Dulce et Deorum Est Essay -- English Literature Essays

Dulce et Deorum EstWilfred Owen wrote Dulce et Decorum Est about the first World War, in which he had personally fought. It was intercommunicate to Jessie Pope, a writer of other poems concerning the War. Specifically he wrote the poem to counteract her poem Whos For The Game?. Owen felt that Pope did not comprehend the distressfulness of the war in her portrayal of the battle as a rugby game. Pope conveyed the participants of the game were admirable and those who sat on the sidelines shunned and disregarded. His poem forgatherms very cheerless and gloomy, particularly in comparison, just now is it not more realistic? Owen was a soldier himself, would he not know more about the horrors that war brings than the feminine poet, who could only be permitted to watch from the outside of her competitive yet carefree game of rugby? Personally, I think he would. At the time, Owen was put into a psychiatric hospital because the war had so badly affected him, broken his character. It was there that he met Siegfried Sassoon, who had been put into psychiatric care for writing poems that the authorities musical theme put the war into a negative light. It was Sassoon who encouraged Owen to become a poet, and they became good friends. The way Owen writes is very much sane and some would say he was quite an influential character. So how does Owen compare the horrors of war? From the very first line you become aware that the poem is not likely to be as light and cheerful as Popes poem. The line is Bent double, like old beggars under sacks which is already a rather miserable tone. We see how Owen has begun to set the mood for his piece already. He describes the soldiers crooked stance and compares them to old beggars, uncomfortable and undesirable. In the second line he goes on to say that the hands are knock-kneed and compares their coughs to those of hags. Again the undesirable, slightly unpleasant note is illustrated through the diction. The soldiers sound unwell, prob ably due to their harrowing lives in the trenches, which makes them dirty, sodden and more inclined to illness. In the third line the poet describes flares, long flames often used for signalling, as haunting to the soldiers. This suggests that they are sick of the war and hate the constant reminders of it. Obviously they cannot beat back away from the war and the monotonous, dire lifestyle they faced every day in the ranks. E... ...e grotesque lines he has just written, saying that the woman would not ascertain of the war with enthusiasm if she had experienced it first hand or had witnessed such loathsome episodes. His utmost two lines are the main subject of the poem and take on the title itself. Although these lines are not separated from the rest like the ones discussing how the man reappeared in his dreams every night, they are the most memorable as they are the last and the finality is extrusive within them. The final lines are The old Lie Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori The old Lie is connected to how he views Jessie Popes impression of the war, which he feels is captured in the Latin expression. The Latin itself translates directly as Its sweet and glorious to die for your country. Popes immaculate poem is focused on the accuracy of this statement, whereas Owens entire poem is focused on contradicting the statement. The poems are in sharp contrast to each other, but Owens holds first hand experience and in my view is far more impacting. The lines are a relevant end to the poem and leave the contributor with the thought in their mind that perhaps war really isnt as glorious as theyve been told.