DULCE ET DECORUM EST- WILFRED OWEN
Dulce Et Decorum was a poem written by Wilfred Owen when he was in hospital. It is a poem that is most commonly known because of the bitter truth that Owen writes with. Owen writes "Dulce Et Decorum Est" with many poetic techniques such as similes,
metaphors, personification, rhyming, alliteration, hyperbole, onomatopoeia,
direct speech and irony. Irony is a key factor that shapes Owen's poem Dulce Et Decorum. Dulce Et Decorum Est is Latin for "It is Sweet and" which is then completed in the last lines of the poem to be "dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" which translates to "it is sweet and glorious to die for one's country". The irony shines through this because throughout the whole poem Owen is talking about how men are "like old beggars" and "In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning." Owen then further portray the irony in war by stating "the old lie:" just before he writes "dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" The whole irony that is portrayed in this poem is brought on by the British army campaigning that "We want you".
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Watch this short film of hand painted pictures that plays out "Dulce Et Decorum Est".
WILFRED OWEN- DULCE ET DECORUM POEM ANALYSIS
DULCE ET DECORUM EST
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks A Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge. B Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs A And towards our distant rest began to trudge. B Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots C But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; D Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots C Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind D Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling, E Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; F But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, E And floundering like a man in fire or lime F Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, G As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. H In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, G He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. H If in some smothering dreams you too could pace I Behind the wagon that we flung him in, J And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, I His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; J If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood K Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, L Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud K Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, L My friend, you would not tell with such high zest M To children ardent for some desperate glory, N The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est M Pro patria mori. N Wilfred Owen |
Simile Metaphor Personification Rhyming Hyperbole Onomatopoeia Irony Direct Speech Imagery |