Katherine Wang 10/4/11 Period 6 World War I Poem Essay A conflict that began on July 28, 1914 led

to a full out war between allied world powers (the Allies and the Central Power) which became one of the largest and bloodiest wars in history. The Europeans at that time had never experienced such an atrocious struggle between powerful countries. They watched their friends and relatives go off to fight in terrible situations of which they could never return. Soon, poets emerged from the worried people to depict the war and convince leaders to end such brutalities. One poet was Wilfred Owen, a World War I soldier himself, who described the warfare he experienced through poems he wrote on the battlefield. One of his most famous poems is Dulce et Decorum Est, a poem written in 1917 and published posthumously in 1920. Dulce et Decorum Est was a poem that Wilfred Owen used to depict the horror and realities of war through his cynical and somber tone that are shown through poetic devices such as word choice, similes, and imagery. Dulce et Decorum Est was actually a poem in response to another famous poet during the time, Jessie Pope. Popes poem, The Call, was a form of propaganda that encouraged young men to join the war for glory and fame. Contrary to popular belief at the time, war for the soldiers was terrible and terrifying and Wilfred Owen wanted to represent this through poetry in order for people to change their interpretation of war. The title shows the anti-war message by calling a famous quote by Roman poet, Horace, and a war supporting phrase, Dulce et Decorum Est, a lie, especially in stanza 4, line 9-12, My friend, you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory, the old lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. This phrase loosely translates into, It is sweet and right to die for your country. Owen wraps up his poem with this phrase to after giving proof through gruesome

Katherine Wang 10/4/11 Period 6 realities that this quote is a lie. In conclusion, Wilfred Owen used this poem to portray the horrible situations of war to an audience of war supporters who believed war was glorifying. In order to portray these conditions, Owen used a somber tone through word choice. In stanza 4, line 5 and 6, Owen writes, if you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs. Owen uses words such as jolt, gargling, and frothcorrupted to paint a picture of a horrible, disgusting death that the soldier must undertake. This shows how Owen is saddened by the death and also the pain that his fellow soldier is succumbing to. Also, Owen writes of the soldiers journey as being towards our distant rest began to trudge(1:4). The use of words such as distant and trudge shows how the soldiers are tired and hopeless as they continue their voyage to rest and sleep of which they know they will never reach. Lastly, Owen describes the dying soldier by writing, In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. (3:1-2)Owen uses the word dreams and helpless to show how he is dazed and saddened that there is nothing he can do to alleviate his fellow soldiers pain. Because of his sadness that is shown throughout the poem by word choice, the reader is able to indicate that the tone is somber. Owen also uses similes to show his cynical and somber tone to illustrate his anti-war perception. One simile Owen uses is to describe the soldiers as, bent double, like old beggars under sackscoughing like hags(1:1-2). This shows the soldiers feebleness and overall depression that reflects the somber tone through its representation of hopelessness. Also, Owen writes, floundring like a man in fire and lime(2:4) to describe the evil torture that the soldier is experiencing from the poison gas. This demonstrates how Owen is comparing the pain to other brutalities. The hopeless aura that is given off of this simile confirms how Owen

Katherine Wang 10/4/11 Period 6 looks at the death negatively, therefore proving his cynical tone. By using similes, Owen can represent his cynical and somber tones in his poem. One of his most powerful poetic devices is his use of imagery to depict his tone. First, Owen describes the dying soldier to depict the gruesome pain that he undergoes by writing, watch the white eyes writhing in his face, his hanging face, like a devils sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues(2:3-8) This paints a gruesome picture in the readers mind in order to prove that death in the war is not always quick and painless, but slow and excruciating. Owens pessimistic tone is shown through this because of his graphic descriptions of the death contrary to more peaceful deaths that are, to popular belief, more common. Also, Owen describes the poison gas as, Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, as under a green sea, I saw him drowning.(2:6) By painting an endless space of poison to depict the deadly gas, Owen adds to his skeptical tone of which he sees the death as hopeless through his negativity. Therefore, the powerful use of imagery is used to strongly portray Owens cynical and somber tone. Poetry in World War I was a way to reveal the realities of war that occurred on the battlefield. By writing Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen contrasts reality with the idealistic way war was presented at the time: proud, singing soldiers marching to their heroic deaths. The contemptuous and solemn tone Owen uses emphasized his message. The tone was supported through poetic devices that included word choice, similes, and imagery. Wilfred Owens poem, Dulce et Decorum Est, was a representation of the realities and horrors of war that was clearly shown throughout the poem through his cynical, somber tone seen through the use of poetic devices.