The poem I have chosen to write about is "Dulce et Decorum Est," by Wilfred Owen. I chose this poem because I think that it relates to the war issues that are presently going on in our country. .
The title of the poem means, "It is sweet and proper to die for ones country." However, through out the poem Owen uses explicit imagery to show to us that there is nothing sweet about fighting in combat. It is ironic that he chooses this for the title because as the poem progresses, you realize Owens true feelings about war. In the first stanza he describes the condition that the solders are in. I believe that speaker of this poem is a war veteran who wants people to see the war through the eyes of someone who was there. Since Owen was a war vet, he could possibly be the speaker as well. Through the use of metaphors, Owen gives us a realistic image of the pain and suffering that solders endure.
Stanzas two and three describe the death of one of the solders. The man is described as "drowning," however; he is not really drowning in the sense that we usually use the word. .
Gas! Gas! Quick boys! - An ecstasy of fumbling,.
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;.
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling.
And floundering like a man on fire or in lime. -.
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light.
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
The man was dying as a result of not putting his gas mask on in time. The imagery Owen uses to describe this mans death leaves an image of excruciating pain and suffering. .
Perhaps the most important part of the poem comes in the last stanza. He graphically describes the deceased solider as the rest of the solders see him. The corpse obviously left a horrible image in the mind of whoever is talking in this poem. Owen then goes on to say, "My friend, you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie- The old lie being that it is sweet and proper to die for ones country.
From the Selection of Poetry about Nuclear Disaster and Possible Aftermath, Choose to Poems to Compare and Contrast For this essay, we were given a selection of poems by different authors, and asked to choose two to compare and contrast. ...