Poetry Anthology - Dulce et Decorum Est Flashcards
(12 cards)
Key themes
Severe impact of war
Suffering
Loss
Death
Structure
Irregular - reflects chaos and unpredictability of war
Enjambment - mirrors soldiers exhaustion and overwhelming nature of war
Key quotes (8)
The title - ‘Dulce et decorum est’
‘All went lame; all blind’
‘Gas shells dropping softly behind’
‘Under a green sea’
‘Flung’
‘Like a devil’s sick of sin’
‘Vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues’
‘The old lie’
Analyse the title
Ironic title
Means sweet and right in Latin
Analyse ‘all went lame; all blind’
Harsh reality of war
Propaganda would have said differently
Analyse ‘gas shells dropping softly behind’
Blocked out the sound as it is so constant
Death has become normal
Analyse ‘under a green sea’
Deeply disturbing imagery representing the gas attacks
Image suggests suffocation and helplessness
Analyse ‘flung’
Careless of people
Contrasts with heroic ideas of people dying in battle
Analyse ‘like a devil’s sick of sin’
Powerful simile
Suggests that not even the devil can stand the loss of innocent lives
Beyond worst evils
Analyse ‘vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues’
‘Sores’ are the metaphorical lies that the soldiers were told
Their innocent tongues paid the price
Analyse ‘The old Lie’
Capitalisation - stands out
Scornful about the fact the young boys were told it is sweet and right to die for their country
Challenges the glorified views of the war
Context
Based on his real experiences as a soldier
He died one week before the war ended
Chose to go back to war as he didn’t think it was fair that his men were still fighting
