The poem Dulce et Decorum Est, written by Wilfred Owen, conveys the horror and reality of war.

In this work, Owen uses many techniques to show his feelings about war in a frightful and ugly way. I found this poem to be very interesting and unique, and in this critical response, I will show the methods and poetic devices used by the author. The setting of this poem is very dark and violent. There is a strong sense of imagery in this work, especially in lines thirteen and fourteen when Owen wrote, through the misty panes and thick green light, as under a green sea, I saw him drowning (Owen 40). This sets the mood for the scene and draws the reader in. In the first stanza, he describes the conditions that that the soldiers were in, and how, despite the devastation, they marched on until the enemy fired gas shells. At the beginning of the poem, the author uses the similes: bent double, like old beggars under sacks, and knock-kneed, coughing like hags (Owen 39). This leads me to believe that the men are in very rough shape. Owen also describes the soldiers as asleep and drunk with fatigue, which tells me that they are extremely tired and have not slept in a long while. In the second stanza, gas-shells are dropped on the soldiers, and they are awakened from their state of drowsiness as the hurriedly put their masks on. However, one man does not put his mask on in time, and the author uses another powerful simile, floundring like a man on fire or lime (Owen 40). This is used to describe the position that the soldier is in, and how he cannot bring himself to forget about it. He goes on to explain that the event occurs over and over again in his dreams, that he cannot stop the memory from surfacing and bury it with his past. Alliteration is also very present in this poem. It is first seen on line two in this poem, when the author writes, knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge (Owen 39). The k sound is used many times here. Another example of alliteration in this poem is line nineteen. The w sound is used predominately on line 19 when the author states, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face

(Owen 40). The use of alliteration in this poem makes it more interesting for the reader and allows the words to flow better. It also helps the author portray a harsher scene. The last thing that stood out in this poem was the rhyme scheme and form. The first stanza follows the simple ABABCDCD pattern, which divides it neatly in half. The second stanza starts off the same way, but it only has six lines, instead of eight. The rhyme scheme then breaks off, only to be continued in the short, two-line third stanza. In the fourth stanza, the poem really changes. The stanza has twelve lines in it instead of the eight in the first stanza. It still rhymes, but the poem does not ended where expected. The author likely did this for a reason. The poem does not end where it should, just like the war. The war may have ended in the real world, but since he cannot get the visions of battle out of his head, it lives on. In conclusion, this poem was enjoyable to read, and full of poetic devices. It was very graphic and disturbing, but the author made an important point: the government makes it seem like it is sweet and fitting to die for ones country, as the last two lines state, but in reality, war is a horrible thing. No man deserves to die the way the soldier in this poem did. There is nothing sweet or peaceful about it, like that line makes it seem. All in all, I appreciated the work of Wilfred Owen, and I would read something written by him again.

DULCE ET DECORUM EST

Kristen Pyke

English 521, Block D Ms. Cameron February 13th, 2012