The two poems I have chosen to compare are Dulce et Decorum Est and Disabled. I felt that of the poems that I was given to choose from these two told a tragic and effective story of what war was really like. Both of these poems were written at a time when Wilfred Owen seemed to be bitter.
I have chosen Dulce Et decorum Est because it describes the struggle of a group of people who have to struggle through the most extraordinary events day in day out. I have chosen Disabled because it shows the struggle of one man who everyday contemplates his wasted life. All he has are the memories but they seem to become more distant as the days go on.
Dulce Et Decorum Est translated in to English means It Is Sweet And Honourable To Die For Ones Country. If someone is reading the poem for the first time and learns of the English meaning of the title before reading the poem they may feel it is a poem that represents the army in a good way. All the things that they are carrying weigh down the soldiers, perhaps they are even weighed down by the expectation of their country.
According to Owen.
" Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs" .
The soldiers are fed up. They are so tired that even when the flares go off behind them they don't have the energy or even feel like turning around to see them.
Owen describes the soldiers of being The pace of the poem quickens in the 2nd stanza. The soldiers are awoken by a gas attack. This effectively shatters the mood that Owen has told of us in the opening stanza. The soldiers are now awoken by the fact that their lives are in extreme danger and they now have to be fully aware of all their surroundings. According to Owen , .
" Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, as under a green sea, I saw him drowning" .