How Does Owen Present the Suffering of Soldiers Effectively in Dulce Et Decorum Est
How Does Owen present the suffering of soldiers effectively in Dulce Et Decorum Est
All of Wilfred Owen’s poems constitute a theme; the horrors of war. In Dulce et Decorum est, Owen uses imagery, language and verse form to present the death and suffering of the soldiers. He uses these techniques in other poems, too, to create an effective, conspicuous theme.
In, Dulce et Decorum est, Owen, straight away, uses imagery to convey his feelings about the soldiers. He describes the soldiers as if they’re “like old beggars under sacks” and “coughing like hags.” The implication of the exhaustion creates the image that the soldiers look like ill tramps; they no longer look like robust, young men because the endurance of suffering has changed them health wise and in appearance. This is different from the poem, Arms and the Boy, because the soldiers do not change in their health or looks, but in their innocence. Owen informs his audience that “there lurk no claws behind his fingers supple,” which suggests that the soldier is not harmful and would never kill anyone if the choice was his. Unfortunately, the choice is not his and he has to kill and fight; some of his innocence is lost forever.
A significant amount of tribulations and sufferings are listed in, Dulce et Decorum est, which creates a slow, heavy rhythm. Owen informs his audience that the soldiers “all went lame; all blind; drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots.” This tired rhythm mirrors the soldiers and what they are feeling. Owen does this so that we can comprehend more effectively what the soldiers are going through just by saying the poem out loud. The suffering is also emphasised because of how the sentence structure is formed. By listing the soldier’s injuries and poor wellbeing, the effect is almost overwhelming because the audience has little time to take in all of the pain that the soldiers have to endure. This is different to the description of suffering in, Arms and the Boy, because Owen
All of Wilfred Owen’s poems constitute a theme; the horrors of war. In Dulce et Decorum est, Owen uses imagery, language and verse form to present the death and suffering of the soldiers. He uses these techniques in other poems, too, to create an effective, conspicuous theme.
In, Dulce et Decorum est, Owen, straight away, uses imagery to convey his feelings about the soldiers. He describes the soldiers as if they’re “like old beggars under sacks” and “coughing like hags.” The implication of the exhaustion creates the image that the soldiers look like ill tramps; they no longer look like robust, young men because the endurance of suffering has changed them health wise and in appearance. This is different from the poem, Arms and the Boy, because the soldiers do not change in their health or looks, but in their innocence. Owen informs his audience that “there lurk no claws behind his fingers supple,” which suggests that the soldier is not harmful and would never kill anyone if the choice was his. Unfortunately, the choice is not his and he has to kill and fight; some of his innocence is lost forever.
A significant amount of tribulations and sufferings are listed in, Dulce et Decorum est, which creates a slow, heavy rhythm. Owen informs his audience that the soldiers “all went lame; all blind; drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots.” This tired rhythm mirrors the soldiers and what they are feeling. Owen does this so that we can comprehend more effectively what the soldiers are going through just by saying the poem out loud. The suffering is also emphasised because of how the sentence structure is formed. By listing the soldier’s injuries and poor wellbeing, the effect is almost overwhelming because the audience has little time to take in all of the pain that the soldiers have to endure. This is different to the description of suffering in, Arms and the Boy, because Owen