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poetry > dulce et decorum est > Flashcards

dulce et decorum est Flashcards

1
Q

who wrote this poem?

A

Wilfred Owen

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2
Q

did Owen ever serve in the war?

A

yes- during WW1

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3
Q

was Owen injured?

A

Yes he faced shellshock

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4
Q

what hospital was Owen admitted into?

A

Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh

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5
Q

when did Owen write the poem?

A

in October 1917 with the physical and emotional trauma of soldiers in the hospital

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6
Q

what was fighting in WW1 like in Britain?

A

it was voluntary- Britain needed soldiers to fight in the war- lots of propaganda came out

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7
Q

what did lots of poets at the time write about?

A

they wrote poetry to encourage the youth to sign up for the army- Owen despised this- he calls out the false poets who glorify war

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8
Q

what is the poem about?

A

the slow trudge to an unknown place- interrupted by a gas attack
the soldiers hurry to put on their masks- one man is too slow- gets consumed by gas

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9
Q

what is the final stanza a direct address to?

A

a personal address to war journalist- Jessie Pope

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10
Q

what does the poem show?

A

the horrors of WW1
the dehumanisation of soldiers
testing the misleading notions of patriotism

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11
Q

what is Owen presenting war as being?

A

always gruesome and soldiers are the worst sufferers of the calamity

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12
Q

what does Owen look critically at in the poem?

A

the society that pushes young soldiers into dehumanising death

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13
Q

what style is this poem written in?

A

a ballad- flowing, romantic, poetical style- using a ballad outside the romantic convention, Owen accentuates the disturbing cadence of the narrative

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14
Q

what type of poem is this?

A

a visceral poem- relies on the senses

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15
Q

what impact did this poem have?

A

it is one of the most significant WW1 poems- moved away from romantic patriotism and eulogization of the war- shows its horrific reality
sarcastically critiques the propagators and supporters of the war

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16
Q

how does the poem begin?

A

“Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge”

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17
Q

what does the first stanza convey?

A

a demonstration of pure exhaustion and mind-numbing misery

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18
Q

what is the context behind the soldiers walks?

A

British soldiers would trudge to the trenches- seeping further into France in pursuit of German soldiers

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19
Q

“till on the haunting…

A

flares we turned our backs”

20
Q

what does “till on the haunting flares” foreshadow?

A

his memories and PTSD he faces further on into the poem

21
Q

what does the line “we cursed through sludge” convey?

A

“cursed”- the men have been lied to about what the war would be like- the false hope and the propaganda they endured
they perhaps feel a sense of resentment

22
Q

what does the first stanza do?

A

it minimises the war to a few exhausted soldiers although the war rages on in the background

23
Q

“men marched…

A

asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod”

24
Q

what is significant about the line “but limped on, blood-shod”?

A

it shows the boys’ resilience and their devotion to the country

25
Q

“drunk with fatigue…

A

deaf even to the hoots Of gas shells dropping softly behind”

26
Q

what is significant about the line “drunk with fatigue deaf even to the hoots…”

A

they are so tired and burnt out that they can’t even hear the sounds of the weapons- weapons that could potentially end their lives

27
Q

what technique is used in “gas shells dropping softly”?

A

oxymoron

28
Q

what “heavy words” are there and what do they do for the poem?

A

“bent” “coughing” “cursed” “trudged” “marched” “limped”
they show the heavy movement of the men

29
Q

what is significant about the gas shells dropping “softly”?

A

its perhaps reflective of what the people thought the war would be like

30
Q

how does the second stanza begin?

A

“Gas! Gas! Quick boys!”

31
Q

what is the change of pace like going from the first stanza to the second?

A

its rapid

32
Q

what does the second stanza begin with?

A

opens with exclamatory mode

33
Q

what words in the second stanza express speed, hurry and a frantic nature to look for their helmets?

A

“ecstasy” “fumbling” “yelling” “stumbling” “flound’ring”

34
Q

“dim through the misty panes…

A

and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning”

35
Q

“in all my dreams….

A

before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning”

36
Q

what does the line “in all my dreams….” signify?

A

it is a break from the scene- he cannot escape the memories- the men are tortured by the events of war- no escaping or evading war

37
Q

what pace is the third stanza?

A

an almost claustrophobic pace

38
Q

why does Owen use this pace?

A

to make the scene more captivating- almost as if we are immersed in the gas too

39
Q

what does the pace and the description of the mustard gas do?

A

the pace of the poem has slowed down a lot and we see the description of the mustard gas and its victim- allows for a contrast between the stillness of the background and the animation of the victim
the contrast highlights the description-making it more grotesque

40
Q

“and watch the white..

A

eyes writhing in his face”

41
Q

“his hanging face…

A

like a devil’s sick of sin”

42
Q

“come gargling from..

A

the froth-corrupted lungs, obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues”

43
Q

what lines of the poem are a direct address to Jessie Pope?

A

“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

44
Q

what are the last final lines of the poem doing?

A

calling out the pro-war propaganda

45
Q

Owen thinks “it’s sweet and fitting to die for one’s country” as being what?

A

the false idealisation

poetry (16 decks)

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