Compare two poems by Wilfred Owen, showing how they reflected contemporary attitudes to the ‘Great War’. Refer closely to language and poetic techniques.
World War 1 broke out in 1914. At the beginning of the war, there was a great feeling of patriotism and enthusiasm. Young men were eager to join the armed forces, as they thought the glory and heroism of war would be enjoyable. Fighting in France was expected to be an exciting adventure. Thousands of men joined so they would have the honor of serving their Queen and country. Underage age boys lied about their age in order to join, which showed that the English people thought the war would be won and over quickly. Many patriotic poems and songs were written
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The reader is shown the reality of war, and the poem is directed at the reader ‘If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood’. This technique immediately involves the reader and grabs attention. The reader imagines how bad the reality of trench warfare really was, and if they experienced it then their attitude would have changed. This kind of death is not ‘sweet’ or ‘fitting’ is the message throughout the poem
The feelings of bitterness and anger are strongly shown in both of the poems. Displayed in ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, is Owens annoyance of writers such as Jessie Pope who wrote ‘Who’s for the Game?’, a patriotic war poem, which showed the naivete and innocence of the people back home who thought war was a game. ‘The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori’, demonstrates what was said and thought at the begging of the war was wrong, and the word ‘lie’ is used to show that Owen no longer believed the statement as he once had, and that it was no longer believed by people because their attitudes had changed. The Latin expression shows encouragement to fight, and displays soldiers as heroic and glorious, which clearly angers Owen. In ‘Disabled’, their are examples the people who had signed up feeling excited, glamorous and expecting glory ‘And care of arms; and leave; and pay arrears.’ The repetition of the word ‘and’ shows
Explain how particular features of at least two of Wilfred Owen's poems set for study interact to affect your response to them.
Wilfred Owens poem “Dulce et Decorum est” and Bruce Dawe’s poem “Homecoming” are poems from different wars, however both highlight the indignity of war. Owen’s poem is broken up into three sections, where he expresses the torture soldiers suffer
In Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” the speaker’s argument against whether there is true honor in dieing for ones country in World War I contradicts the old Latin saying, Dulce et Decorum Est, which translated means, “it is sweet and honorable to die for the fatherland”; which is exemplified through Owen’s use of title, diction, metaphor and simile, imagery, and structure throughout the entirety of the poem.
The soldiers who had attended the war were shown to have died brutally, like “cattle”, yet when reaching the home front, it is seen that they are laid to rest in a much more civil and dignified manner. The concept of this can be seen as an extended metaphor throughout the entire poem, with the battle front seen as a world filled with violence, fear and destruction, where as the home front is perceived as a place marked by order and ritual, a civilized world. The second sonnet opens with “What candles may be held to speed them all?”, invoking a more softer and compassionate tone towards the audience, more specifically through Owen’s use of a rhetorical question. It captures the readers’ attention, engaging them to feel empathetic and notice the shift of energy from anger and bitterness to a sadder and more somber tone. Owen’s use of descriptive language, as simple as it seems, such as ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ provokes the audience to view the horrors of the war as if they had been placed onto children, because in reality the ‘men; who had signed themselves into war to fight in glory for their country had really only just been boys themselves.
The purpose of war is again in question through the ironic titles evidenced in most of Owen’s poems. In ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’, the sweet and fitting death is contrasted against the bitter and
‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ is another of Wilfred Owen’s poems that conveys inner human conflict, in terms of past doings in World War I. The poem was written in 1917 at Craiglockhart (Owen’s first battle after his rehabilitation due to ‘shellshock’). It portrays an inner change in his approach to war and it’s gruesome environment:
Owen paints a picture of the oppressiveness of war and the fears that constantly follow them to help create the tone. Owen talks about the repercussions of war and how the soldiers never rest completely because they are always on the lookout for another attack. Once optimistic, young, healthy soldiers have been turned into depressed, fatigued, and hunger ridden shells of the human beings they once were (Spacey). By comparing parts the war to “smothering dreams” and to being as “obscene as cancer” (Owen 494), Owen proves that the war is not anything of which to be proud. However, it is in the last few lines that Owen truly expresses his disapproval of the war. He says it is a lie to tell children that it is sweet and honorable to die for one’s country. He accuses America for taking advantage of young men who are “ardent for some desperate glory” (Owen 494) by convincing them that war is a way to receive that glory. Owen
Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” makes the reader acutely aware of the impact of war. The speaker’s experiences with war are vivid and terrible. Through the themes of the poem, his language choices, and contrasting the pleasant title preceding the disturbing content of the poem, he brings attention to his views on war while during the midst of one himself. Owen uses symbolism in form and language to illustrate the horrors the speaker and his comrades go through; and the way he describes the soldiers, as though they are distorted and damaged, parallels how the speaker’s mind is violated and haunted by war.
The poems I have chosen to compare in this essay are Wilfred Owen's “Dulce Et Decorum Est” and Jessie Pope's “Who's For The Game?”. The two poems I have chosen to compare are both about the first world war. Yet the two poems have very different opinions on the Great War. My first poem, Dulce et decorum, is against the war and the injustice of it all. It is narrated by one of the soldiers who is fighting in the Great War and having to face the horrors of war. On the contrary my second poem, Who's for the game, is a recruitment poem.
What is Wilfred Owen’s attitude towards Worlds War 1 and how is this shown through his poetry?
“Dulce et Decorum Est” is a poem written by English soldier and a poet, Wilfred Owen. He has not only written this poem, but many more. Such as “Insensibility”, “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, “Futility”, “Exposure”, and “Strange Meeting” are all his war poems. (Poets.org) His poetry shows the horror of the war and uncovers the hidden truths of the past century. Among with his other poems “Dulce et Decorum Est” is one of the best known and popular WWI poem. This poem is very shocking as well as thought provoking showing the true experience of a soldiers in trenches during war. He proves the theme suffering by sharing soldiers’ physical pain and psychological trauma in the battlefield. To him that was more than just fighting for owns country. In this poem, Owen uses logos, ethos, and pathos to proves that war was nothing more than hell.
Similar to Anthem for Doomed Youth, the idea of dehumanisation in 'Dulce ET Decorum EST Pro Patria Mori' is also introduced early in the poem. The first lines, "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks", and "Knock-kneed, coughing like hags" both describe the condition in which young people of the war suffered through. The similes allow the audience to visualise the soldiers more accurately. They are portrayed somewhat so weak and devaluated, look and feel much older than they are; in general, not at all possessing the qualities
army when he was 22 years old. He was injured in a shell explosion in
?Dulce Et Decorum Est? belongs to the genre of sonnets, which expresses a single theme or idea. The allusion or reference is to an historical event referred to as World War I. This particular poem's theme or idea is the horror of war and how young men are led to believe that death and honor are same. The poem addresses the falsehood, that war is glorious, that it is noble, it describes the true horror and waste that is war, this poem exhibits the gruesome imagery of World War I, it also conveys Owens strongly anti-war sentiments to the reader. He makes use of a simple, regular rhyme scheme, which makes the poem sound almost like a child's poem or nursery rhyme. Owens use of
The point of the poem was to deliver the horrors of war to the public