Topic > The cruel aspects of war in the poem Dulce et decorum est by Wilfred Owen

When I say "War", we often think of concepts such as militarism, politics, propaganda, culture and more. But one thing we are all aware of and need to be aware of about war is the horrific consequences and consequences of this disaster. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Of course, there have been thousands and millions of deaths since the war broke out. But have you ever thought about the survivors who had to suffer the consequences of the war? Soldiers who had to fight on the bloody battlefield, who had to watch their comrades sink into the ground... For them, returning home did not mean the end of the war. Because for decades now they have suffered incessant traumas, fears, nightmares. The level of physical and mental disability they are enduring is simply indescribable. Therefore, it is important for us to empathize and directly feel their emotional suffering and difficulty. And in doing so, question yourself again. Is war really worth that much to sacrifice thousands and millions of innocent beings? The next poem I will analyze is “Dolce et Decorum Est” written by Wilfred Owen. The poet Wilfred Owen himself was a soldier in the First World War and was a leading anti-war poet who pushed back against the public perception of war at the time, to truly expose the horrific realities of war. This anti-war poem successfully reveals the cruel aspects of war through the poignant depiction of the impacts of war on soldiers in particular. One of Owen's masterpieces written during the First World War, the title of the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" is a famous phrase taken from the Roman poet Horace's ode, meaning that "it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country." This line was commonly used by the British government during the First World War, to convince young men to join the army. But today, instead of focusing on the war propaganda aspects, I will analyze how poetic devices and linguistic choices are deliberately used in this poem to specifically describe the physical and mental torment of the soldiers. In the first two lines of the first stanza, the poet's effective use of metaphor and simile is evident. Soldiers who are more likely to be teenagers are described as "bent double", "old beggars" and "coughing like witches". Using words that are very reminiscent of the image of an "old man", the poet clearly denotes the devastated physical state of the soldiers, showing their illness and tiredness. The words “Sleeping March” also suggest how the brutality of the war experience stunned the soldiers so much that they were extremely desensitized, they seemed to sleep as they walked. The poet's deliberate choice of language of “shod in blood” in line 7 is so powerful that it invites us to create an image of soldiers wearing 'feet covered in blood' as if wearing a pair of leather shoes for protection. But in reality, the only protection they had was the "dried blood" on their feet. The tone of this poem suddenly changes in stanza 2, using the poetic device of repetition. By repeating the same word 'gas' twice, the poet clearly captures the terror and sense of confusion of the soldiers who had to face the poisonous gas attack. The poet further intensifies the tension, through the depiction of a particular soldier who failed to put on his helmet in time, ending up “drowning” under a “green sea”. This metaphorical representation of the death and suffering of the soldier, puts.