1.
Who is speaking?
A first world war soldier, Wilfred Owen.
2.
Who is the poem
aimed at?
The poem is aimed at people who might think that war
is exciting or adventurous.
3.
Where are the
events taking place?
The events described in the poem are taking place in
the trenches of France.
4.
Where is the
speaker (narrator) writing from?
Is it the same place?
Is it the same place?
The speaker is writing from a distance, looking back at
the events of the poem.
5.
When is the poem
written? Is it the same?
The poem is written slightly after the events it
describes, but still during the 1914-1918 conflict.
6.
What is taking
place?
The poem describes a gas attack on British trenches. A
man is caught without his gas mask and slowly dies. Afterwards, his body is
thrown into a mass grave.
7.
What are the main
images in the poem (7)?
i.
Like old beggars
under sacks
ii.
Coughing like
hags
iii.
Men marched
asleep
iv.
Drunk with
fatigue
v.
Floundering like
a man in fire or lime
vi.
I saw him drown
vii.
His eyes writhing
in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin
The poem uses these similes and metaphors to create an
horrific tone. They gradually reveal the full visceral horror of war.
8.
Which of the
senses (sight, sound, feeling, taste, smell) does Owen use to describe the
experience in each section?
The first
section is made up predominantly of visual images. These create a clear,
graphic picture of what is happening.
However, in
the second, the poet introduces more references to sound – we hear the soldiers
panicking, and then the “guttering” sound of the dying man.
In the last
section, the poet returns to visual images, this time detailing the appearance
of the dead man.
9.
Why do you
think the poem is entitled Dulce et
Decorum est ?
The title is heavily-laced with irony. The poem is a
long build-up of ideas about the horror of war. The reader is then left to
decide if war really is “sweet” or “noble” – obviously, it is not.
1 comment:
How does Wilfred Owen appeal to the readers senses to make his poem, “Dulce et Decorum est” more affective?
“Dulce et Decorum est.” was written by Wilfred Owen around 1918. It is a war poem that looks into the lives of world war one soldiers in the French trenches. Through this essay I will look at the unique direction Wilfred Owen has taken his writing in to appear to the readers senses to build up more of an impact for the reader.
This poem gives the gory and detailed story of a barbaric battle in world war one with Owen giving us a point of view as the battle goes on. He watches the brutal gas attack and witnesses first-hand the death of a soldier.
When Owen describes these once fit and healthy men as “like old beggars under sacks” it gives the reader an image of young, and once vibrant men, now looking ill, weak and overall un noble, despite what the title says. Owen also uses the simile “coughing like hags” in his poem to show just how weak the soldiers are. He has compared them to old women to show there fragility after a long and brutal war. These soldiers do not feel sweet and noble. They feel ill and ready to die.
While Owen gives a dramatic effect through imagery such as similes and metaphors, he can give just as dramatic an affect through sound effects such as onomatopoeia and alliteration. An example of sound affects which Owen puts in the poem is the alliteration “knock-kneed” in which the “n” sound is repeated to mimic the soldiers awkward marching. These men are not marching, they are staggering with exhaustion. He carries this idea on through “men marched asleep.” This suggests the men to be tired and unconscious as they march. Owen uses more imagery through when, from his perspective, he witnesses a soldier choking on his own blood. The soldier is described as “guttering, choking, drowning” this gives of an onomatopoeic affect through the word “guttering as this mimics sound. An alliteration affect is also used here through the “ing” sound.
In this poem, Owen is giving his views on heroism and nobility in war. He disagrees with Horace’s view by referring to it as “the old lie”. He uses the title “Dulce et Decorum est Patria Mori” meaning “it is sweet and fitting to die for your country” even though, throughout this poem he puts emphasis on how terrible this gory reality of war is. He does not believe it to be sweet or fitting to die for your country, he believes it to be the complete opposite, contrary to his beliefs when he joined.
Owen uses a regular meter through this poem to create a regular beat or rhythm. To create the sound of soldiers marching he employs the iambic pentameter and puts emphasis on every second syllable to imitate every step.
The poem “Dulce et Decorum est” was written by Wilfred Owen to bring the reader’s attention to the horrible reality of war. Through the poem, Owen is able to paint a gory and violent picture for the reader. He reaches out to our senses and lets the reader almost hear the bloody violent war. Wilfred Owen has tried and succeeded to write a captivating and solid pacifistic poem.
DY
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