Discuss Two Poems In Detail Showing Ways In Which Owen Presents The Experiences Of War For Soldiers
Owen’s poetry is based on his personal experiences on the battlefield and as such evokes the horror of war. Graphic imagery is used to sock the reader and challenge the previously popular romantic notion of the glory war. “Dulce et Decorum Est and Anthem For Doomed Youth both reveal Owen’s attitude to the realities he experiences on both the battlefield and at home. Both describe specific moments in the lives of the soldiers in the First World War.
In Dulce et Decorum Est, the young soldiers are so beaten down by what they become “old beggars” and “hags”, emphasising both how war has aged them, and destroyed their health: these soldiers should be young and strong. Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est challenges the traditional view of war as an heroic event. This romantic vision is expelled by shocking images of soldiers “bent double, like old beggars under sacks…” It is further explored by examining the horrific conditions the men endured. The hyperbolic, “All went lame, all blind” reinforces the extent of the soldiers’ suffering and is a stark contrast to the widely accepted view of war held at the time. Owen elaborates on the horrendous conditions the men have endured by focusing on the death of a single soldier. The exclamation, “Gas! Gas! Quick boys!” positions the reader in the moment of panic as the soldiers fumble urgently of survival. He uses expressive verbs to describe the tortures of a single soldier experiencing, “plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.”
It is this same sense of conspiracy which Owen taps into at the end of Dulce et Decorum Est, when he describes the “old lie” which is that is is “sweet and proper to die for your country” (Dulce et Decorum Est/Pro patria mori”) This lie is emphasised by the contrast between the horrific imagery in the poem, and the idea of telling “children” about the “desperate glory” of being a soldier. The horror is suddenly replaced by the innocent children who want to be fighting in the war.
The death of the
In Dulce et Decorum Est, the young soldiers are so beaten down by what they become “old beggars” and “hags”, emphasising both how war has aged them, and destroyed their health: these soldiers should be young and strong. Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est challenges the traditional view of war as an heroic event. This romantic vision is expelled by shocking images of soldiers “bent double, like old beggars under sacks…” It is further explored by examining the horrific conditions the men endured. The hyperbolic, “All went lame, all blind” reinforces the extent of the soldiers’ suffering and is a stark contrast to the widely accepted view of war held at the time. Owen elaborates on the horrendous conditions the men have endured by focusing on the death of a single soldier. The exclamation, “Gas! Gas! Quick boys!” positions the reader in the moment of panic as the soldiers fumble urgently of survival. He uses expressive verbs to describe the tortures of a single soldier experiencing, “plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.”
It is this same sense of conspiracy which Owen taps into at the end of Dulce et Decorum Est, when he describes the “old lie” which is that is is “sweet and proper to die for your country” (Dulce et Decorum Est/Pro patria mori”) This lie is emphasised by the contrast between the horrific imagery in the poem, and the idea of telling “children” about the “desperate glory” of being a soldier. The horror is suddenly replaced by the innocent children who want to be fighting in the war.
The death of the