Dulce Et Decorum Est Analysis Essay

War is beautiful. War is necessary. We must fight because we are right, and the enemy is wrong. When raised in a nation that is free, these three statements will be echoed until it is time to be shipped off to battle. There is no argument or resistance, only a generation of young men that believe their right is not to be free, but to die in hopes that their sacrifice will bring freedom to those they love. “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen is a bitter contradiction about the common belief that war is glorious, heroic, and worthy. Throughout the poem, Owen used first hand experiences to detail the events of war that burned into his brain and haunted him for the rest of his life. This poem has remained very relevant throughout the 100 years since publication. Mankind will never be rid of the scourge of pointless bloodshed and Owen’s use of sarcasm and imagery underlines that point. In “Dulce et Decorum Est”, Wilfred Owen uses a critical tone to convey that the general consensus of war being heroic …show more content…
Using both sarcasm and his hellish experience to criticize the fantasizing of war, Owen breaks down the common narrative of mankind’s ugliest features. These depictions of war are horrific and tragic, but with these awful consequences comes a world of beauty. War is not about the men who die on the battlefield. Their sacrifices will be remembered throughout history, but they are not putting their life on the line so they can come home and have a hero’s welcome. Men fight for the women and children they leave behind. They fight so their country can achieve prosperity for generations. If we could live in a world without bloodshed and conflict, that would be the most amazing gift humanity could receive, but that is not reality. We will continue to live in a world of immense sacrifice so that the innocent can experience the gift of life and prosper on this beautiful