Wilfred Owen's Dulce Et Decorum Est

War is neither glorious nor triumphant. There is nothing sweet and good about it. It is horrifying, gruesome, and bitter: not a trace of sweetness in it. Thus, the adage, dulce et decorum est pro patria mori, is but a lie, and this notion is demonstrated in Wilfrid Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” through the use of poetic form. At first glance, the poem appears to abide by the conventional rules of poetic form. It is comprised of twenty-eight lines and there is an apparent rhyming scheme of ABAB, CDCD, and so forth. From this, it divides the poem into two sonnets; it is worth noting as well that sonnets are used in writing war poems, particularly the original “Dulce” by Horace. Albeit, Owen uses the sonnet differently than Horace, and his
The alternating, continual rhyming scheme of the poem resembles the endless terror: it goes on as ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, and there are no repetitions. Moreover, the rhymes do not create a pleasant sound but rather, a harsh one because of the consonant clusters: “sacks-backs”, “sludge-trudge”, etc., which amplifies the discorded sound of war: bitterness and anger. Also, the rhymes have a double purpose as onomatopoeias, mimicking the noises heard during the war. For instance, the rhymes “-ace” and “-s” in lines 17, 19, 22, and 24, give the impression of a hissing sound, which resembles the noise of a gas leaking or about to explode; also, it reinforces the vignette in the first sonnet: “Gas! GAS! Quick boys!” (9). Moreover, another rhyme that mimics the noise heard during the war is the “-ing” in lines 9, 11, 14, and 16. The “ing” rhyme is reminiscent of the alarm sounds— “nggggg” ---during the war, especially when a weapon of mass destruction is about to be launched. From this, the author illustrates the use of rhymes to mirror the idea of war as lie created by society’s
However, this meter is immediately disrupted. In line 9, Owen introduces punctuation to create dissonance in the rhythm: “GAS! GAS! quick BOYS! – an ECS/ta/SY/of/FUM/bling”. Along with this is the varying syllables of some lines. At the beginning, the poem primarily comprises of ten syllables per lines, however, by the second sonnet, the syllabication changes; it becomes arbitrary, varying from 9, 10, or 11 syllables, as though the lines themselves are disintegrating. This disintegration resembles the deteriorating sanity of someone coming back from war, and this is demonstrated in the poem itself: “he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning” (16); moreover, the words “plunge”, “guttering”, “choking”, “drowning” are associated with “dropping” or “disintegration”. Hence, these words, juxtaposed with the poem’s structure, augment the reality of war: it is not glorious at all, but rather, it leads to one’s descent.
Furthermore, the penultimate and terminus lines of the poem reinforce the concept of the “old Lie”. By ending the poem with the adage, “dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” (27-28), and with it having the least number of syllables, it creates a condescending tone. The last line only comprises of six syllables, as opposed to the poem’s majority, which is ten. This brings the attention to the reader because of the irony it creates; with it—the