Dulce et decorum est - Analysis PDF

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Analysis of Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen....

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“DULCE ET DECORUM EST” by Wilfred OWEN Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs, And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.— Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,— My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est

Pro patria mori.

We should start with a summary of the poem: The lyrical “I” and his comrades are struggling with the worst conditions possible in the middle of the battlefield, during the First World War (1917): not only are they “bending double like old beggars” and “coughing like hags”, but also “drunk with fatigue”, “all blind”, “deaf” to the point they do not hear the hoots of the gas-shells dropping behind them. Someone wakes them up by shouting, and they hurry to put their helmets “just in time”, except one soldier who stumbles and flounders “like a man in fire or lime”. The lyrical subject watches him drowning “as under a green sea” and this vision keeps haunting his dreams. He then attacks an unnamed “you” and makes them guilty for glorifying war using “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” — that is nothing but an “old Lie” — to get more young people enlisting. The main themes are thus: the awful living conditions of the troops during the war, the post-traumatic stress disorder due to war crimes, the manipulation of young minds/ government propaganda during war times, stolen youth, critic on the romanticization of one’s death for the sake of their homeland. This poem is to be put in contrast with the poem “The Soldier” because in Brooke’s work the lyrical subject is endorsing war and feels honoured to die for his country. He wants to be remembered as “A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware”, in that regard, he symbolizes well the naïve “children ardent for some desperate glory” that are the victims of the unscrupulous authorities in Owen’s poem. While the first represents the optimism and enthusiasm to be part of a collective force, the second reflects the reality of the battlefield and the pessimism and lethargic state that go with it. What remains after witnessing so many atrocities is the acerbic aftertaste of being fooled, of being turned into someone’s puppet: the only thing that is important is the victory, no matter how many lives have to be sacrificed.

Does

history

or

biography

help

towards

reaching

a

fuller

understanding of the poem? Although the poem is explicit enough, Owen’s biography helps to understand his critic towards pro-war people. These information were taken in the course notes: the poet enlisted in 1915 and was sent on the front in 1917 for four months. The atrocities that he witnessed shocked him so much that he decided to write them down. The year after, he died on the battlefield. To change patriotic people’s idea about war, he used to show them photographs of the dehumanized reality taking place there. Thanks to this, we can see how devoted he was to let the world know about the truth, but also how deeply affected he was by the experience of the war. How can the poem be said to incorporate the general aesthetics of Modernism? → pessimism and alienation Owen’s poem embraces a very pessimistic view that was mainly caused by the devastating impact of the war: buildings and nature are not the only ones destroyed, the soldiers’ mental health is also affected. This pessimism is linked to modern inventions such as gas-shells that release a “thick green light”. The perspective of Owen, who took part in the war, is thus the one of those who were part of the so-called humanistic rejection [= rejection of the war for the sake of humanity], one of the three main artistic responses to the war, next to modernistic endorsement and modernistic distancing. Instead of worshipping his homeland or shunning the ongoing events, he chooses to confront himself and his readers to the harsh truth that he tries to depict as best as possible through graphic descriptions. The aim is to shock, like the soldiers who “march asleep” and suddenly become “an ecstasy of fumbling” when reality hits them. The dehumanization of youth — and of humanity in general — led the poet to express his indignation, expecting a reaction from whoever would read him.

He has nothing else to lose but his life that is worthless: indeed, although the lyrical ‘I’ is attacking someone with bitter words, the truth is that he cannot escape his condition of mere soldier among many others. Desertion is not even an option, because he could be executed. The routine of the lyrical subject is “kill or be killed, run for your life or let death crush you like it did for this man”. In that sense, he is trapped and alienated. Through this poem, Owen also seeks to prevent young people from believing the propaganda spread by the government which he himself believed (otherwise, how could he know so many details about what is happening on the battlefield). → rejection of the (recent) past The poem “The Soldier”, was published in 1914 while this one was written 3 years later: we could see it as a direct or indirect response. In any case, Owen rejects the enthusiasm and patriotism that young soldiers like Brooke may have felt before entering the battlefield. He rejects the idea according to which “one will die as a national hero and everyone will remember their name”: those are all lies and illusions. He also rejects traditional poetry by not respecting the prosody expected: this can be seen with the trimeter in the last line, on the contrary to the rest of the poem that is mainly composed of pentameters. More generally, by sarcastically repeating the famous Latin expression “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” in the title and at the end of the poem, Owen

mocks

the

old

tradition

that

keeps

instilling false

conceptions into youth. This break with the past intends to make aware that history repeats itself if no one dares to break its vicious circle. → As a general conclusion: is the poem truly modernistic or rather an example of ‘contemporary’ poetry?

It shows some modernistic features such as pessimism, a special poetic form that diverts from the traditional ones (= break with the past), but we cannot consider it completely modernistic compared to Imagist poetry, for example. Maybe it paves the way for modernistic poetry in the field of ‘humanistic rejection’, but overall, it is safer to see it as part of contemporary poetry.

