked to the bone and ignorant to the standards of society. This powerful first person account that portrays the ‘nation’s bravest’ as irrelevant, senseless creatures is enough to allow the auditor to become aware of the existent experiences of those dying for their country. These poor, yet “proper” soldiers are then described with words such as lame, drunk, blind, and “deaf even to the hoots/Of gas shells dropping softly behind” (Line 7-8). Although these heroes do not have the luxury of drinking alcohol, they are still intoxicated with the trauma that is war. The oxymoron of gas shells dropping “softly” explains the extent of damage done to these soldiers by the war. To become physically numb to as devastating and piercing a thing as warfare represents the mentally numb and damaging effects that war has on the country’s sweetest and
From modern-day textbooks to old-fashioned movies, accounts of war are universally depicted as gallant, audacious acts of bravery and valor. People from all cultures celebrate the ‘sweet glory’ that it is to represent one’s country in war. Tales of war are told as tokens of honor, and those noble enough to serve are even honored with a holiday in November, “Veterans Day.” War has been glamorized and admired, and described with words such as courage, integrity, and freedom throughout history; yet, Wilfred Owen’s poem, “Dulce et Decorum Est” depicts a scene far different than formerly portrayed. Owen challenges the orthodox claim that “it is sweet and proper to die for one’s country” through …show more content…
Owen transcribes, “Bent double, like old beggars... Knock-kneed, coughing like hags... Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots/But limped on, blood-shod" (Lines 1-2, 5-6). The demoralized soldiers appear as old men who are worked to the bone and ignorant to the standards of society. This powerful first person account that portrays the ‘nation’s bravest’ as irrelevant, senseless creatures is enough to allow the auditor to become aware of the existent experiences of those dying for their country. These poor, yet “proper” soldiers are then described with words such as lame, drunk, blind, and “deaf even to the hoots/Of gas shells dropping softly behind” (Line 7-8). Although these heroes do not have the luxury of drinking alcohol, they are still intoxicated with the trauma that is war. The oxymoron of gas shells dropping “softly” explains the extent of damage done to these soldiers by the war. To become physically numb to as devastating and piercing a thing as warfare represents the mentally numb and damaging effects that war has on the country’s sweetest and