Dulce et Decorum est, by Wilfred Owen. Essay -- English Literature

Dulce et Decorum est, by Wilfred Owen. The First World War was an event that brought to many people, pain, sorrow and bitterness. Accounts of the war shows that no other war challenged existing conventions, morals and ideals in the same way as did World War. Many people touched by the terrror of the war have written pieces of literature about the massacre that was World War 1, wishing people to understand the horror and tragedy that befell those involved. "Dulce et Decorum est", by Wilfred Owen, is one such elegy that presents to the reader a vivid, horrifying description of World War 1, aiming to illustrate that war is not romantic and heroic, but a senseless and devastating event. In this poem, techniques such as imagery, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia and contrast are used to express Owen's angry and bitter view towards what happened in the war. "Dulce et Decorum Est" uses strong images to convey Owen's feelings about the war, and to force the reader to take his view. Ghastly pictures of the war occur throughout the poem, largely in the last stanza, working together to present a vivid picture of the war. These images, utilised by Owen, show the ultimate irony and the moral of the poem, that it is not in fact a sweet fate to die for one's country even though others may think it heroic. This irony is illustrated using juxtaposition at the end of the poem. The men who enlist are "innocent", they are "children" who have learned that war is full of "high zest" and this makes them "ardent for some desperate glory". These innocent boys are willing to believe the Lie but will think differently once they experience the war first hand. Descriptive language is used throughout the poem to evoke specif... ...rd "drowning" is repeated twice to imprint on the reader's mind the effect the gas had on the soldier. The language used also helps to give a stronger impact on the reader by involving the use of one of the reader's five senses. In "Dulce et decorum est", onomatopoeia is used to enhance the effect of the poem, by involving the reader's sense of hearing. Words such as "guttering", "gargling" and "choking" are used to emphasise the horrific sounds of a man dying from gas, as the sounds of the words can be likened to what they are describing. The reader's attention does not wander throughout the poem because of Owen's consistent imagery. By the end of the poem, the reader can fully appreciate the irony between the truth of what happens in the trenches and the Lie being told at home. It is this attention to form and imagery that makes the poem effective.