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS: Why does it make sense to say that Owen incorporates traditional poetic forms in this poem? In addition, how does Owen divert from these forms? The poem has 28 lines, and, at first glance, it seems like the first 14 ones form an English sonnet (octave + sestet) but if we check the rhyme pattern, the two last lines do not form a heroic couplet. We could say that it is a Shakespearean sonnet with a substitution of the heroic couplet and that it was to reflect to the fact that there is no hero in this war, but it would sound too far-fetched. That’s why we decided to consider the poem as such: 3 octaves that follow the pattern [ABABCDCD/EFEFGHGH/IJIJKLKL] + a quatrain [MNMN] (→ why this division? the first 8 lines symbolize the slumber state of the soldiers and is mostly description, the 8 next lines are introduced by a direct discourse, which breaks with the descriptive passage + they woke up from their slumbering state. The 8 lines after that are directed to a certain “you” and are very graphic and violent. The quatrain constitutes an acerbic ending with a sarcastic tone). In this sense, Owen still incorporates traditional poetic forms while keeping a constant rhyming pattern. Furthermore, he uses the most common type of meter line in English that is the iambic pentameter. The first octave is especially very regular, which reminds of the regular pace of the soldiers’ march. However, he diverts from these traditional forms by subdividing his poem into 4 stanzas of different length and substituting iamb feet by other types of poetic feet, especially spondees and trochees. By doing this, he focalizes the attention on important aspects, such as the fact that they are “all blind” (= spondee), “blood-shod” (spondee) and that the “green light” coming from the “gas-shells” is so thick that it resembles a “green sea” where the man drowns. In the 7th line, he puts the emphasis on the

adjectives “drunk” and “deaf” (trochees). He also introduces anacrusis and hypermetry in some of the lines, which form “imperfect”, unbalanced pentameters. This destabilized order imitates the soldiers’ physical and mental state (they are disabled, mutilated and completely lost). What is really salient in this poem is the two lines forming the third stanza: while the first one is a perfect iambic pentameter, the second one contrasts completely by being a trochaic pentameter (with anacrusis). The musicality also changes drastically: the 15th line sounds like “The Lamb” while the next one sounds like “The Tiger” and reminds of drums, heart beats = threatening sound. This opposition announces a shift in the lyrical subject’s tone and depiction of his surroundings: it becomes more violent and graphic.

Which metre does Owen use here? What can you say about the poem’s final line in relation to the metrical pattern? He uses iambic pentameters, the most common meter line in English. However, from the second octave, there are many substitutions that accentuate his damaged mental state: “Gas! GAS! Quick, boys! — An ecstasy of fumbling Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,” Line 8 → 2 spondees that stress the command and the hasty atmosphere. Line 9 → trochee to change the iambic/monotonous rhythm // soldiers hurrying. Another turning point would be the 16th line since it is the reverse of the usual meter: here, we have a trochaic pentameter with an anacrusis that aims for dramatic effect, like a punch in the face, it wants to impregnate the mind with specific images “He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning” while expressing the destabilization of the lyrical ‘I’. Likewise, the last line is a trimeter that has NO iamb in it for Océane: spondee/pyrrhic/trochee >< for Agnes: iambic trimeter. It breaks with the tradition → Latin is an old language + iambic pentameters symbolize England. This last line can therefore be interpreted as a way to implicitly denounce and reject his country while also rejecting the glorified past. “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” is originally a line from Horace’s Odes to encourage young patriotic Roman soldiers, but here it concludes the poem sarcastically. It adds the final touch to the dehumanizing vision of the human being → you are no longer a person, but “an old beggar”, a “hag” and you were born to die not as an individual, but for the homeland. That explains why, on the contrary of Brooke’s poem, he is not happy to die “for

the country” because his identity as an individual is erased in this unnatural death: no one knows their names and they will die anonymously → that explains why the lyric subject does not mention any name, only referring to the victim as “he/him/the man”.

What is the overall tone & setting of this poem? How do they compare to the poems by Brooke or McCrae? The overall tone of the poem is a gloomy, dismal, serious one with a feeling of a ‘burden’ that is shown in the description of the soldiers: they are “bent double”/ “knock-kneed”/ they “limped on”. It displays death in terrible circumstances, recurring nightmares that are part of the posttrauma stress disorder (also called ‘shell shock’) about which Sigmund Freud wrote in Beyond the Pleasure Principle [course notes]. It is also sarcastic, bitter, and ironic. For instance, the title contrasts with the content: “Dulce et decorum est” means “It is sweet and fitting (and later completed by the ending line: ‘to die for one’s homeland’)” but the whole poem is set in a nightmarish atmosphere. Irony: every soldier is ‘old’, ‘asleep’, ‘blind’, ‘drunk with fatigue’, ‘deaf’ → youth is stolen (Owen was only 25 when he died in 1918, and many other war poets also died in their twenties during WWI) Irony: “men marched asleep” oxymoronic because marching requires consciousness >< asleep = unconscious → Robotic movement (they do not think like individuals anymore, they just obey to instructions as a collective) → first part = collective ‘we’ BUT then from the 14th line: “as under a green sea, I saw him drowning” comes the personal critic that becomes more and more violent (description + direct addressing the ‘you’) Ironic paradox: “drunk with fatigue”: usually, you would be drunk due to alcohol = festive atmosphere >< atmosphere of the poem Irony 7/8th lines: “Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.” → softly is ironic because gas-shells are everything but quiet. These lines also show how all of this is part of their routine + the sound of bombs made

