Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' explores the themes of truth and lies to tell a shockingly gruesome tale of the harsh reality of war. The poem is set during the first world war, detailing the experiences of the soldiers in the trenches. It is bitterly aimed at those who promote and glorify warfare, sending a horrifyingly graphic message describing the intense suffering of innocent men. Throughout the poem, Owen deploys a range of poetic techniques, such as themes, word choice, and imagery, in order to emphasise the horrific effect of the lies fed to naive soldiers, which eventually led to their suffering, or in.
many cases, death.
The reader is plunged into the horror of warfare from the very beginning of the poem, as Owen describes the soldiers as "bent double, like old beggars under sacks". This simile portrays the men as aging and unhealthy, which is a shocking contrast as soldiers are normally portrayed as young, fit and healthy. This paints a picture of how the war is damaging these young men, and that the stereotype of soldiers being sturdy and in good shape is untrue.
This contrast is further displayed as Owen describes the soldiers as "drunk with fatigue". This describes how the soldiers are so tired that they are almost intoxicated with exhaustion, showing how the war is damaging the soldiers not only physically, but also mentally. The soldiers are expected to be fit and healthy, but instead they are so exhausted they have reached a state similar to being drunk. This, again, shows how the media portrayal of the war is far from the truth.
Owen then uses short sentences, capitalisation and exclamation marks to portray a sudden panic, as he says "GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!". This startles the reader and shows how suddenly the soldiers lives can be put at risk. The portrayal of the sudden fear and panic rushing over the soldiers further displays the horrible conditions the men were going through, which greatly contrasted the exciting picture of war that the propaganda painted.