Wilfred Owen & Siegfried Sasson
How do Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon communicate their thoughts and feelings about war in the poems ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and ‘Base Details’?
In both the poems “Dulce et Decorum Est” and “Base Details” the 2 poets talk about the experiences of war in two very different points of views. They use a variety of different writing styles to convey their emotions and thoughts about the war to the readers.
In Wilfred Owens poem the opening stanza is characterized by language about the “fatigue” of the soldiers, and how they “marched asleep”, also how they “trudge”, and “limped on”. They are “deaf”, “lame” and “blind”, these are all rather pitiful language intended to reveal the reality of war and its effects that it can have on young men. Also the opening of the poem suggests that Owen pities the state to which the soldiers have fallen. Instead of youthful, strong fighters that they were before the war had started. They are “Bent double”, “Knock-kneed, coughing like hags”, giving the image that they are weak and dying in pain. It juxtaposes how they are young men maybe 17 or 18 years old and how they look and act like they are supposed to die.
In Siegfried Sassoon’s poem the war is portrayed from the view as a privileged individual who is removed and protected from the horrors of war, compared to Owen’s poems in the eyes of a soldier from the front lines. He uses plosives, such as “puffy petulant” to emphasize the unhealthy and irritable appearance of the Major.
This then can be related back to his greed through the use of the words “guzzling and gulping”. This is to show that he is living the high life as he has an excess of food and water, while the soldiers are starving and dying in battle. The phrase “best hotel” indicates that the Major is enjoying the luxury of good food and drink and comfortable accommodation while the soldiers are experiencing a true war and living thru the effects of it.
After describing the horrifying effects of the gas attack
In both the poems “Dulce et Decorum Est” and “Base Details” the 2 poets talk about the experiences of war in two very different points of views. They use a variety of different writing styles to convey their emotions and thoughts about the war to the readers.
In Wilfred Owens poem the opening stanza is characterized by language about the “fatigue” of the soldiers, and how they “marched asleep”, also how they “trudge”, and “limped on”. They are “deaf”, “lame” and “blind”, these are all rather pitiful language intended to reveal the reality of war and its effects that it can have on young men. Also the opening of the poem suggests that Owen pities the state to which the soldiers have fallen. Instead of youthful, strong fighters that they were before the war had started. They are “Bent double”, “Knock-kneed, coughing like hags”, giving the image that they are weak and dying in pain. It juxtaposes how they are young men maybe 17 or 18 years old and how they look and act like they are supposed to die.
In Siegfried Sassoon’s poem the war is portrayed from the view as a privileged individual who is removed and protected from the horrors of war, compared to Owen’s poems in the eyes of a soldier from the front lines. He uses plosives, such as “puffy petulant” to emphasize the unhealthy and irritable appearance of the Major.
This then can be related back to his greed through the use of the words “guzzling and gulping”. This is to show that he is living the high life as he has an excess of food and water, while the soldiers are starving and dying in battle. The phrase “best hotel” indicates that the Major is enjoying the luxury of good food and drink and comfortable accommodation while the soldiers are experiencing a true war and living thru the effects of it.
After describing the horrifying effects of the gas attack