them deaf to the point that they do not even shiver when dropped behind them. Sarcasm and irony in the quatrain: “My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.” → “My friend” is ironic + there is nothing sweet and fitting to die in these circumstances. Furthermore, the Latin expression is to be uttered with a solemn and lofty tone >< content of the poem.

Brooke was a member of the “Georgian poetry” literary movement that was considered postromantic and contemporary rather than modernist and he was the poet against who many war poets (expressionists) will write, like Owen. Therefore, their two poems are opposites. Brooke is exalting war and manages to convey his message by using exactly that same lofty tone that Owen mocks. McCrae’s “Flanders Fields” is a compromise between the two: -

It is also characterized by a gloomy tone. BUT this gloomy tone is accompanied by the lamentation of the poet [nostalgy] and then a sudden shift with a more encouraging tone.

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Like Brooke, it also evokes elements of nature. BUT whereas Brooke’s nature and homeland are personified acting like humans (agentive role of Nature), McCrae’s nature symbolizes the soldiers as reminiscent beauties. → Poppies (papaver somniferum) are interesting flowers because they are symbols of peace, death and even sleep . As stated on the

British Royal Legion website, they represent “both Remembrance and hope for a peaceful future.” Poppies are regularly used in commemorations. Moreover, they are symbols for eternal sleep, as their name suggests. Poppy seeds are widely used in preparations of dishes, but also in medicines due to its analgesic and narcotic effect. The ending of the poem thus means: “just think of me and everything would be fine. Just think of me if you have lost all your faith because I am here with you. The only thing I ask you to do is to hold the flame alive, by remembering of us, war heroes. Hold the torch high”. >< Owen does not use nature, but he offers a very graphic description of the events rather than of the landscape.

Owen has been described as a master of assonance, consonance and internal rhyme. To what effect does he use these techniques in “Dulce et Decorum”? - Assonance: LINES 1/2 “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge” LINES 19/20 “And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin” → the /i/ + /i:/ → illustrate something painful → the /ai/ → reminds of ‘I’ = white eyes writhing = I am dying/agonizing → overall, lot of rounded vowels that represent the face of someone crying in despair // The Scream, Edvard Munch

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Consonance:

LINE 2 “Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge” → obstruction of the airflow (velar/occlusives) form // content → they have difficulty to breathe and keep coughing (something is stuck in their throat) LINE 5 “Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots” → when pronouncing this bilabial nasal consonant, we have to seal both lips together = no sound comes out of it // murmur, almost silence. If there is a protest, it happens internally, but soldiers are too tired to rebel out loud against their superiors LINE 7 “Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.” → occlusives (obstruction of the airflow) here represent their entrapment in the war: they are surrounded by obstacles (gas-shells, fatigue, deafness) and cannot reach their freedom LINE 9 “Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time”

→ occlusives are characterized by an obstruction of the airflow at one point in their pronunciation = they have no time to breathe // hasty atmosphere LINE 16 “He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.” → the /ng/ sound is a nasal velar consonant = the airflow is obstructed in the vocal tract // someone suffering and agonizing LINE 23 “Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud” → the fricatives remind of the sounds of a snake letting his poison (death) flowing into someone’s veins

- Internal rhyme: LINE 16 “He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.” → the recurrent use of present participle forms reinforces the intensity of the scene depicted LINE 23 “Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud” → cancer and bitter are associated: they reflect the lyric subject’s vision of the war and the aftertaste it left on his tongue + cud = ruminants’ food = herd behavior (in the first octave) BUT here rejection of the ideology imposed by the authorities = rebellion = metonymy or metaphor (cud) → pars pro toto to designate the poet → cud foreshadows the critic happening in the quatrain → ideology was forced upon his brain, but he cannot digest or assimilate it

Other imagery: LINES 13/14 “Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning” → metaphor for the toxic vapors that are released and the fact that the man is unable to breathe LINES 21-24 “If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues” → lungs corrupted by ideology, war glorification and patriotism = poison LINES 1-8 = slumber LINE 9 = sudden realization (panic) LINES 9-28 = destabilization → Try to wake people up from their slumber and rebel against the authorities...