Wilfred Owen Depicts The Horror And Futility Of War

The rhetorical question “When can their glory fade?” suggests young men who are patriotic and enlist, will have a legacy of ever-lasting ‘glory,’ despite the certainty of death. In Contrast, Dulce et Decorum Est demonstrates Owen’s disgust of the futility of war and the conditions under which men died, “as under a green sea, I saw him drowning” and “his hanging face, like a devil sick of sin.” This sense of loathing is illustrated by use of a sardonic and dismissive tone, “children ardent for some desperate glory”, and through his descriptions, Owen conveys his uncensored depiction of the realities of war based on his

In Dulce et Decorum Est… Wilfred Owen informs the reader of the physical and emotional torment soldiers go through during and after war. In the opening verse Owen describes the soldiers physical health as they sluggishly make their way through the muddy terrain. Owen makes effective use of similes in lines 1 and 2.

Wilfred Owen, one of the world’s most renowned poets of World War 1, uses sensory imagery to emphasize the unsettling happenings of war. By presenting first-hand views on the challenges of life whilst on the battlefield, Owen delves into the emotional and physical hardships of soldiers during the war. Futility, Insensibility and Anthem for Doomed Youth are three of the five poems released during Owens lifetime with Anthem being released in 1917 a year before futility and insensibility. By using many poetic techniques throughout his poems, Owen presents the romanticised horrors of war which was brought upon by propaganda, by exploring the notions of men who had given up their emotions in order to deal with the trauma of life and death in the trenches.

Good Afternoon Miss Pearce and year 11 English students. In the poem, Dulce Et Decorum Est, the writer, Wilfred Owen conveys the horror of his experiences in the first world war. He employs several language techniques and effectively expresses the dreadfulness of war in a realistic way so the responders can comprehend how awful the time was. Here is the book I created of the poem, with illustrations.

How does Owen use language, structure and imagery to present the realities of war in “Dulce et Decorum est”? Wilfred Owen presents his experience as a World War One officer in “Dulce et Decorum est” to undermine the illusion of the glory of war that is usually portrayed in war poetry poems at this time, to illustrate the physical and emotional trauma that the soldiers endured. Owen uses this poem to contradict many poems that are supporters of war, such as Jesse Popes “Who’s for the Game”, and shatter their beliefs by revealing the tragic and horrific truths of war; as stated by his preface that “All a poet can do today is warn” In order for Owen to portray his feelings about war, he presents the effacement and dehumanisation the soldiers suffer. The soldiers have been described as “Bent-double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like old hags”.

In “Dulce Et Decorum Est” Wilfred Owen uses imagery, mood and rhythm to show the reader the effects of war. The author describes a gas attack and the aftermath it reaps on the soldiers to convey how the reality of war doesn't compare to the romantification and glorification it receives.

Owen uses language, structure and imagery to present the realities of war in ‘Dulce et Decorum est’. Owen himself was an officer in the First World War and therefore speaks from experience. Owen airs his views through multiple poems he wrote throughout his time in war, all of his poems echo the same negative outlook on war which at the time was very unusual due to people like Jessie Pope supporting and encouraging war through poetry. Owen reveals the physical damage to the men in the war using spondees such as ‘blood-shod’, which give the impression of the men being dirty and un-clean due to the awful conditions of war.

The poem, “Dulce Et Decorum Est”, by Wilfred Owen was written in a time where war was seen as a romantic sacrifice, but the young soldiers sent to war did not find war itself to be a beautiful occasion. Having a son defend one’s country was a prideful thing. As a result, parents would rather have their son die in a war than to come back home with a broken leg. No one, but the young men in the war, recognized the horrific sacrifices and destructive experiences that arose because of the involvement in the war.

War has been a part of human existence since the dawn of times. Yet, this does not make it any less heart wrenching and unjustified. This is what Wilfred Owen wanted us to notice. He wanted us to know what war actually was. War is devastating.

The poem Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen conforms to the characteristics of the warfare era. The warfare era is characterised by the following; conveys feeling of loss, despair and alienation, it is pessimistic and stoic, uses apocalyptic themes, emotive language, allusions, enjambment, syllable scheme, imagery and is often propaganda. The poem conveys feeling of loss and despair, because it is about how Owen saw someone, perhaps close to him, die in such a tragic way, which is described in the poem. One line that portrays such feelings is ‘As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.’ Owen uses pessimistic themes to also convey the feeling of loss, in the line, ‘Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud.’

With the ability to use Simile, imagery, and irony, Wilfred Owen is able to depict the truth of warfare during World War One and help us, reader, experience the tragedy that he once experienced. Owen uses similes throughout the poem to help people who doesn’t understand what war is actually like and compare it to civilization. In the first stanza of the poem, the poem is started unexpectedly: in the middle of the action. The soldiers are trying to escape the enemy’s fire, but with their physical and mental conditions, they are forced not to take immediate action. Owen says, “Bent double, like old beggars,” (1) which tells us that these soldiers are pre-maturely aged people.

Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) is widely recognised as one of the greatest voices of the First World War. Owen is one of the greatest writers of war poetry in the history of the English language. Having experienced war as a former soldier he used his personal experiences to help write the famous poems we still read today. Owen’s fine poetry include Anthem for Doomed Youth and Dulce et Decorum Est (1917) and Storm (1916), ‘1914’ (1914). In these four poems it illustrates how Owen has become so recognised for his work in the world war era. His most famous poem ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ shows ideas relating to the motives of men as well as the lack of morals within recruitment for the wars. Parallel to this Owen defaces the ‘glory war’ and describes the

In the first stanza, the author uses the words ‘move’, ‘whispering’ and ‘gently’ to create a calm and quiet atmosphere. This draws the reader’s attention to the death of the soldier, rather than the cries and violence of the trenches. In the poem the author seeks refuge and refers to the sun as ‘kind’ and ‘old’, relying all his hope on it as he prays that the sun will wake his dead comrade. This stanza contrast strongly with the propagandas back home and gives the audience an insight into the pain of loss that comrades have to experience due to war.

Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) is recognised as one of the greatest voices of the First World War. Owen is one of the greatest writers of war poetry in the history of the English language. Having experienced war as a former soldier he used his personal experiences to help write the famous poems we still read today. Owen’s fine poetry includes Anthem for Doomed Youth and Dulce et Decorum Est (1917) and Storm (1916), ‘1914’ (1914). In these four poems it illustrates how Owen has become so recognised for his work in the world war era. His most famous poem ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ shows ideas relating to the motives of men as well as the lack of morals within recruitment for the wars. Parallel to this Owen defaces the ‘glory war’ and describes the truth about young men being slaughtered for the wrong reasons. The poems ‘Anthem For Doomed Youth’, ‘1914’ and ‘Storm’ echo

Wilfred Owen’s poems ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ are pieces that both explore the theme of the pity and horror of war. They do this by making use of powerful words, imagery and literary device to illustrate all aspects of war, both positive and negative to the reader. ‘AFDY’ focuses on how soldiers who had died were treated, and how those boys who had made the ultimate sacrifice were dehumanised after they had passed on. ‘DEDE’ highlights both how society has a warped perception of war, fuelled by pro-war propaganda and poetry, as well as the mental effects of war on the servicemen themselves, how they were haunted by their own dreams and memories of the atrocities they had seen. Both ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ and ‘Dulce