Dulce Et Decorem

Jose Balsells

Prof. Modarres

English M01B

12 September 2010

Hell freezes over

Since the times of the Roman era war was seen as something containing fame and glory. It was considered an honor even duty to fight or die for one’s country. Such things were said about war form father to son. War was the path that a man should gladly undertake, something that as they say now a day “puts some hair on your chest” or “builds character”. This war, however, was nothing like that of any previous war. In the poem Dulce et Decorum est, by Wilfred Owen, paints a different and more disturbing image about war than anyone before him ever has. The poem that he wrote takes place in 1916-17, the war in the poem is World war I. World War one was a war that used on conventional weapons, tactics, and morals. No one was prepared and no one knew what would happen during this dark time. The major theme that was vividly displayed and read throughout this poem was war. War in sense of death and darkness filled with the horrors of living through it, and not in the old fashion sense of glory and the sweets that come with it. His imagery and symbolism is what turned this poem into a piece of art that will be forever remembered.

He starts the poem describing the conditions of the soldiers he is with. The soldiers were not in the best of conditions barely staying alive, “Bent doubled like old beggars under sacks,” (Owen, line 1). They have been fighting a very long war, and in this short description it seems that they are exhausted past the point of a simple rest. He makes the comparison of these men to old beggars, which could show that they are tired from the fighting, weak from the lack of sleep, and are becoming very vulnerable because of that. He also chose to describe these old beggars with carrying sacks. I first thought of maybe it is just back and white and it is just describing the packs that they wear. Though, it could be gray and possibly describing a burden that they are...