The analysis of Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen PDF

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The analysis of Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen The poem Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen echoes the effects of WW1 as it was written during that period. The writer was a soldier who fought in the first modern war, World War 1. It has four stanzas and twenty-seven lines in total. Since the war was one of the deadliest in human history, the poet uses figurative and imaginary style to express his condemnation of the war’s devasting effects. In this analysis, New historicism will be applied to show the reader’s interaction and the poem’s historical context. Dulce et Decorum Est has applied many poetic styles to achieve their purpose; for instance, Owen has used several metaphors and similes to get the reader to understand the devastating effects of the war. For example, “like old beggars under sacks” (Owen) in stanza one, line one, which the poet uses to depicts the depreciation of the soldiers’ human dignity and health. Thus, the soldiers are left to live a miserable life comparable to the one of the old, dispossessed, homeless, and beggar. This is still applicable today, especially when a soldier retires; there are several social life limits that he or she goes through. Most of them become psychologically tortured and left homeless. Another figurative language used by the poet is seen “flound’ring like a man in fire or lime” stanza two, line four (Owen) describes the action of being poisoned by a substance similar to gas. From the poetic view, it can be argued that Owen might witness the happenings. He further says, “As under a green sea, I saw him drowning” (Owen), which can imply that Owen witnessed as his fellow soldier were perishing in the deadly poisonous gas. He compares the suffering to drowning, which a person suffocates from holding his or her breath. Based on this analysis, one understands the suffering that the past soldiers went through, which is still similar to what the current soldier goes through—all the way from inadequate housing to drowning till their death.

Owen further applies imagery in his peace to drag a reader into a scary situation. For instance, “Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!” (Owen) in stanza two, line one will easily make one believe that a soldier is dragged into the situation and needs urgent help. To add on, “An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time” (Owen) shows the reader the urgency to save a life by wearing the mask or face cruel death of the gas. To emphasize the gas’s effects, the poet describes it using a soldier who fails to wear the mask quickly. The description draws the reader closer to the incident, and one will feel as he or she is in the scene. Owen uses other lines that evoke pain and suffering from the soldiers on the battlefield. For example, “incurable sores on innocent tongues” and “bitter as the cud,” in which Owen tries to show that soldiers having sores will perish. The farm imagery is also apparent in the description, where “cud” is a half-digested chewed by the animal. Owen compares animals to humans to explain the burning effects of the human’s blood contaminated by the inhaled gas. Through the reading of this imagery usage in the poem, the reader connects with the history of WW1 as if he or she was there. Owen has incorporated figurative language to pass a message about the suffering soldiers goes through while defending the country. Just like burning gases in WW1, there are still severe weapons that are used in current wars. Conclusively, Owen has managed to use figurative language to pass the message of the devastating effects of this war. In his poem, he has used most tarrying experiences to express how foolish such war can be. For instance, due to the world leaders’ greedy nature, they failed to prevent a war that could easily be managed. More than seventeen million deaths were recorded, which I feel is one of the greatest mistakes in human history.

Work Cited Owen, Wilfred. Dulce et Decorum Est. 1893-1918. https://poets.org/poem/dulce-et-decorum-est. 2021....