Dulce Et Decorum Est

The significance of the poem's title is paramount to understanding Owen's intent. The title is ironic, a Latin mantra used during the war to tempt soldiers into battle, roughly translated into 'It is noble to die for one's country.' Ideally, it appealed to a man's sense of duty and challenged allegiance to one's country, in due time persuading hundreds of men to enlist. In utilizing this allusion, Owen mocks the concept of the noble or heroic death. During the poem, Owen ultimately renders the notion of patriotism injurious and detrimental to man. This was intended to shock civilians at home, who were convicted that war was in fact noble and glorious. This is how it was seen, prior to the rise to televised media, and this poem works at destroying that romanticized image of war.

The poem consists of four unequal stanzas. The first is in rhyming quatrain. However, as the poem progresses from the beginning to the end, both structure and rhyme sla

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couldn't get his gas helmet on in time; in this Owen defines his perspective as a comrade of the unfortunate soldier: Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea I saw him drowning In using the first person POV through the narrative poem, Owen is able to bring the literal events to the audience on a more personal level. By placing himself among the action in the poem, Owen effectively places the audience there as well. For the audience, this enhances the stark realism in the poem. The firsthand account of the events helps the audience to experience the emotions that the poems narrator feels. Owen seems to look back on the event as it were a recurring nightmare, the "haunting flares" of the "Five-nines" foreshadowing the haunting image of his dying friend. Throughout the poem, the rhyme is fairly constant, and the steady rhythmic quality it brings to the poem enhances the heavy, ponderous image of the war which Owen is trying to convey. It is, however, noticeable when Owen's rhyme and structure begin to slacken. This is done purposefully to alert the audience to the unconscious feeling of life slipping away, and bring it to a more conscious level. Owen uses simile and metaphor to adequately co
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Approximate Word count = 1343
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)