What Is The Tone Of Dulce Et Decorum Est
‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by Wifred Owen
‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ was written by Wifred Owen in early October 1917, and published in 1920. He wrote this poem whilst recovering from shell shock in the Craiglockhart War Hospital. The influences associated with the writing of the poem include Owen’s experiences in the trenches in World War 1, his changing attitudes to war and meeting fellow war poet, Siegfried Sassoon.
Owen felt pressured by the propaganda to become a soldier and volunteered on 21st October 1915. Within a week of signing up, he was on the front line, facing gas attacks, and soon understood the real meaning of war.
The title of the poem is ironic, as it suggests that the poem will be about a right and sweet side of the topic, when in reality, Owen is portraying the harsh reality of trench life. Owen describes through the poem the conditions faced by the …show more content…
In a fighting situation today, that would never happen – it is incredibly dangerous and reckless to turn your back on opposing fire. However, he later states that these men are ‘marching asleep’, walking along as though they were in an altered state of consciousness, unaware of the war still raging on behind their turned backs. If this is true, then the ‘distant rest’ towards which they are heading may not be the barracks, but almost certain death which their maneuvers will lead to. In Sassoon’s ‘How to die’, he also manages to portray the soldiers as in the process of dying by describing their ‘sullen faces white as chalk’: death is a topic written about by Sassoon often, who may have encouraged Owen to use poetry to release his feelings about the deaths that he witnessed during the
‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ was written by Wifred Owen in early October 1917, and published in 1920. He wrote this poem whilst recovering from shell shock in the Craiglockhart War Hospital. The influences associated with the writing of the poem include Owen’s experiences in the trenches in World War 1, his changing attitudes to war and meeting fellow war poet, Siegfried Sassoon.
Owen felt pressured by the propaganda to become a soldier and volunteered on 21st October 1915. Within a week of signing up, he was on the front line, facing gas attacks, and soon understood the real meaning of war.
The title of the poem is ironic, as it suggests that the poem will be about a right and sweet side of the topic, when in reality, Owen is portraying the harsh reality of trench life. Owen describes through the poem the conditions faced by the …show more content…
In a fighting situation today, that would never happen – it is incredibly dangerous and reckless to turn your back on opposing fire. However, he later states that these men are ‘marching asleep’, walking along as though they were in an altered state of consciousness, unaware of the war still raging on behind their turned backs. If this is true, then the ‘distant rest’ towards which they are heading may not be the barracks, but almost certain death which their maneuvers will lead to. In Sassoon’s ‘How to die’, he also manages to portray the soldiers as in the process of dying by describing their ‘sullen faces white as chalk’: death is a topic written about by Sassoon often, who may have encouraged Owen to use poetry to release his feelings about the deaths that he witnessed during the