Describe at least one important technique used in the text. Explain how the technique/s shapes
your reaction.
This poem ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ by Wilfred Owen is a thought provoking poem which gives experience of soldiers in trenches in WW1. The author uses various types of language techniques to create an emotional response to the reader about how horrible war is. He uses imagery and first-person pronoun to illustrate that war is not romantic and heroic but senseless and devastating event.
Some grammar errors here - gives us the experiences of the soldier…
& create an emotional response IN the reader & but is A senseless event. Other than that a pretty good start
The reader is introduced to the horror of war in the first lines of the poem as Owen depicts the poor physical condition of the men, “bent double, like old beggars under sacks”. The soldiers are compared to broken-down, weak old men who can barely walk. This simile demonstrates how dirty and unhealthy the soldiers appear. This idea of soldiers is very different to the image suggested by the poem’s patriotic title. ‘Dulce et decorum est…’ is the first part of a Latin phrase which means ‘It is noble and right to die for your country’. and by the war propaganda of the timeThe contrast shows me that the soldiers were tricked by the lie which shows soldiers’ naive personality. ‘bent double’ lets me imagine the tired soldiers kneeling down. The comparison to ‘old beggars’ is interesting because it highlights how the men have been aged prematurely by their experiences. The contrast here is startling as soldiers are usually seen to be young and energetic. It implies that the experience that they go through is beyond imagination. The author reminds me that there is no honor in war but only death and hardships, which connects to the last line, “The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.” It makes me feel pity and sad for the soldiers as there is nothing more sad than wasting our whole life chasing a thing that never existed. Even in real life we can get caught up in things that we do not have and chase the things that we could not have. this last section does not really make a good connection - is that the real message? How glamorous is war. Owen teaches me that we should focus on what we do have.
The horrific consequences gas attack are made painfully clear as Owen conveys the suffering of an individual soldier who failed to get his gas mask on in time, “flound’ring like a man in fire or lime”. too repetitive The man who failed to put his gas mask on time is compared to a man in fire or lime. The technique makes me shocked at the fact that soldiers go through all kinds of troubles and hardships. The simile helps me imagine a soldier running around with panic and without control. This expresses the soldier’s pain and suffering to me, reminding me of the personal face of war through the torment of an individual man. This simile is very powerful as it highlights the extent of his distress. The use of ‘fire or lime’ compounds his torture as both are very vivid comparisons that allow me a glimpse of the agony that he is experiencing. The technique reinforces the idea of how painful war is. I can’t help but think what would it be like if it was me in that condition. again this last section is too contrived - what images do we see of war today? Is war still glamourised ? Even in smaller scale, we all go through adversities and hardships, but at the end we get something from it. Enormous pain without any reward would be hard to endure.
The pain of war is further emphasised at stanza 3 as Owen, former soldier who fought in WW1WW2, tells us his personal experience. “In all my dreams before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.” The use of first person pronouns show the reader that the writer himself witnessed the war. It engages me more into the text and increases credibility of the text. “In all my dreams” imply that the writer is still suffering from the experience of the war which highlights how unforgettably shocking it was. “He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.” This listing of they are very emotive and active adjectives as well lots of sound techniques used too adjectives gives me the impression that I am witnessing death. Yelling, distressed soldiers all become too lifelike. This imagery makes Owen’s description of death much more painful. The vivid imagery makes me shudder
In conclusion, the poem ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ by Wilfred Owen is a deeply poignant poem that uses a variety of powerful techniques to express a very powerful message. Through his use of simile, metaphor and first person pronoun, Owen skillfully delivers the idea of death and suffering. Owen seeks to shed light on these horrors and in doing so highlights the tragedy of innocent men who are misled into sacrificing their lives for their country. this is better and you do not have any of those added last sentences that do not add to our understanding of the text