Dulce et Decorum Est Flashcards
(10 cards)
What is the poem about?
the speaker describes the experience of a gas attack on a group of withdrawing soldiers
Who wrote the poem?
Wilfred Owen
3 points for a single text essay
- reveals the grim reality of life on the Western Front in World War One
- emphasises the psychological effects of the horrors of war, reflecting the profound effect of shell-shock (Owen experienced himself)
- culminates with Owen expressing his bitterness towards those who see War as glorious, rebuttal to propaganda
Context
- soldier for First World War
- diagnosed with shell shock
Quotes to portray horrors of war
- “bent double, like old beggars under sacks”
- “Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! - an ecstasy of fumbling”
- “at every jolt, the blood/come gargling”
Quotes to demonstrate psychological horrors of the war
- “In all my dreams, before my helpless sight”
- “guttering, choking, drowning”
Quotes that critique those who glorify war
- “we flung him in”
- “My friend, you would not tell with such high zest”
- “The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est/Pro patria mori”
Quotes about death
“And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin”
“In all my dreams before my helpless sight,/He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning”
Quotes about loss of innocence
“Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”
“Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—”
“To children ardent for some desperate glory”
What are the differences between ‘The Soldier’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’?
‘Soldier’ glorifies death in war as noble and patriotic
‘Dulce’ bitterly attacks this glorification.
‘The Soldier’ focus on the abstract glory of war using religious imagery
‘Dulce’ presents the reader with the visceral reality of the horror of war.
‘Soldier’ addressed to families of those who have died - aims to console/reassure.
‘Dulce’ addressed to those (like Brooke) who glorify war without having experienced the reality of it - aims to destroy their idealised view.
