- Published: November 16, 2021
- Updated: November 16, 2021
- University / College: The University of Warwick
- Language: English
- Downloads: 32
Dulce et Decorum est: it is a sweet and honorable thing. The title of the poem first suggested to me a poem of brave glory and the glamour of war; however, as I began to read, the words frightened me. Every piece of literary work I have read about WW1 can not match the ferocity of Owen’s words. The first paragraph drew me in and I can literally feel the suffering of the soldiers.
Line one of paragraph two uses an interesting word choice “ An ecstasy of fumbling” it’s as if Owen was in such a state he saw his surroundings in slow motion. He describes one man, “ As under a green sea, I saw him drowning (line 6 paragraph two).” I cannot imagine being in such an experience as that and Owen’s words paint me vivid pictures.
The last paragraph is full of bitterness and irony, “ The old lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro Patria Mori (line 11 paragraph 4)” meaning it is a sweet and honorable thing to die for ones country, is dripping with it. Lines 8-12 forewarn and say that if you saw what he had, you would not proclaim with such pride “ to children ardent for some desperate glory (line 10 paragraph 4)” as in young, full spirited men who wish to fight simply because they feel it is glorified; because he truly knows what war is, and it is not glamorous or glorified but a vile and evil thing which brings nothing but haunting dreams and pain.
