Donald Bruce Dawe Poetry Analysis

It is utterly obvious that the topic of war is a repetitive one. Although, it is almost always agreed that the many hardships of war will cause the people to get involved, whether it’s the soldier themselves or the family and friends of the soldiers. This can be devastating because war is hard on more people than just the soldiers. Most of these effects can be looked at through pictures, writing, poetry, and all other forms of expression. Although Donald Bruce Dawe and Wilfred Owen, the writers of the war poems Homecoming and Dulce Est Decorum Est, have completely different stylistic characteristics, both of them effectively use literary devices such as imagery, personification, and simile to help the reader understand the harsh ravages of …show more content…
Imagery is used to fully explain the harshness of war because regular dialogue is just not enough. Donald Bruce Dawe, the author of the poem Homecoming, shows imagery in almost every line. This shows the story the way it was rather than just speaking about it. For example, in line ten he describes victims of war as, “-curly heads, kinky-hairs, crew-cuts, balding non coms.” The use of this imagery helps the reader understand that the soldiers weren't all the same. Yes they were fighting in the same war together, but these soldiers were all of different ethnicities, ages, and even religions. He wanted the audience to see that when in war, there is just about always something different of each and every soldier. Wilfred Owen, the writer of Dulce Et Decorum, uses imagery moderately. For example, in line thirteen he describes tear gas by stating, “ Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light.” This shows the reader that in the thick layer of gas, it is almost impossible to see. This makes the soldiers suffer greatly because they are struggling to breath and are fighting to see through the …show more content…
Personification is used to represent the abstract qualities of war in human form. This device is briefly used in the poem Homecoming. In line fifteen, the writer states, “of earth, the knuckled hills, the mangrove-swamps, the desert emptiness…” The landscape describes human characteristics in regards to the hills. Instead of saying bumpy, he refers to the hills as knuckled because it adds more effect to to the landscape of the earth below them. Also in line twenty-three Donald Bruce Dawe states, “telegrams tumble like leaves from a wintering tree.” This supports the senselessness generated by war and further helps the reader visualize the situation in a more effective way. In Dulce Et Decorum Est, Wilfred Owen uses a great amount of personification to use better effect on war. In line ten he states, “ Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time.” He is saying the helmets are the clumsy ones, not the soldiers. He gives the helmets these human qualities instead of boring the reader saying that the nervous soldiers were clumsy, that is something already known. Also by using these qualities, it catches the reader’s