In Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce Et Decorum Est'?

During the early years of the twentieth century, the United States propelled itself into The Great War after Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare. Approximately thirty-seven million people became casualties of the war whether wounded or killed in support of their nations marking The War to End All Wars a traumatic event for a majority of the world. For some, this experience was far worse than for others, and this war introduced the global populace to what is known as shell shock. Lesser known, but no less concerning in terms of lingering effects was gas shock. Wilfred Owen, a British soldier, unmistakably tells of the atrocities of the war and the effects of gas shock on an individual. Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” thematically is an undeniable anti-war poem; the poem provides an exposition then describes the recollection of the unconscious effects on the mind. The subtext of the piece reinforces this point through a demonstration of subconscious thought process and a suppression of the memories that are later liberated vocally by the speaker of the poem. “Dulce et Decorum Est” begins in iambic pentameter. The structure and rigidity of iambic pentameter leaves no room for something out of place which is symbolic of the same in a military organization such as the British army in which …show more content…
Not as common as shell shock, gas shock was also a major psychological effect for victims of chemical warfare. All nations involved, directly or indirectly, felt the repercussions of warfare played out on a multi-national scale. The most unfortunate part of the ordeal was not that the massive number of casualties but the cost paid by the individuals and the fact that The War to End All Wars failed to fulfill that