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Dulce Et Decorum Est - 1st Yr

The poem 'Dulce et Decorum Est' by Wilfred Owen vividly portrays the horrors and futility of war, depicting soldiers as broken and exhausted. It highlights the terrifying experience of gas attacks and the lasting emotional trauma they cause. Owen challenges the glorification of dying for one's country, emphasizing that it is a lie to romanticize such suffering.

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22 views3 pages

Dulce Et Decorum Est - 1st Yr

The poem 'Dulce et Decorum Est' by Wilfred Owen vividly portrays the horrors and futility of war, depicting soldiers as broken and exhausted. It highlights the terrifying experience of gas attacks and the lasting emotional trauma they cause. Owen challenges the glorification of dying for one's country, emphasizing that it is a lie to romanticize such suffering.

Uploaded by

English teacher
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Dulce et Decorum Est

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.
Theme:
The horror and futility of war:
●​ War is painful and exhausting – The soldiers are described as sick,
weak and broken, like “old beggars” and “hags”, showing how war
ruins their bodies.
●​ Gas attacks are terrifying – One man can’t get his helmet on in
time and dies horribly, “drowning” in gas. The panic and pain are
described in a very graphic way.
●​ The memories stay forever – The poet sees the dying soldier in his
dreams, showing how war causes lasting emotional damage.
●​ War is not glorious – Owen says it’s a “lie” to say it’s sweet and
noble to die for your country. He wants people to see how terrible
war really is.

Question
Choose a poem you have studied that had a powerful theme or
message.
Title of the poem:
Poet
What was the powerful theme or message? Explain your answer.
Choose an image from the poem that you think best helps you
understand this theme or message. Explain why you have chosen this
image.

Label the examples of:


Alliteration
Simile
Metaphor
Onomatopoeia

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