War often sparks a sense of nationalism and honor in those who are blind to its horrors. In Wilfred Owen's Dulce Et Decorum Est, the destructiveness and corruption of war is revealed primarily through imagery of violence and hopelessness. The poem criticizes ignorant people who view war with a romantic perspective, and are sheltered, ,due to lack of experience, from the immense suffering and pain that soldiers must undergo. A helpless tone underscores the downtrodden and mentally feeble condition of the soldiers, who struggle to survive through an arduous battle. Ironic diction is employed to highlight the truth about war over the false impressions of its honorable status. The author beings by introducing the deterioration of the lives of the young and innocent due to war, and continues by further describing to the reader the ghastly events and consequences that take place during wartime. In the final stanza of the poem, the tone shifts to didactic as the author conveys his war-weary message to the reader concerning the harsh reality of war. The overall theme of the poem is that, although enthusiastically praised under a spirit of nationalism, the grim reality of war should be feared and sympathized, not glorified. .
In the first stanza, the poet conveys to the audience the deteriorating effect of war on nave youth. Imagery of old age emphasizes the condition of the soldiers after having suffered through the torment of war. The soldiers slowly stagger along "like old beggars-. Their initial zeal for fighting in the name of their country has vanished, and has instead converted into a desperation to survive. They are described "coughing like hags- amidst the deathly smoke, which seeps into their lungs. Their entire morale seems to have been destroyed from the original innocent excitement it contained. Presently, the soldiers drag onward "bent double- and "knock-kneed-. They no longer maintain the high energy and spirit they initially had.
