Dulce et Decorum est Essay -- English Literature

Dulce et Decorum est The poet reacts to the war by turning normal poetic language in to something that appears normal on the surface but in reality is tainted. The poet also breaks from normal poetry to show society the normal images of war. The ability to move the reader makes the poem work which aids the reader in to understanding the false propaganda. The poem is about soldiers in trench warfare and is a great example of writing graphically to show the horrific side of war yet being completely truthful. The poet does not withhold any information from the reader and conveys what it was like to fight in the War. The poet shows the pain in the poem. His tone, depression, lack of hope reveals his message. He uses long sentences and metaphor to show the tires soldiers. Picturing ‘old beggar under sacks’ tells us what war has done to them. It also tells us they are battle weary and scared of what is ahead of them. The use of similes in the first stanza allows the reader to understand the anguish of war. The poet is able to use words the words to paint a vivid and terrifying picture of trench warfare in the mind of the reader. The Hags is connected with the word beggers as they both outcasts in society. What's more words like beggers, hags and blood-shod shows what the war has done to the soldiers of war.. Through his use of vivid words and portrayal it makes us understand the effects of war and what it involves. The Stanza continues ‘Till on the haunting flares’, this suggests that the soldiers are possibly disturbed and are being haunted by the flares. The last line further shows the effects of war, the soldiers are deaf to the gas shells dropping right behind them. In the second stanza the poem begin... ...ers were once the ‘children ardent for some desperate glory.’ ‘Children’ here is used as the same reason as ‘boys’, who were brainwashed in to sacrificing their lives. The innocent are willing to believe in the lie about the war, but the war was totally different first hand hence the anger towards those who propagated dying for your country in being noble. ‘The old Lie’ the poet users a capital ‘L’ in lie. This puts the war in perspective of being glorious and patriotic. The readers attention does not wonder during the poem because of the poets consistent imagery. By the end of the poem the reader can fully appreciate the irony between the truth of what happens at the Trenches and the lie being told at home. The whole poem is contradictory to what was being spread with ‘Dulce et Decorum est.’ (It is a sweet and glorious thing to die for your country.)