Dulce et Decorum est Analysis

                “Dulce et Decorum est” is a poem written by Wilfred Owen in 1917, describing the horrors of the First World War. The poem appears to be one large stanza, with an ABABCDCD rhyme scheme. The general theme of the poem describes the horrors of trench warfare, using potent imagery and metaphor to reinforce the point. The use of hyperbole is used extensively, especially when describing a gas attack. Metaphor is used heavily when describing the soldiers, specifically in the first few lines of the text, portraying the soldiers, normally viewed in a noble, clean light as “old beggars under sacks” and “coughing like hags”. This alternate, more realistic view of soldiers serves as a violent beginning to the poem, immediately forcing the reader to reconsider what they imagine when they think of soldiers.

The third through seventh lines continue to emphasize the horrors soldiers endured during WWI, with mention of returning to their trenches for momentary rest, being “drunk with fatigue” and “deaf even to the hoots of… Five-Nines which dropped behind,” with Five-Nines referring to artillery shells, implying the described soldiers had been fighting for an extended period of time, tiring them to the point of barely being able to discern their surroundings. Here, the speaker changes its perspective from narrative to first person, seemingly calling out to their comrades to prepare for a gas attack. This implies the soldiers are in a time period past the Second Battle of Ypres, and past a point where gas masks are common and often used. The poem then uses metaphor liberally to describe the gas attack and dying soldier, describing the gas as “a green sea”, and “flound’ring like a man in fire or lime”. This excessive use of metaphor continues throughout the rest of the poem, adding emphasis to the description of the attack.

The final three lines seem to be a warning, warning civilians to not teach their children of war’s “glory”, and quoting Horace’s Odes, mocking the line “Dulce et Decorum est, pro patria mori”, which when translated means: “it is sweet to die for one’s country”. The entire poem has been built to show that this overly romantic statement could not be further from the truth, citing the horrors of the First World War as proof.